Aviation Historical Society of Australia – Page 5 – Recording the nation's aviation heritage

DerekB13/03/202222/04/2022

Vale Keith Meggs

It is with great sadness that we advise of the passing of Keith Raymond Meggs OAM, DFM, AAM(US), former AHSA President and Patron, on Sunday,...

DerekB12/03/202222/03/2022

Vale Alan Patching

It is with great sadness that we advise of the passing of Alan Patching on Saturday 12 March. He was 97 years old (approaching...

DerekB01/03/202205/03/2022

Aviation Heritage Volume 53 Number 1 contents listing

The latest quarterly edition (March 2022) of the AHSA journal – Aviation Heritage – has recently been posted to members. The full contents are...

DerekB23/02/202208/11/2022

AHSA Monthly Meeting 23 February 2022 (Michael Smith: Commemorative Flight From London to Darwin, 2019)

Our February 2022 Melbourne meeting, was held in person at the RAAF Association meeting rooms in Hawthorn and also “broadcast” to interstate members via...

DerekB01/12/202102/01/2022

Aviation Heritage Volume 52 Number 4 contents listing

The latest quarterly edition (December 2021) of the AHSA journal - Aviation Heritage - has recently been posted to members. The full contents are...

DerekB24/11/202108/11/2022

AHSA Monthly Meeting 24 November 2021 (Lance Halvorson: RAAF Strike Aircraft 1953-2010)

Our Melbourne monthly meeting on 24 November 2021, in collaboration with the Friends of Air Force History and Heritage, was held in person at...

DerekB14/11/202114/12/2021

Membership subscriptions held at low rate for 2022

At the 22nd Annual General Meeting of the Incorporated Society on Wednesday 27th October 2021, the Committee recommended holding the annual subscriptions for the...

DerekB01/09/202128/12/2021

Aviation Heritage Volume 52 Number 3 contents listing

The latest quarterly edition (September 2021) of the AHSA journal - Aviation Heritage - has recently been posted to members. The full contents are...

1929 After a forced landing west of Wyndham, WA, Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm, Harold Litchfield and Tom McWilliams were stranded for a fifth day on 4 April 1929. Ulm recorded the following in his log: "Daylight. Awful march up Darlinghurst hill. Light a fire, stoking in half-hour shifts. The heat is unmerciful and we are really starving, keeping alive on a cup-and-a-half of gruel per day. We tried to rev up the generator again this evening and are planning to take off the generator. Mac is nearly out to it to-day, but is still working. All are feeling gnawing hunger pains. Smithy's super energy is wonderful, but even his unusual strength is failing. I have started to pile up rocks on which to lift the right wheel on which to turn the generator. The flies take at least half our energy and then at the sundown we commence to fight skeeters all night. To date Mac and I have not averaged more than two hours sleep per night and Smithy and Litchfield about four hour. Oh, for a meal! Received a radio message, again tonight, VIS Broome and 2FC give us best news always. Up the hill to-morrow as Chater is to search near Port George mission. Sleep is impossible with these skeeters." The Western Australian Airways DH.50 flown by James Woods searched in the Drysdale River mission area and the second WAA DH.50 flown by Eric Chater searched near Port George IV Presbyterian mission station without any sighting of the Southern Cross. The DH.61 "Canberra" flown by Les Holden had been fitted with an extra fuel tank of 70 gallons capacity. This aircraft was funded by the Sydney Citizens Southern Cross Rescue Fund and Holden was accompanied by a crew including I.S.W. Stannage, wireless operator; Dr G.R. Hamilton, medical doctor; and F.R. Mitchell, mechanic. Rain had caused the runways at Mascot to become "swampy" and an attempt to take-off with a full load of fuel and supplies was not possible. So the partially-fuelled aircraft flew from Mascot to Richmond on 4 April. At Richmond it was to be fully fuelled and loaded with supplies. Preparation of the RAAF Wackett Widgeon II amphibian aircraft at Richmond continued and Wing-Commander Lawrence Wackett expected to depart on the following day. This forced landing and its consequences became known as the "Coffee Royal" affair. Sources: Parnell, N. and Boughton, T., Flypast, A Record of Aviation in Australia, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1988; Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld), Mon 15 Apr 1929, Page 9, "LIEUTENANT ULM'S LOG"

1957 Three Neptune maritime patrol aircraft from No 11 Squadron RAAF arrived back at Richmond, New South Wales on 4 April 1957 after completing Operation Westbound — the first round-the-world flight by the RAAF. The aircraft had departed on 20 February. The focus of Operation Westbound was to "test mobility and navigation" for the aircraft and crews, and to represent the Australian Armed Forces at the celebrations for the independence of Ghana. The Australian Minister for Air, the hon F.M. Osborne, was carried in one of the Neptunes from Karachi, as he was the representative of Australia at the celebrations, and became the first official representative at such an occasion to be carried in an RAAF aircraft. The route of Operation Westbound was from Richmond (NSW) to Darwin (NT), then up to Changi (Singapore), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Karachi(Pakistan), Aden (Yemen), Entebbe (Uganda), then to Accra, Ghana for eight days. After Accra, the aircraft flew on to Dakar (Senegal), Casablanca (Mauritania), then on to the Azores (Portugal), Bermuda, Jacksonville (USA), Corpus Christie (USA), Burbank (USA), Lockheed's head offices, then to Alameda (USA), Honolulu (USA), Canton Island (Kirbati), Nandi (Fiji), and then back to Richmond (NSWS) on 4 April. The aircraft stayed in the US for a week to allow Mr Osborne to attend meetings, and due to engine troubles on a Neptune in Hawaii. Upon return, after events such as high winds in Uganda, the celebrations in Ghana, a collapsed valve on A89-312 in the Azores, necessitating an engine replacement, a runaway prop on A89-311 after takeoff in Bermuda, the visits to the Burbank factory, with demonstrations from and F-104 and C-130, and an earthquke in San Francisco, the aircraft were met with an escort of four Gloster meteors for a flyover of Sydney before returning to Richmond, where they were greeted with suitable fanfare. Sources: AWM; RAAF; Wilson, Stewart, Catalina, Neptune And Orion In Australian Service, Aerospace Publications, 1991.

2007 ATSB released its detailed investigation report into the Lockhart River crash on 4 April 2007. It stated that the accident was almost certainly the result of controlled flight into terrain, that is, an airworthy aircraft under the control of the flight crew was flown unintentionally into terrain, probably with no prior awareness by the crew of the aircraft’s proximity to terrain. The investigation report identified a range of contributing and other safety factors relating to the crew of the aircraft, Transair's processes, regulatory oversight of Transair by CASA, and RNAV (GNSS) approach design and chart presentation. It also detailed safety action taken by various agencies to address the identified safety issues. The crash was also examined in an inquest by the Queensland Coroner with both CASA and the ATSB assisting the Coroner. The coronial inquest provided a forum for detailed and objective consideration of CASA’s oversight of Transair (see 18 August 2007 entry). Source: ATSB, Aviation Safety Investigation Report AE-2005-01977, 7 May 2005. via aph.gov.au website