kaz3g

Their celestial navigation skills finding Cocos in the middle of the ocean were unequalled. One of them found it at night and conducted a successful emergency landing ina small lagoon. kaz

I have a copy and his precautions with Bader when he allowed the legless pilot to sit in a 109 have always stuck in my mind. kaz

Round tubes...a bit savage on bare feet. Alsoheel brakes so footwear essential. kax

I generally just wear sneakers and have no problem on the rudder during my landings. kaz

I should have added they also flew B24s, Liberators, Hudson’s and Lodestars towards the end. And their engine shops reconditioned 1000s of engines...Pegasus, P&W and Wright Cyclones for the big stuff and also engines for fighter. And more than 20000 instrument repairs in their instrument shop. Two of their Empire class which had been impressed early on were returned by the RAAF and formed the nucleus of the post-war civil,service. kaz

Have just finished reading a history of the part played by Qantas during WWII. Written by Jim Eames, “Courage in the Skies” was quite an eye opener to me. I remember the beautiful Empire class flying boats in Rose Bay, and I have read and reread the stories of Sunderland in the Bay of Biscay, and of the RAAF Catalinas in the NG campaign, but had no idea of the extent to which unarmed Qantas aircraft and crew provided critical transport services to RAAF, Army and to the Yanks during this period. They started with DH86s from their pre-war NG service, added Empire flying boats maintaining a link with UK as well as keeping Port Moresby and Milne Bay supplied during the darkest days, established a run to Rangoon from Perth via Cocos Island using Catalinas grossly overloaded with fuel, and a heck of a lot more. Many acts of incredible bravery and quite a few lost to enemy attacks. The book was only $15 at Australia Post and worth every cent. The more I read, the more I am perplexed how we English speaking nations ended up winning despite the bureaucracies, the inter-service rivalries, and everything else. kaz

Thank you for passing this on, Phil. I enjoy all your posts. i am an avid reader of WWII aviation history and it’s been a sadness in recent years to learn of the passing of so many of the very well known RAF and RAAF flyers. Without detracting in any way from the courage of those in the armies or naval services, or those who flew bombing and recon missions in multi-crew aircraft, it must have taken a very special sort of courage to take off again and again by day or by night in single seat fighters during the Battle and beyond. kaz

When I was at school you only used log tables for trigonometry until year 12 physics when the Hermi was allowed limited introduction. The main frame computer at uni occupied a whole floor and you programmed it on punch cards. kaz

Just remember the golden rule...always release before a long weekend. kaz

Very difficult to discipline an elected Board member if they won’t be disciplined unless their actions become unlawful or fail to comply with organisation rules that allow for dismissal if in breach. this could occur for example if the Board members actions bring the organisation into disrepute and his membership of the organisation is cancelled on that basis. Another way would be if the Board voted by majority for a spill. but also difficult to run an organisation if one member constantly acts rogue. Kaz

Enough of the slow ? I’m doing at least 100 knots downwind...at least for part of it. Then I have to slow down for base to less than 56 just to get the flaps out. And I might dawdle a bit on final at 45 or so (allowing plenty for gusts) as the stall is just 26 knots. and Turbs...did you have to post that photo of KAZ? John not only beat me for 1st prize at the Auster flyin, but he parked his next to mine!!! it is one of the nicest Austers I’ve seen, I have to admit. Beautifully restored by the owner and an absolute credit to him. kaz Meant to say a girl has to work really hard to slow a speedster up that much!

Most of my arrivals at MOorabbin have been straight in because southerlies are the dominant wind direction. Don’t think I’ve ever done a full circuit there. But just in response to another post, in a high wing you lose sight of the threshold in a square turn but keep it in sight in a descending slipping turn. Curved circuits were de rigour on Spitfires, especially at night when it was all too easy to lose sight of the glim lights and, in particular, the Chance light. Read “First Light” by Boy Wellum for an instructive commentary (one of the best RAF autobiographies I have read). kaz

Very sad event. The pilot flew the Tiger out from UK and had a lot of time in it. Also had several other aircraft including a very nice Chippie just recently sold. Straight ahead and sacrifice aeroplane rather than occupants generally the best option. Maryborough has long over-runs but a fair bit of timber off the ends interspersed amongst small farms. The dirt cross-strip is interesting because it runs uphill from the sealed strip and provides another alternative with built in braking. kaz

Those Jabs must have,learned a lot from Austers. Salvation Army padre to the North, Vic Peterson upgraded from a Tiger Moth to an Auster after he put the Tiger down in a coastal swamp near Port Keats. He was heading into Darwin from the SW when, about 50 mile out, the engine stopped. Over dense bush at the time, he pancaked into the tree tops. Escaping with just some cuts and bruises, he commented afterwards that :”I probably wouldn’t have been hurt at all if I’d done up my seat belt!”i AUSTER...The Steel Aeroplane. kaz

No idea but hopefully we will eventually Erin the facts...kaz

Fuel starvation isn’t necessarily fuel exhaustion. kaz

Wonder if he transmitted a Mayday Fuel at 30 minutes TTR? kaz

Whatever else he was, including a devout Anglophile, Lazarus Menzies was a brilliant debater. I saw him perform at Kew Town Hall when I was in my teens and he cut the floor from beneath his opposition. But his decisions during WWII nearly cost us even more dearly, especially his adherence to British is best in the way of aircraft. That and his willingness to leave us desperately short of skilled men and equipment to bolster the Allies counter in Europe while the threat from Japan was nearing its peak. it took Ben Chifley to sort out our homeland defences and get our men back from Europe. kaz

Thank you everyone for your contributions...all appreciated. i recall many years ago that those ranges used to be marked as Designated Remote Areas and you couldn’t enter them unless you had HF radio and flew full SAR. The “Corner” is notorious for its beauty, and also for its rapidly changing and extreme weather as many sailors will attest. I spent a lot of time at sea out of the Lakes and Mallacoota, and the bars at both locations can be pretty exciting. So I think I’ll look for a stretch of calm weather, probably March, and go across the Range but will come back the long way with perhaps an over nite at Mallacoota. kaz

Can’t remember exactly when but early 1980’s some guys called in at the Euroa Soaring Centre airstrip on their way home from Mangalore with what I think was a Scout. Peter Johnson took it for a fly. It lifted off to about 10’ into wind but sank back to the ground when Pete turned cross-wind. He looked a bit comical with legs astride and running while the little engine screamed it’s head off as he came back to the threshold where we were all standing. George Markey also called in there with his Ultrabat and gave us a demo of what it could do. He let someone fly it and they messed their landing by running into the back of a rather pristine Austin A40. George didn’t seem at all fussed about damage to either the Ultrabat nose or rear mudguard of the A40. kaz

I think you meant CoG is behind the wheels...kaz

https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/5544972/ao-2013-186_final.pdf

It’s a long way around, Nev but it avoid that horrible tiger country. As you say, it an get some awful wx as you turn the corner. I’ve worked at sea (Fisheries) and dived around Gabo (Tullaberga shipwreck) out of Mallacoota and watched the Orcas at Eden, but have never flown there. The Kangaroo Valley route from Goulburn looks a tad better but again adds significantly to the journey and the risk of bad wx. I lost a firey mate in a C182 on Mt Selwyn coming back from Moruya a few years ago. Makes you think. kaz

I’ve never been to Froga Hollow and would li,e to know if it has a CC avgas pump, pls? Looking to fly across the range from Albury to Moruya if I get some decent weather. Twice as far if I go around the southern coast. also looking for a suggested route from Wagga if anyone does the trip on a regular basis. thanks kaz

Maybe not, but they are piloting an aircraft and all of us flying VH have to have an ASIC or AVID to use our licence. Requiring drone operators to have an ASIC would be a boost to the economy. kaz