Rise like a Phoenix - the Australian A-bomb Mustangs

[old man emu]

Thought you might like this.

 

 

[nomadpete]

Was that Len Beadell making comments on the site?

[nomadpete]

Fantastic story. Thanks OME.

 

DCA was as bad as CASA.

[spacesailor]

Excellent film .

Many thanks. 

spacesailor

[facthunter]

Back then none of this type of aircraft was permitted to fly other than in service use in Australia. Many countries also did not certify the Merlin for civilian use as it has both Magnetos driven by ONE skew gear which often failed without warning. That engine was running extremely rich on many of the ground runs and there's no suggestion those planes were in THAT good a condition  when they were flown in there.  While it's presented in nostalgic terms the Sense of flying it out was never a smart idea. I  had the opportunity to buy a Mustang from Tocumwal for 400 Pounds  with 4 (FOUR) hours total flight time on it but would never have been able to fly it legally.. Later people like Jack McDonald, Arnold Glass  Eric Greathead flew them and someone in ANSETT. John Dorward??  and a Bloke named Busch killed himself in one.. They also had a dry start problem with the camshaft followers not having rollers on them.. An ex Vietnam Vet who worked for Holden filled me in extensively about these aircraft. Why  you'd choose to restore one of these particular Aircraft that has been exposed to  Sun, sand and wind for so  long eludes me and the transport by sea is prior to containers being universal. so damage was almost certain to occur.. ALL bar one was trucked out so it wouldn't have been  any trouble to do them all that way.. Why unnecessarily risk the Pilot's life and perhaps others as well as the aircraft itself.   Nev

Edited July 18 by facthunter

[old man emu]

48 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Why unnecessarily risk the Pilot's life and perhaps others as well as the aircraft itself.   Nev

Because back then people governments didn't wrap people in cotton wool. They sort of took the attitude , "It's your neck." 

 

51 minutes ago, facthunter said:

I  had the opportunity to buy a Mustang from Tocumwal for 400 Pounds  with 4 (FOUR) hours total flight time on it but would never have been able to fly it legally..

Nor the money to pour into the fuel tanks. 

 

52 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Why  you'd choose to restore one of these particular Aircraft that has been exposed to  Sun, sand and wind for so  long eludes me

Why do people climb Mt Everest? Which is worse, spending money on a golf club membership or restoring something to preserve it? One man's meat is another man's poison.

[facthunter]

I gave you a lot of INFORMATION  there. Why can't you just for once acknowledge it? Why do I bother?    Time and Effort is involved on my part.  Yours is just knocking. . Providing nothing of value. I would be nicer to get a question Your first line is not correct. Later (as I explained) they allowed people to fly them. many of whom I Knew and none of my post is hearsay. Nev

[old man emu]

Hang on! I did know that warbirds have only been allowed to fly in the relatively recent past. I knew that the blokes who flew them out had a battle with the then DEP of Civil Aviation to get to do it. 

 

I saw VH-BOZ and VH-BOY at Bankstown in the early 70s. I think both were owned by Jack MacDonald and were used at target tugs for the navy. (Jack taught me how to do cross-wind landings when my regular instructor couldn't help me.)

 

According to David Muir's book Southern Cross Mustangs, ( https://www.redroomodels.com/red-roo-books/ ), thirty-three P51s were placed on the Australian register, or at least had civilian registrations applied for or allocated.

 

The P51s used in the bomb test were: A68-1; A68-30; A68-35, A68-72, and A68-87.  I believe that these aircraft were sold off the the USA and broken down for spare parts. So they were not restored.

 

41 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Yours is just knocking.

When are you going to accept a few smart-arsed comebacks. Isn't it true that the fuel consumption of these big engines would make refuelling them expensive? Isn't it true that we can't do many "risky" things now because government regulations say we can't?  As for restoration of old things, if you want to, and have the wherewithal, why not?

[spacesailor]

AND.

THANKs to all those who have the courage & assets to save things from the scrap heaps .

I have had the chance to save objects of interest , but without deep pockets, 

it's a foolish dream .

spacesailor

 

[facthunter]

I've been restoring old stuff since  I was 13 But some stuff can be beyond  Practical restoration. Nearly ALL Super Constellations are grounded because of the wing spars. For the cost of fixing one of these you'd be able to do say 50 restorations of other types that are far more easy  to service. Getting People with any Knowledge of even immediate post war planes is difficult..   They can't be left exposed to the elements either. HARS is a good place to visit. Staffed by people who do it for free.  The food is good too.. Home made style.. .  Nev

[old man emu]

A lot of the restorations of warbirds seem to involve using the original, corroded parts as a template to make a new parts from fresh material.

[willedoo]

7 hours ago, facthunter said:

Getting People with any Knowledge of even immediate post war planes is difficult..

We're lucky with our local air museum as the area is a very popular retirement destination for people from all parts of the country. It amazes me the amount of talent there on the mechanical side as well as the piloting side. A lot of people retired from the civilian aviation industry as well as the RAAF and Navy aviation. One bloke there flew Navy planes off the Melbourne and there's ex RAAF pilots that flew the F-111, Mirage and CAC Sabre among others. Most of the volunteers are getting on in age now and we're starting to lose a few. A lot of irreplaceable experience goes with them.

[red750]

Not one of the six, but I was at Bendigo Airport in February 1970 when Mustang VH-DBB (ex A68-193) flown by Don Bush spiralled into the ground during an airshow.