naremman

I can recall seeing a good number of retired Callairs tied down at Cunderdin when Wally Thomson was based there. A number had VH MPx registrations. Prior to the introduction of lupins and canola to Wheatbelt rotations a hopper full of 24D Ester in a Pawnee or Callair, applied at 4 ounces an acre was mighty effective on late germinating radish or mustard, and covered a fair acreage. Once spray drift onto susceptible crops became an issue low volume spraying rendered the Pawnee and Callair mainly redundant. A number of Callairs were repurposed banner towing and glider tugs. If i remember correctly the Callair had wing fuel tanks and inatention to fuel management required a very quick response when things went quiet upfront as it was something like a 9 second pickup from the tank change. Geoff Goodall has some great images of a number of Callairs. I am sure Poteroo has something to contribute as well.

Good work guys, collectively I think we have this one nailed. ASD 83, First Link in the Chain. Whilst it might be thread drift, sitting in the left seat of an aircraft with none too startling performance the lesson should be a universal. What is one of the three most useless things in aviation, THE RUNWAY BEHIND YOU makes up 331/3% of the quote. I commenced my training at NFC in 1973, and heaven help us if we did not have available every inch of the runway, Good preparation for many years flying an Airtourer 100.

Roundsounds, Mr Google raises this entry from the Narrogin Cemetery: Jeffery, Beverley Faye. Died 14 November, 1971, aged 19 years. Taken in flight in the aeroplane she loved.

Hi Roundsounds/ From memory it would have been either 1971/72. There was a Fly-in at Northam, possibly for the opening of the currently located airstrip. The aircraft as a PA28 /140 from the Narrogin Flying Club which was to take part in a womens' fly past. The pilot was Bev Jeffery, who had just attained her licence, and had three passengers on board.. As I recall she was following a Tiger and Chippy who commenced their take off run from where the taxiway enters the runway, forsaking the extra 600' back to the threshold. The preceeding got away OK, but the Cherokee with 4 up on a hot summers day was a different proposition. It impacted the trees just beyond the upwind threshold of 14, burnt, with no survivors. I have been involved with both Narrogin and Northam over the years and it is an incident that has not been forgotten by either aviation community. John Douglas was the then CFI at Narrogin, and JD was fervent that everybody took lessons from this this particular incident. Doug Dawson could bang the same same drum just as loudly.. In all the times I have departed 14 at Northam has there not been an occasion that I have not backtracked and launched from the threshold!! I do recall that this incident was covered in the Air Safety Digest. Ironically, a Bev Jeffery Memorial Trophy was established by NFC for the best student attaining a RPPL, which my late first wife won in 1982, learning to fly in our Airtourer, and a replica trophy still is on display on the mantlepiece alongside my silverware. This still gives you a bit more homework Roundsounds, but a little bit more to go on. Safe flying.

Hi Roundsounds/ From memory it would have been either 1971/72. There was a Fly-in at Northam, possibly for the opening of the currently located airstrip. The aircraft as a PA28 /140 from the Narrogin Flying Club which was to take part in a womens' fly past. The pilot was Bev Jeffery, who had just attained her licence, and had three passengers on board.. As I recall she was following a Tiger and Chippy who commenced their take off run from where the taxiway enters the runway, forsaking the extra 600' back to the threshold. The preceeding got away OK, but the Cherokee with 4 up on a hot summers day was a different proposition. It impacted the trees just beyond the upwind threshold of 14, burnt, with no survivors. I have been involved with both Narrogin and Northam over the years and it is an incident that has not been forgotten by either aviation community. John Douglas was the then CFI at Narrogin, and JD was fervent that everybody took lessons from this this particular incident. Doug Dawson could bang the same same drum just as loudly.. In all the times I have departed 14 at Northam has there not been an occasion that I have not backtracked and launched from the threshold!! I do recall that this incident was covered in the Air Safety Digest. Ironically, a Bev Jeffery Memorial Trophy was established by NFC for the best student attaining a RPPL, which my late first wife won in 1982, learning to fly in our Airtourer, and a replica trophy still is on display on the mantlepiece alongside my silverware. This still gives you a bit more homework Roundsounds, but a little bit more to go on. Safe flying.

Nev, you are about fifty years behind the times!! The original Airtourers came out with the four stages of flap, and the Victa handling notes of 1962 reflected this. After a number of incidents with the Airtourer abruptly ceasing to fly on landing it was mandated that it was to be restricted to three stages only, with a blank to be riveted over the fourth stage. There was howeve,r provision with appropriate test flying of the particular aircraft that the fourth stage was permitted. My current Flight Manual only refers to flap 12 degrees. When I purchased my Airtourer 100 in 1975 the blank for the fourth stage was no longer in place,, and I never questioned it, limiting all flap to three stages. I did however use it once at a WA Light Aircraft Championship when I wanted a bi more t of stop, and can attest that it was exceedingly effective. I liken the extra flap to the issue of 40 degrees flap on a Cessna 172M. Ya love the stopping power until the point you wanna do a go around!!

Posed that exact question to Henry in Parkes in 1980 Nev. Did nor invoke a positive response. 168 Australian Airtourers and 80 Kiwi variants probably did not give much scope for other iterations. The success of the RV range might indicate there was possibilities that might have been missed.. Coming up 50 years with a convential Airtourer I would have welcomed a tailwheel option. The Airtourer front leg was I believe drawn from the front end of the Ford Consul motor car. I can't recall too many incidents where the Nosewheel of the Airtourer was a major issue. In hot weather the Airtourer was no orphan with lack of activity on the VS!. I learnt to fly with Narrogin Flying Club that was still dealing with the tragic legacy of four women fatally perishing in a PA28 at Northam. Density Altitude was something we learnt to respect early on in on our training, and in someways appreciated ;earning in February/March. The most of amount of runway I observed being chewed up was a Mooney 201 being demonstrated at Narrogin in February at close to Gross. The then CFI Doug Dawson commented that was not an aircraft for club flying in the WA countryside.

Great to share time and experiences with you in both agriculture and aviation Ralph. Kicking clods around paddocks and being made to kick shoes off, to expose thankfully clean socks, for better rudder feedback in a memorable BFR in the C170!! Can we pre-order a copy of the autobiography please Ralph? It is remarkable for what you have experienced in 81 years in life and still be here to relate it. Your time in WHO, a Victa Airtourer 100 with its sparkling performance, must have been pretty good preparation for all your ag flying and tootling around the highlands of PNG. Travel well, and travel safely, and may you continue to rattle a few cages for a good while yet. You still can grow old disgracefully! PS. Did the impact of parting with the RV hit as hard as saying goodbye to the 170? PPS: You once intoning "don't you bastards get rid of you cultivators and plows" might ring true this year if we can't round up the Round Up!!

"Yes there's wide variation in the effect as the design varies," Nev "Each aircraft type behave differently, stall and spin entry": Roundsounds. Two sage gentlemen. both finding the same page of the the hymn book. In comparison. I can modestly claim intentional spinning in five aircraft, yet the outstanding facet is just how different the five aircraft are in a developed spin, and what worked for one aircraft would have called for the undertaker in another. The outstanding difference would have been in two de Havilland aircraft. Initially the Chippie, and a very experienced ex Army pilot Instructor intoning "until you understand the stall/spin characteristics we a'int going further". Learning overdrive. Thence onto the Tiger Moth. If ever you wanted the to nominate the aircraft with the definitive stall/spin I would put the Tiger at the top of the list. My instructor stated that he was convinced he heard laughter from back seat of the Tiger in the first spin. "Can we do it again?" After the de Havilland experience I was in the UK and was keen to experience a Beagle Pup. I have an hour in my logbook. Do I remember it: yes, but probably for not the most beneficial reasons. A Chippie type entry to get into an established spin, poor rudder authority for a prolonged recovery, and the forward stick transitioned promptly with our heads on the cockpit roof as it tucked under! The aircraft that I have most experience in spinning is the Airtourer, which creates it's own category, hard work to gain a crisp clear into it's entry, but rather than airspeed stable, it is an accellerating spin, hence the two turn limitiation. John O'Halloran, a former ARDU Test Pilot and recently retired Test Pilot of Cathay Pacific has an extensive article, with input from Henry Millicer , in the Airtourer Assciociation website of the Airtourer's handling characteristics Some Cessna products are cleared for spinning. Aerobats clearly, and some C150/172 conventials. Aerobat, maybe, pass on the rest. I have been flying for long enough to remember the departure from control of too many C150 engaged in mustering operations with tragic results. Sadly it is pilots with spin training that are too represented in spin accidents. That the late David Walker, a well credentialled CFI spun a Ryan in remains burned in my brain A fair proportion of aircraft today have very benign stall characteristics, which induces a comfort feeling approaching the stall. The first time I flew a Warrior 2 I turned to the Instructor and said:" you are not teaching people to fly in this are you"? My introduction to RAA flying was in a J160 and despite banging the stick back onto to the control stops we could not induce a nose drop. The early Cherokees would have a light in the middle of the panel light up, no aerodynamic warning, and you would pass the descending brick. I have always maintained that advanced stall/aerobatic experience is to alert the pilot that aerodynamic stress is approaching and do something about it smartly. Airspeed is life. What is it about, airspeed , altitude and brains, and two are necessary?

Sorry guys, but you have missed the apex of affordable aviation by about 40 years!! At the risk of being labelled an irrelevant old fart, the early 1980's marked the transition from encouragement to imposition. Next year will mark 40 years since the introduction of the BFR: "this is not a test, it is an opportunity to convince me you are safe to be let loose to commit aviation for the next two years"!! What benefit, how many downsides? At this point the bulk of pilots still had a green cardboard licence holder embossed with "Department of Civil Aviation" , the last time aviation had any clout around a parliamentary cabinet table. We could fly into a primary capital city airport, sans transponder, land, park without charge and exit the facility with a wave of our licence, and ASIC was not even something our imaginations would have never considered! This was before the Federal Airports Commission, when the Government owned all our major airports and generously allowed us to use them at no charge, until they had a brain storm and thought they could charge those who park aeroplanes at such facility money, and adorn the aircraft with nice stickers!! Then they had the bright idea that they could flog such assets to private enterprise and achieve an economic nirvana. Apparently warehouses are a better fit for aerodromes than aeroplanes!! In 1974 you could buy a new Cessna 172M for $17,000, four times the cost of a Holden Kingswood. The current automobile equivalent has improved incredibly in standards and comfort, compared with the same airframe possibly with a bit of glass, and certainly way beyond the four times cost multiple. Whilst those who fly in country locations have more chance at operating at affordable locations, the majority of Australia's population live in close proximity to our cities, with limited options to base aircraft at, and the money goes into a base and protection of the aircraft. rather than flying. As for my circumstances. Learnt to fly in 1973 at $18 an hour, purchased a Victa Airtourer for $3,500 in 1975, based it at the farm, hangared, and close to a couple of thousand hours logged. Could I replicate that experience today, or tomorrow. Impossible, sadly!

One of the first projects that Henry Millicer worked on after his arrival in Australia. 1952 saw his submission of the Airtourer design to the competition run by the UK Royal Aero Club to promote a replacement for the Tiger Moth. Quite a contrast, work on the Jindivik by day and design the Airtourer in his spare time!!

The pictured Tomtit based at Old Warden was for a few years during the 1940's owned by Alex Henshaw, who used it as a general runabout. In his autobiography "Sigh for a Merlin" there is a chapter "Requiem for a Tomtit". Its connection with Alex ended abruptly, when after a long day flight testing Spitfires produced at Castle Bromwich he was going to sneak home just beating last light. Unfortunately a new Spitfire had been placed on the grass which was his commonly used take off path. The ensuing Tomtit versus Spitfire collision did a fair amount of damage to both aircraft and pilot. Great to see one still airworthy, and even better having the Henshaw connection, and sharing the Old Warden base with the Mew Gull XF.

Likewise saw it at Old Warden in 1976 when they were putting enough of the pieces together to make a static display of it. During the weekdays you could walk through the hangars and talk freely to the volunteer workers. Whilst reassembling the Comet the discussion was to whether it would ever be airworthy again, given the issues that arose to ground so many wooden construction aircraft in the 1960's. It is fantastic to see it in the sky again. Once we overcome the COVID issues and we can travel again, I look forward to another Biggleswade visit, and particularly to see Alex Henshaw's Mew Gull XF and his Tomtit.

To me, aerobatic flying represents the apex of my flying experiences, but I probably don't represent the norm of the average pilot. The percentage that of pilots that happily engage indulging inverted flight leaves us in a small minority, which establishes its own balance. My introduction to aerobatic flight, nearly 50 years ago, occurred at our local aero club's Xmas function, just after I had gone solo in a venerable C172. We had a great "gatekeeper" as a member, as welcoming and inclusive as you can get, who invited me for a fly in his Victa Airtourer. Arthur had a well established reputation for his aerobatic skills, but I still accepted the invitation. We launched off in the Airtourer and I had a leisurely 20 minute introduction to the Airtourer, being quite taken with it crisp handling after the Cessna experience. We steadily gained some altitude and from the left seat came: "I reckon I can teach you an aileron roll in two minutes"!! One quick briefing, one demonstrated roll, next one following through with fingers on the spade handle followed by the next one being mine. 120 seconds had not elapsed. What a positive experience. As gentle as, no stress or discomfort and I had a huge smile on my face. I ended up buying that Airtourer 16 months later when Arthur sold it to buy another Airtourer. The only sour note came from my flying instructor who was far from enamoured of his student being so happy with the experience. Once I had about 40 hours on the Airtourer I explored what options were available for gaining an aerobatic rating. My good fortune was that John Douglas, the then CFI of the Royal Aero Club of WA, who learnt to fly on Airtourers in NZ was happy to instruct me. John used to bring his lunch along and devour it while we were ascending to 4000'. We would engage in about 30 minutes of instruction, and once the lesson was concluded it was John's aircraft as we aerobatted vigorously to 1500'. What an experience to observe your aircraft seemlessly flowing from one manoeuvre to the next, with the controls just being caressed by an instructor of the highest order. My memory winces when I recall that in 1975 dollars I parted with $35 for John's instruction. No better value have I ever received. "Go back home and just enjoy you rating" intoned John, followed by firm advice to respect the 3000' insurance policy. And that's what I did for the next 11 years, as well as flying some aeros in a Chippie, Tiger Moth, Fuji and Beagle Pup. I got conned by a fellow Airtourer mate to attend, as a visitor, a monthly Aerobatic comp. at RACWA in 1986. Nett result was both of us in his 115 Airtourer, with me looking at the sequence on the climb up and trying to commit it to memory. To the surprise of all, probably more so to me, I got a placing, and heaps of encouragement to continue. I gained a lot of satisfaction from that flying, but it certainly differed from leisure aerobatics. Taking a 100 Airtourer into competitions is a bit like tackling Bathurst in a Cooper S! Whilst my experience has been very positive, I am also mindful of the many pitfalls that have arisen with aerobatic flight. There are way too many variables that can detract from the experience. If your instincts don't feel right, get to clear air or safe and firm ground. There is also a risk factor, which should not be understated. Safety is no accident. The two pilots I know who have died came from avoidable incidents. When I make my last log book entry I know it contains the record of many hours happily aerobatting.

Sadly it was our Kiwi cousins who gave us a lesson on what the Airtourer, and it's big brother the Aircruiser, could have become it had been retained in Australia. The T5 and T6 variants balanced performance and handling. Interestingly many 100 hp Airtourers bingled in NZ resurfaced as T3s, with the Rolls Royce 0-240 130 hp, retaining the balance of the 100, yet with a bit more grunt. I did have the pleasure of flying PMC before it was parked in a Jarrah forest East of Perth, and considered it retained the 100s handling, but was on a substantial dose of steroids! I have heard a number of very experienced pilots state that the 100 is the nicest variant to fly, yet poorly equipped to take advantage of its characteristics. John O'Halloran, as a then RAAF ARDU Test Pilot flew my 100 34 years ago and stated that he appreciated and enjoyed flying an Airtourer in Henry's original guise. Now retired from RAAF and Cathay Pacific Test Pilot roles he still enjoys flying his aeroplane of choice, an AESL Super Airtourer . As Australians probably one of our most lamentable experiences was to buy CT4s, developed from the Aircruiser, as a trainer for the RAAF. How did we let that one go? The Aircruiser did return to Australia in 1978, into the hands of then Airtourer Association President Sonny Rankin. Macarthur Job flew and reviewed the aircraft after it returned and postulated what it's potential might have been as a four seater in parallel with the Airtourer. In aircraft production the Airtourer represents less than a decade in over a century of Australian aviation activity, yet briefly demonstrated some of our potential, probably highlights some shortcomings of developing potential, yet still has around 90 airwothy aircraft providing joy to those that fly them.