Aircraft I.d.

[willedoo]

Just curious, I came across this photo on a foreign website & was wondering if anyone knew any information about it. The caption was ' Light aircraft abandoned in the outback'. That's all I know about it.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

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[red750]

I'd say it's a Cessna 320, but don't know any other details.

 

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[willedoo]

I'd say it's a Cessna 320, but don't know any other details.

Certainly looks like it Peter, thanks. The country in the background doesn't give any clues, could be a lot of places.

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[siznaudin]

Certainly looks like it Peter, thanks. The country in the background doesn't give any clues, could be a lot of places.Cheers, Willie.

Is it just my imagination, or is that spinifex I see there...?

 

 

[willedoo]

Is it just my imagination, or is that spinifex I see there...?

Sure is , Geoff. Makes a man almost homesick, I sort of miss the sandstorms, 50+ degree heat & the flies. Well, maybe not just yet.

I've been trying to spot some vegetation that might tie it to a general region, but it looks fairly generic. The shrubs behind the wreck look like acacias or needlewood, could be SW Qld or SA, but there's a lot of red sandhill country in WA as well. You'ld think someone would have left a signpost on the ground at least.

 

I suppose it either came down where it's lying, or its part of a more extensive station dump / boneyard. The only real clue is the colour scheme & what looks like a 'G' on the tail.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[willedoo]

Might be getting off the track a bit, but I came across this collection of photos while looking for clues on the wrecked a/c in the oiginal post.

 

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=495001

 

There's some nice photos of outback ruins & some WW2 wrecked aircraft on page 2.

 

 

[Guest DWB]

Some great pics & stories in that link Will - Thanks

 

 

[cficare]

http://www.gearthhacks.com/dlcat106/Aircraft---Wrecks.htm

[willedoo]

http://www.gearthhacks.com/dlcat106/Aircraft---Wrecks.htm

Thanks for the link, cficare, very interesting. Nothing like a bit of good old aviation archaeology.

 

I've been looking on Google Earth for an abandoned Il-76 in Afghanistan for a long time without success, like finding a needle in a haystack. Location is the problem, all I know is that the strip is/was in the south.

 

As the story goes, in the early days of the invasion, the U.S. military were planing an airfield site in southern Afghanistan and needed to fly in a large generator. The job was priced at between sixty and seventy thousand dollars and no one would touch it because it was an unprepared airfield with no fuel for the return trip, in an area mostly under hostile control. One day the charter agent got a phone call from an independent Il-76 crew offering to do it for two million dollars in advance. By this time, the Americans had no choice, so they paid the money.

 

And right on time, the ex Soviet crew flew in, unloaded the generator and sat down in the shade. As the Americans were wondering how they were going to fly out again, a mini bus driven by an Afghan pulled up in a cloud of dust and the Russian airmen piled in the back. As they were about to leave, the Yanks said, " Hey, how will you get the plane back? " The crew replied, " We won't. It's an old one we bought for the job and we're ditching it here."

 

Apparently it cost them half a million dollars and they patched it up just enough to get there, then walked off with close to one and a half million dollars profit.

 

It's supposed to be still there, but trying to track down any reference to it's whereabouts has been a bit fruitless so far.

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[cficare]

almost worth a dedicated thread where we can exchange links and rumours about abandoned a/c....years ago there was a rumour that there was a mustang sitting in a barn in the outback......turned out to be true!

 

 

[siznaudin]

almost worth a dedicated thread where we can exchange links and rumours about abandoned a/c....years ago there was a rumour that there was a mustang sitting in a barn in the outback......turned out to be true!

Is the "Outback Mustang in a barn" reference inserted here as a rumour or as a rumour about a rumour?

In other words ... could we have more information please - :confused:

 

 

[Guest DWB]

I know of a CAB Wasp hanging in a farm shed that was bought new way back when they were first made in Gunnedah (He bought it at Ag-Quip). The owner (a glider pilot at the time) told me he got it a few feet off the ground then landed scaring the bejeezuz out of him. It has never flown since. Not a rumour. Might see if I can get a pic of it.

 

EDIT: A bit off topic I know

 

 

[Spin]

Is the "Outback Mustang in a barn" reference inserted here as a rumour or as a rumour about a rumour?In other words ... could we have more information please - :confused:

Yeah cfi, pray tell....? Only one I ever heard of, turned out to be a mock up put together by some over enthusiastic outback mechanic - I have a photo somewhere in my archives, will see if I can find it. From memory the story was thrashed out on the prune quite some time ago.

 

 

[siznaudin]

Yeah cfi, pray tell....? Only one I ever heard of, turned out to be a mock up put together by some over enthusiastic outback mechanic - I have a photo somewhere in my archives, will see if I can find it. From memory the story was thrashed out on the prune quite some time ago.

Indeed it was: it was up at Burra, Sth Aus.

from a distance it looked fairly convincing, but up closer 'twas a different matter altogether.

 

And, BTW .. 'tweren't in a shed - 'twere out in the open.

 

 

[willedoo]

There's a photo of the mock up Mustang here, not a very good resolution:

 

http://theaussieaviator.net/threads/outback-mustang.33006/

 

Cheers, Willie.

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Here you go :)

 

http://www.exploroz.com/Members/5605.875/9/2009/Anne_Beadell_Highway.aspx

 

 

[siznaudin]

Well done, Darren ... now I can sleep a little easier! BTW - just how'd you manage to find that one?

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Well done, Darren ... now I can sleep a little easier! BTW - just how'd you manage to find that one?

I saw it somewhere years ago or remembered reading about it. I Googled (I think) 'Cessna outback crash' then clicked images and there it was.

 

 

[willedoo]

Good bit of detective work, Darren, another one solved. After reading your link on the Anne Beadell Highway, I found the original post photo on Wikipedia with the co-ordinates. Unfortunately the resolution on Google Earth is not good.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Beadell_Highway

 

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Cheers, Willie.

 

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