Anyone Know Ag Pilot Rod Venables?

[sdbeck]

Anyone know this ag pilot who flew PL-12 Airtruks? Thanks S D Beck.

 

 

[TAA Student Pilot]

Rod used to fly from Tumut, he flew his aircraft for the Mad Max scenes. His machine was painted up as was another that was used for the close shots, from memeory it was hung from the roof of a Bankstown hanger. I think Rods machine was EVY. Rod flew Beavers for years for Aerial Agriculture before setting up on his own flying the Airtruck. Last I heard he was going well living in the hills from Tumut and hasn't flown for mebe 15 or so years.

 

 

[sdbeck]

Thanks so much for the EVY rego. further searching has proven you correct!

 

Did Rod also own the other machine used - was this one a derelict / non-flying?

 

 

[TAA Student Pilot]

No I think the production company bought the static one and has since been given/sold to a collection somewhere. Vagely remember that it could be in Bankstown? They claim that this was the aircraft flown in the movie but that is incorrect. EVY was repainted after the movie as part of the hire/rent deal.

 

 

[sdbeck]

I wonder if the static one was VH-IVH as this crashed before filming. It flew again later but was written off in another accident in 1988.

 

Don't know what happened to it after that. It was registered to Kennedy-Miller in 1984. The film's helicopter pilot, Terry Lee told me

 

he watched it flip over while landing.

 

 

[TAA Student Pilot]

That rego rings a bell, from the long foggy past I thought it had a similar rego. Why the interest in the chook roost? There are still a couple flying, mebe one in Tassie and two mainland?

 

 

[sdbeck]

Firstly, I'm putting together a production list of all 118 PL-12 airframes.

 

Also, I don't know if anyone else is interested, but I'm writing a book on 'Hollywood Aviation Films'

 

which also includes Australian films, MM3 being significant for the Airtruk of course. Theres also

 

entries for Chopper Squad, The Flying Doctors, Mad Max 2, Smithy, Sky Pirates and Tail of a Tiger.

 

 

[sixtiesrelic]

There are bits of one at the Caloundra Air Museum.

 

 

[sdbeck]

That one I believe is VH-HSB but I don't know its history?

 

 

[jeanette wiseman]

Yeah, I got to fly in the Air Truck with Rod back in the 80's, not long after Mad Max. A friend of mine was doing crop dusting with him and I went along for the ride.

 

 

[sdbeck]

jeanette, nice story, the Airtruks a cool plane. Rod lives in the bush now I've been told, no phone or internet I understand.

 

 

[coljones]

Q1 does anyone know where cropduster pilot Paul Bruton is these days

 

Q2 Are there any Airtruks around Sydney?

 

 

[sdbeck]

Try googling 'Hazair' and talk to Stephen Death at this site, he might know this pilot.

 

Theres an Airtruk on display at the Powerhouse Museum - the original prototype.

 

Bankstown also has an Airtruk but its a replica only.

 

SBeck