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Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
Vol. 16/06
How many RAAF black handers does it take to change a couple of spark plugs on a Lockheed Hudson?
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 2
Table of Contents From the Editors Desk ............................................................................................................................. 3
Membership Matters .............................................................................................................................. 3
QVAG – a Virtual Organisation ................................................................................................................ 3
The forthcoming Brisbane Valley Airshow .............................................................................................. 4
Gatton Airpark Grass Roots Fly-in a Great Success ................................................................................. 5
Kingaroy Grass Roots Fly-away – September 16/17 2016 .................................................................... 10
Murwillumbah Grass Roots Fly-in – November 2016 ........................................................................... 12
A Few Quick Facts about the RAAF Tiger Moths ................................................................................... 13
Ray Vuillermin’s Tiger has an Interesting Past ...................................................................................... 16
New Members Doug and Lorraine Stott own a Victa ........................................................................... 17
Adam Cramb’s Stinson HW-75 .............................................................................................................. 18
Steve Newing’s Fairchild 24 and Great Lakes Biplane .......................................................................... 18
RAAF at Temora during WW2 ............................................................................................................... 19
These Tiger Moths were at Temora .................................................................................................. 25
Disclaimer.............................................................................................................................................. 29
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 3
From the Editors Desk Well this edition of AVAN makes six so far this year not a bad effort I hope that I can write another 2-
3 editions before the end of the year.
The Grass Roots Fly-ins concept seems to be popular and not too hard to organise. Next year we
hope to have ones at Caloundra, Kilcoy, Gatton, Boonah and Murwillumbah and maybe a couple
more maybe Toowoomba and Warwick and Gympie would be good places to hold them as well.
Because we have embraced the concept that “Small is Beautiful”” when it comes to fly-ins; they are
not hard to organise. If you have a place in mind to organise a “Pop-up Grass Roots Fly-in” and are
prepared to host a morning tea in your hangar then drop us an email at: secretary@qvag.org
How about contributing a bit of news for AVAN so we can share the story around; or if you are
ambitious write a longer article.
Membership Matters As President of QVAG I have to have a focus on membership. I am glad to report that our
Membership Officer Jan had the membership renewal notices out very early in the new financial
year and the response has been great with a majority of the members paying their membership fees
very quickly – Thank You!
HOWEVER – there are a few of you yet to renew your membership. Receipt of this journal is one of
the privileges of membership, but receipt of it is not an indication you are a current financial
member. We email it out to members, prospective members and some past members we are trying
to get to re-join QVAG.
If you didn’t receive a membership renewal notice please download the membership form from the
QVAG web site via the following link http://qvag.org/pdf/QVAG%20Membership%20Form.pdf
I have attached a membership form on the email that included this journal just to make it more
convenient. If you are currently an un-financial member then you can get the payment details off the
bottom of the form. If you are a financial member use the form to sign up a new member or update
our records by filling it out for yourself and emailing it in.
QVAG – a Virtual Organisation A organisation such as ours needs to have a low cost operating strategy and modern ICT
(Information and Communication Technology) is making our job a lot easier. In many respects our
group has many of the characteristics of a virtual organisation.
The definition for a virtual organisation is:
A virtual organization or company is one whose members are geographically apart, usually working
by computer email and groupware while appearing to others to be a single, unified organization with
a real physical location.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 4
The forthcoming Brisbane Valley Airshow
I know this airshow seems to be the best kept aviation secret at the moment however I am assured
by the organisers that the publicity will start soon. Help ensure it’s a success by passing the word
around.
This will be the first ever airshow at Watts Bridge and represents the realisation of a 30 year old
dream. When we designed the airfield back in the mid-1980s we wanted the ability to be able to
hold an airshow and the buildings were all set back to give the necessary safety clearances we
allocated precincts for off-street car parking and a host of other smaller things that make a good
airshow venue.
What have been missing to this point in time have been the guts to take on such a huge undertaking.
We complement those who put their lives on hold to organise the event.
QVAG has a small band of willing workers who do most of the work at the moment and every now
and then we need an extra hand. QVAG is looking for extra help to run the QVAG Café stall at the
airshow. It’s not hard work to give a hand for an hour or so. QVAG needs to have money to run the
organisation so a good profit will be very valuable in promoting the organisation.
On behalf of the air show organisers we are seeking volunteers who can help out with the running of
the airshow. They are looking for airside and ground side volunteers.
If you can help for a short with either the QVAG café or the a marshal at airshow while please send
an email to president@qvag.org
Are you planning to fly-in to the Brisbane Valley Airshow? If so please send us an email telling us the
aeroplane type. We are interested in having a good representation of vintage aeroplanes at the
show and are curious as to what we may see. Please email president@qvag.org
The URL to the airshow is: http://brisbanevalleyairshow.com.au/
Just reminder aircraft arrivals at the airshow are subject to a compulsory fee of $5.00. This fee
entitles up to 4 people access to the airshow. Additional guests will be charged the normal entry fee
at the advertised rates. Four people for $5 is cheap so don’t let that put you off!
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 5
Gatton Airpark Grass Roots Fly-in a Great Success The recent grass roots fly-in was an extremely friendly and enjoyable affair. As is often the case with
aviation events, weather played a part in reducing the number of attendees at this fly-in. As can be
seen from the photographs, the sky was blue; the temperature was warm; HOWEVER the wind was
so strong that it would blow the feathers off a duck. The wind was gusty and that allowed for some
periods of lower wind speed that allowed aeroplanes to land.
QVAG members (left to right) Guy Kendall, Steve Newing, Phil Ridley and Noel Branch
We would like to thank those members and supporters who had planned to attend however were
put off (correctly) by the Amberley TAF wind forecast.
Having said that; we did have a good number of members’ fly-in or drive-in to the including new
members Doug and Lorraine Stott. Welcome to QVAG/AFM Doug and Lorraine.
Lots of jaw-boning went on about old aeroplanes and our host Steve’s Great Lakes Biplane Project
and his Fairchild Argus. Bill Finlen’s arrival overhead in his Tiger Moth bought the crowd outside the
hangar to watch Bill’s cross wind landing. There was a pretty strong crosswind and Tigers Moths are
not noted for great cross wind handling characteristics on landing. True to form Bill made a great
landing without any great difficulty.
Apart from QVAG members there were a number of Steve’s aviation friends from the airpark and the
Gatton District. It was great to have them in attendance because the common interest in aviation
soon meant that conversations were started and enjoyed.
Guy Kendell in his Cessna C185 was the first to arrive followed not long after by Warwick Henry.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 6
Image above: Left to right In the foreground are Kathy Williams, Jan Stenhouse, Alan Kirwin, Laureen Kirwin, Pam Branch
and Beate Newing. In the background are Guy Kendell, Noel Branch and Phil Ridley.
Image above: QVAG Member Warwick Henry flew to the fly-in from Kilcoy airfield in his magnificent Stinson L5 with Drum
McKenzie as passenger.
There is absolutely no doubt that Warwick Henry’s Stinson L5 VH-CRO is a great looking and well
maintained aeroplane. I wonder if the large fin helps in the Stinson’s cross wind landing
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 7
characteristics. The military configuration as a military aerial ambulance adds to the appeal of this
particular aeroplane.
QVAG's newest members Doug and Lorraine Stott flew into the fly-in from Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield in a very nice
Victa 100-1A
Doug is quite proud of his Victa and quite rightly so; it is a nicely presented aeroplane with a very
attractive colour scheme. This is not Doug and Lorraine’s only aeroplane; they also have a Piper
Super Cub PA-18 which is down at Broken Hill undergoing restoration.
The Cub has been recovered and the finish coats applied. It’s close to being back in the air and just
needs one more burst of activity.
Member Bill Finlen gets assistance from fellow fly-in attendees in positioning his Tiger Moth VH-UYE out of the strong
wind. UYE is an extremely attractive Tiger Moth.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 8
Image above: Member Steve Newing's almost complete Great Lakes Biplane. Steve said at he likes the art deco style and
that greatly influenced him in choosing the colour schemes for his two aeroplanes.
Steve like a number of QVAG/AFM members has a strong interest in vintage aeroplane restoration
and the two images on this page are good examples of his great interest.
Image above: Member and host of the fly-in Steve Newing's Fairchild Argus VH-CMB. This is a really great looking
aeroplane. Steve was overheard saying the restoration consumed six years of his life.
Gatton Air Park covers quite a large area and is a very impressive development. Worth a look if you
are looking to be located close to a large country town with a university close by. The houses are
conventional in design with a separate hangar. I was very impressed; the only drawback I can see is
the single runway which often is subject to cross winds.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 9
Image above: QVAG members Doug Stott, Noel Branch, Guy Kendell and Phil Ridley caught enjoying the sun in front of
Guy's Cessna C185 VH-WGN.
Image above: Bill Finlen in VH-UYE shortly after arrival at Gatton Air Park. I am not surprised at Bills arrival, all the Moth
(Tiger, Gipsy and Leopard) flying at Boonah with its cross winds has been giving Bill lots of practice
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 10
Kingaroy Grass Roots Fly-away – September 16/17 2016 Last year Mal Shipton suggested that QVAG members might like to hold a “Piggy Back” fly-away to
Kingaroy. At that time his son Mark was scoping an event at Kingaroy for the Formation Flying Clinic
for the Australian Warbirds movement.
This seemed like a good candidate for a “grass Roots” event where the emphasis is on people talking
to each other and getting to make new friends. Big is not beautiful at a grass root event.
As an added attraction Mark set
the date to coincide with an
exhibition being held by the
Kingaroy Machinery Club. The
venue for that event is in the
grounds of a paddock
immediately adjacent the
airfield.
The committee decided that we
should try an overnight fly-
away where it was possible for
those who choose to do so
could just attend for a single
day.
Mark was planning to hold
something in his hangar on the
Saturday night so that offered
the opportunity to have a chat
amongst friends.
Kingaroy airfield is an
interesting airfield in that it was
used during WW2 and a
number of the WW2 era
buildings still exist. The
URL to a web site detailing
some of that WW2 history is: http://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/places/?id=839
Kingaroy was an active gliding club and the airfield has two runways 16/34 (4249 ft.) and the second
is 05/23 (4275 ft.) so cross winds aren’t a problem. The link to the AIP page for Kingaroy is
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip/current/ersa/FAC_YKRY_03-Mar-2016.pdf
As can be seen from the AIP page 16/34 is a sealed runway with a grass glider strip beside it. 05/23 is
an unsealed strip.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 11
Kingaroy Airport
To get a local weather report go to this site:
https://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=kingaroy
Remember these reports come from a private weather station and are not a substitute for an official
aviation weather report.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 12
Murwillumbah Grass Roots Fly-in – November 2016 It’s been quite a while since QVAG ventured to Murwillumbah for a fly-in. In the early days
Murwillumbah used to be the BIG ONE, the one that shouldn’t be missed. Well here we are again
and off to Murwillumbah. Not a big fly-in this time but a small one where we all have a chat and a
chance to talk to the Challinor Bros about projects going thru Mothcair.
What the QVAG management committee hopes is that some of the vintage aeroplane owners form
northern NSW attend the fly-in. We know many of them already however it would be great to meet
them again and catch up on what has happened in the past few years.
More details airfield can be obtained by downloading the PDF via the link below.
http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/Download.aspx?Path=~/Documents/Airfield/TSC00473_Murwillumb
ah_Airfield_Pilot_Notes.pdf
To get indication of the weather go to (remember these are not aviation weather reports):
https://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=murwillumbah
We will publish more info on this fly-in in the next edition of AVAN.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 13
A Few Quick Facts about the RAAF Tiger Moths The RAAF operated 861 Tiger Moths of which 712 were built at Bankstown, NSW by De Havilland
aircraft Pty Ltd
Image above: Unknown tiger moth outside De Havilland’s hangar at Bankstown - photo taken 1940
The RAAF received its first
Tiger Moth in May 1940
and the last day for Tiger
Moths in the RAAF was 9th
January 1957.
The last ten De Havilland
Tiger Moth trainers in
service with the RAAF were
flown in a group from Point
Cook to Tocumwal, on the
Murray River, where they
were to be put up for sale
to private owners.
Australia's air force had
been the first in the world to adopt the Moth type for training purposes. The RAAF purchased its first
Gypsy Moths in 1927, before even the RAF acquired them
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 14
Image below: A great photo showing the wings from Tiger Moth A17-606 in the foreground with
Mosquitos being built at the De Havilland Factory at Bankstown.
Image below: Another photo of A17-606 being constructed at Bankstown.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 15
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 16
Ray Vuillermin’s Tiger has an Interesting Past During WW2 38 Tiger Moths were gifted by various groups and organisations to the RAAF. One of
the most prolific donors was the Queensland based “Round Table Club Appeal”. The Round Table
Movement was founded in 1909 and was an association promoting closer union between Great
Britain and its then self-governing colonies; Australia amongst them.
In Queensland, under the chairmanship of Doctor W. G. Goddard, the listeners of Radio Station 4BC
donated 20 Tiger Moths.1
QVAG member Ray Vuillermin’s Tiger Moth VH-RVE was one of the Tigers donated by the group
above.
Image Above: VH-RVE at Boonah at Bill Finlen's De Havilland Fly-in - April 2015 (photo by Ross Stenhouse)
VH-RVE was A17-617 when in the RAAF. This is an interesting aeroplane because it was with 5 SQN
when in RAAF service and amongst other airfields it operated at Watts Bridge, Toowoomba and
Kingaroy.
In RAAF service it is likely
A17-617 was painted in the
same colour scheme as A17-
616 shown on the left.
1 http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/newsletter/ADF%20Telegraph%202015%20Spring%20Vers%20Fin.pdf
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 17
New Members Doug and Lorraine Stott own a Victa Author and photographs: Doug Stott
VH-CTM was built by Victa in 1964 and I became the proud owner of the Victa in 1974. It started life
with Civil Flying School at Moorabbin as CFM but that was changed around 1967 as DCA went to
computer for the rego data.
In 1977 I converted the engine from the Continental 0-200 100hp to a Lycoming IO-320B1A 160hp
from a Twin Comanche with a Hartzell constant speed prop. The performance is the main obvious
difference and in particular the take-off and climb as it no longer requires the curvature of the earth
to gain altitude..!
The cruise speed of VH-CTM is now about 120kt TAS and the fuel burn is 30 litres/hour.
QVAD-AFM welcomes Doug and Lorraine to our ranks. We welcome the classic 52 year old Victa and
hope to see it, Doug and Lorraine at many future QVAG events.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 18
Adam Cramb’s Stinson HW-75
A very long-term restoration is now approaching completion after being underway for literally decades. This Stinson
HW-75 VH-ACX (c/n 7078), is an example of the pre-war three-seat Voyager and this example was one of two to
arrive in Australia in November 1939. This aircraft was stored through the war years, and then after a brief career,
was damaged in 1952 and has not flown since. Acquired by one of QVAG's earliest members, Marcus Casalegno of
Grantham in the 1960s, some work was done over many years before it was eventually sold to Adam Cramb of
Blackwater.
Sadly, Marcus passed away recently, having never seen the Stinson fly, however he had been pleased to note the
progress made by Adam on this rare, nearly finished classic! With the original call-sign unavailable, it will fly again as
VH-UCZ.
Steve Newing’s Fairchild 24 and Great Lakes Biplane
At Gatton Air Park west of Brisbane, Queensland, Steve Newing has returned his lovely Fairchild F-24W, VH-CMB to
flying condition after a long refurbishment. Steve previously flew the aircraft for many years in a pseudo military
colour scheme, even appearing on the cover of Classic Wings in Issue #11 in 1997. Like most Australian Fairchilds,
this one was a U.S. lend-lease aircraft supplied to the RAF where it served as a communications aircraft during WW-
II, becoming a civilian aircraft in Australia after the war. A big fan of Warner radials, Steve now has a second, this one
going into his Great Lakes 2T1A restoration. Imported from the USA as a project, this aircraft, has now enjoyed an
extensive rebuild and is nearing completion as VH-UYB, one of five Great Lakes biplanes in Australia.
Thanks to QVAG Life Member Graham Orphan for the above two articles and pictures.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 19
RAAF at Temora during WW2 When looking for another article to write for this journal, I came across the idea of researching the
town where my Tiger Moth (VH-JRS A17-300) was based during WW2. I knew that it spent most of
its service life at Temora and thus I had a personal interest in the airfield.
When I decide to write an article I do an extensive literature review to see how much information
had already been published and how much data was available relating to my proposed topic. I knew
that it had been the home of 10 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) and that 10 EFTS had been
a very large establishment during WW2.
Image Above: Aerial photo of 10 EFTS at Temora showing the hangars and accommodation huts. There are sixty sever
Tiger Moth aeroplanes on display. The photo was taken 5th
October 1945.Photo by Ted Hood.
In Australia at the beginning of WW2 there were less than 100 aeroplanes, most of which were
obsolete. Further there were very few pilots and mechanics with the necessary range of skills that
would be required to fight a war where aviation was to play such a large and significant part.
The establishment of the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) in Australia and the establishment of
the various flying schools gave us a system that took in approximately 1000 new trainees every four
weeks. This quickly alleviated the shortage of pilots, observers, wireless operators and gunners. The
RAAF was responsible for supplying approximately 9 per cent of all aircrew used by the Royal Air
Force (RAF).
If you were to be trained as a pilot, the first step was basic flying training at an EFTS to see if you
were suitable. This was followed by further intermediate and advanced training at a Service Flying
Training School (SFTS).
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 20
The role of these EFTS units was to provide a twelve-week introductory flying course to personnel
who had graduated from one of the RAAF's initial training schools. Flying training was undertaken in
two stages; the first involved four weeks of instruction (including ten hours of flying), which were
used to determine trainees' suitability to become pilots. Those that passed this grading process then
received a further eight weeks of training (including 65 hours of flying) at the elementary training
school
When I was researching the material for this article at the National Archives web site and used the
crash reports to try and identify the Tiger Moths at 10 EFTS Temora I saw that crashes were a
relatively common thing and a quite a number of instructors and trainee pilots were killed. 740
aircraft were lost during RAAF training accidents during WW2 in Australia.2
It makes for reflective reading when going through these reports and thinking about all the
excitement generated by learning to fly and going “first solo”. It was era of time that can never be
repeated.
There were a various aeroplane types used for elementary flying training by the RAAF; included
amongst there were Tiger Moths, a few Gipsy Moths and CAC Wacketts. The Wacketts suffered from
serviceability issues and after a year of so were withdrawn from EFTS duty. The main training aircraft
rapidly became the DH-82a Tiger Moth.
The war in Europe and then the Pacific led to a rapid escalation in the requirement for trained pilots
led to the establishment of EFTSs and SFTSs. The RAAF had 12 of EFTS’s and there were as follows:
1 EFTS – Parafield SA, 2 EFTS – Archerfield Qld, 3 EFTS – Essendon Vic, 4 EFTS – Mascot NSW, 5 EFTS
– Narromine, 6 EFTS – Tamworth NSW, 7 EFTS – Western Junction Tasmania, 8 EFTS – Narrandera, 9
EFTS – Cunderdin WA, 10EFTS – Temora, 11 EFTS – Benalla, Vic, and 12 EFTS – Bundaberg Qld.
There were 8 SFTS’s and they were as follows:
No 1 SFTS – Point Cook Vic, No 2 SFTS - Forrest Hill NSW, No 3 SFTS – Amberley Qld, No 4 SFTS –
Geraldton WA, No 5 SFTS – Uranquinty NSW, No 6 SFTS – Mallala SA, No 7 SFTS – Deniliquin, NSW
and No 6 SFTS – Bundaberg Qld.
2
https://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/archaeology/department/publications/MAMARS/MAMS%20PDF/1%20ford%20final.pdf
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 21
Under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) it was not just EFTS and SFTS that were established
other schools were:
Air Observers Schools (AOS)
Air Navigation Schools (ANS)
Bombing and Gunnery Schools (BAGS)
Initial Training Schools (ITS)
Wireless Air Gunners School (WAGS)
Air Gunnery School (AGS)
Central Gunnery School (CGS)
Armament Training Station (ATS)
Central Flying School (CFS)
General Reconnaissance School (GRS)
Operational Training Units (OTU)
Operational Conversion Unit (OCU)
Prior to the establishment of EATS the RAAF trained about 50 pilots a year.
The author has been good friends with Noel Branch, the owner of VH-BAV (A17-634) since 1976 and
whilst undertaking the research for this article the author finds that his Tiger Moth VH-JRS (A17-300)
was at the same EFTS as Noel’s Tiger. What a pleasant co-incidence and the photo of VH-BAV was
taken from VH-JRS in 1992. It is a frame grab from a video that was being shot at the time. It is
available on youtube - the URL is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Ora5_pF9k
Image above: VH-BAV (A17-634) Image above: VH-JRS (A17-300)
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 22
Temora was first looked at as a site in the Riverina NSW for a RAAF flying school in 1938 and the
results of that search for a site led to the township of Wagga being chosen.
The school was established in May 1941 and
during WW2 more than 10,000 personnel were
involved at the school.3 The first C.O. of 10 EFTS
was Squadron Leader C. H. Simpson and the Officers Mess’s Inaugural Dinner was reported in the
local newspaper “The Daily Advertiser “published June 3 1941
The unit provided initial flight training for 2527 graduates and, in August 1944, had reputed to have
had 97 Tiger Moth aircraft on strength4.
10 EFTS ceased operations on 12 March 1946 making it the last WW2 flying school to close.
Officially the start of the RAAF stay at Temora started on 13 January 1941 when the agreement for
the occupation commenced as shown in the copy of the letter shown on the left.
3 http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/history/
4 http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/research/bases/temora.htm
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 23
Image above: Flying a Tiger Moth during winter at Temora can be cold. I wish I had one of these winter flying suits.
This is what the well-dressed Tiger Moth pilot dressed like during
WW2 and is how I see myself. When I look in the mirror I realise
that I don’t look like that at all!
Mirrors can be so cruel……
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 24
Photo above: Zig-zag air raid trenches at the south western end of the Temora base.
Photo above: Link Trainer flight simulator, RAAF No. A13-34.at one time was at 10 EFTS.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 25
These Tiger Moths were at Temora The table below is by no means a definitive list however I have done a lot of research of the
Australian National Archives to come up with the data. There are 117 aircraft in the list below. I
suspect that I have missed a few and would like to hear from anyone who has additional information
about aeroplanes that were at Temora during the WW2 days and in the few years after. In the table
below I have tried to enter the current VH registered aeroplanes. I may have missed a few so if you
know of others please let me know at president@qvag.org
Above image: VH-SEC formally VH-BXH and before that VH-AXH and when the RAAF at Temora it was A17-188. Photo by
Phil Vabre.
A17-22 A17-319 A17-431 A17-454 A17-703 A17-762
A17-77 A17-323 A17-432 A17-458 A17-705 N6906
A17-146 A17- 324 A17-433 A17-460 A17-707 N9266
A17-167 A17-326 A17-434 VH-IHU A17-461 A17-722 R-4889
A17-170 VH-ASB A17-328 A17-435 A17-362 VH-LRB A17-723 T5412
A17-179 VH-ALP A17-329 A17-437 VH-AJA A17-470 A17-725 T5525
A17-188 VH-SEC A17-332 A17-438 A17-478 A17-726 VH-BIJ T5526
A17-241 VH-GLG A17-372 A17-439 A17-479 A17-727 T5530
A17-249 A17-375 A17-440 A17-484 VH-BGG A17-728 T5531 VH-CXV
A17-280 A17-376 A17-441 VH-ASB A17-491 A17-729
A17-284 A17-379 A17-442 A17-496 A17-730
A17-300 VH-JRS A17-383 A17-443 A17-498 A17-733
A17-304 A17-391 A17-444 A17-499 VH-KNX A17-734 VH-SAC
A17-309 A17-396 A17-445 A17-551 VH-CYA A17-744 VH-BTP
A17-310 A17-398 A17-447 A17-627 A17-748 VH-ADW
A17-311 A17-400 A17-448 VH-ATM A17-632 A17-749
A17-312 VH-APN A17-401 A17-449 A17-634 VH-BAV A17-752
A17-313 A17-402 A17-450 A17-681 A17-753 VH-PUI
A17-315 A17-403 A17-451 A17-691 VH-UVZ A17-754
A17-317 VH-BCZ A17-404 A17-452 A17-692 A17-755
A17-318 A17-421 A17-453 A17-702 A17-756
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 26
Image above: Another ex-RAAF Temora Tiger Moth VH-BIJ (A17- 726) belonging to member Ross Smith of Rolleston
Queensland.
Image above: another ex-RAAF Temora Tiger Moth VH-SAC (A17-734)
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 27
Image above: VH-CXV is (T-5531) ids another ex-RAAF Temora aeroplane. It is now owned by Orange Vintage Flights. The
photo was taken by Steven Brown.
Image above: VH-CYA (A17-551) was spent time at RAAF Temora. Currently it is owned and operated by the Mackay Tiger Moth Museum Inc. In the background can be seen the other Tiger Moth owned by the museum VH-IVN finished in the colours of A17-302. A17-551’s connection is that in 1945 it was sent to 10 EFTS for storage and subsequently in 1955 was used by 1 BFTS at Uranquinty before being disposed of by the RAAF in 1957.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 28
Image above: This Tiger Moth A17-452 was at Temora at one stage. This Tiger ended up like this on 15th February 1952
and it occurred at Point Cook, Victoria. From the photo the colour scheme on the aeroplane appears to be silver with a
yellow band around the fuselage.
Image above: VH-ASB was formally A17-441 and was with 10 EFTS at Temora. This aeroplane has had a long connection
with Queensland because as can be seen from the signwriting on the aeroplane it once belonged to Bruce McGarvie. Bruce
was a long standing QVAG member and operated a Tiger Moth Joy Flight business from the now defunct strip at Surfers
Gardens on the Gold Coast.
Australian Vintage Aeroplane News
The official Journal of the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group/Australian Flying Museum Inc. Vol. 16/06 Page 29
Disclaimer: All views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the views of the author,
the editor or the Queensland Vintage Aeroplane Group Australian Flying Museum Inc. They are
simply opinions and are not necessarily fact.
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