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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 25, 2010 20:40:48 GMT 12
These photos from Bob Lawn's collection show the Avro 10 "Faith In Australia", which was flown across the Tasman Sea by Charles Ulm and his crew. This aircraft brought the first ever trans-Tasman airmail letters, in December 1933. The aircraft crossed the Tasman a few times I believe, and on this occasions seen below it had some engine trouble which was solved by the RNZAF team at Hobsonville.  In the hangar at Hobsonville, where its port engine was being repaired. In front of "Faith in Australia" is, left to right, Fred Bitossi, Jim Harper, Bob Lawn, Jim ?, and two small boys.  Above and below shots were taken in the 1st of July 1934 when the old girl was running up, ready to fly back to Australia  |
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jul 25, 2010 21:13:15 GMT 12
No photos visible there Dave.
Just the photobucket error message.
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Post by shamus on Jul 25, 2010 21:20:27 GMT 12
No, can't see any either.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 25, 2010 21:48:56 GMT 12
Did-Dah!!
I fixed the links.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 25, 2010 21:57:49 GMT 12
Is this aircraft still around, preserved anywhere? The Avro 19 was of course a licence-built Fokker Tromotor like the more famous Southern Cross, which still exists,
Below is a piece from my website about this aircraft:
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Charles Ulm flew his Avro 10 Trimotor "Faith In Australia", which was a British licence built version of the very similar Fokker Trimotor (the type that the "Southern Cross" was), several times to New Zealand in 1934, unofficially setting up an airmail route between Australia and New Zealand during these trips. The main difference between the aircraft types were the Avro was fitted with British built engines, and had a rounder shaped tail.
By December 1934 the aircraft had arrived in Hamilton, though not flown by Ulm this time. Instead at the controls was Captain P.G. Taylor, who had previously been co-pilot to Sir Charles Kingsford Smith on his first crossing of the Pacific in 'Southern Cross'.
It was at this point, on the last flight of 'Faith In Australia' within New Zealand before returning to Australia, that they took up a young Hamilton girl called Mary Douglas.
Mary was herself a pilot, having gained her licence just over a year before. She had begun flight training on the 2nd of September 1933 with Harry Lett of the Auckland Aero Club, who travelled down to Te Rapa to instruct her, and she made her first solo on the 5th of November. Mary was the first woman to be trained to fly at Hamilton's Te Rapa aerodrome. She gained her 'A' licence on the 19th of April 1934, having been examined by Sqn Ldr Leonard Isitt, who would later become the RNZAF's Chief of Air Staff. In June 1934 her license was endorsed for carrying passengers.
The 'Faith In Australia' was in Hamilton under the control of Captian Taylor, one of Ulm's associates. On this flight Taylor took up 15 passengers for a joyride flight, and one of them included Mary Douglas. Her father and sisters were also onboard the plane.
Once in flight, knowing that Mary was a pilot, Taylor kindly let her take the controls. After flying over Hamilton city, she then set course for Cambridge. It is not yet known what occurred on the flight to Cambridge, whether they flew around the town and buzzed the residents, or even if perhaps they landed. Research continues on this. However, it is known that Ulm's 'Faith In Australia' was definately seen in Cambridge skies, and under the control of a pioneer aviatrix
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jul 25, 2010 23:11:41 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 30, 2010 21:23:34 GMT 12
Thanks Peter, what a shame.
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ewen
Warrant Officer
Posts: 39 
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Post by ewen on Sept 2, 2013 20:29:20 GMT 12
I thought I'd add a photo of one of the original Post Office advertisements for one of Ulm's 1934 flights from Ninety Mile Beach to Sydney. It is a little fuzzy but has all the details. This was New Zealand's first official airmail from NZ to Australia
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Post by nuuumannn on Sept 18, 2013 20:03:45 GMT 12
Don't think there are any intact Avro Tens surviving, although there is a museum is Scotland that has three engines, a complete firewall for the fuse engine and a complete under wing pod, some seats and an instrument panel and a couple of props, I think.
The direct descendant of the Avro Ten was the Avro XIX, better known to all of us as the Anson. Chadwick used the same design and structure as the Ten to create his fast monoplane for Imperial Airways. Nice pictures.
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Post by ZacYates on Oct 11, 2020 11:34:38 GMT 12
A bit of a longshot, but has anyone ever compiled an itinerary of where and when Faith In Australia went while in NZ (like DaveH's fantastic Southern Cross page)? I've read Ulm visited Wanganui but haven't found anything online, only the club's 50th Jubilee magazine.
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Post by nuuumannn on Oct 11, 2020 18:58:01 GMT 12
Faith In Australia visited Nelson, landing at the old airfield at Stoke on 16 January 1934. Prior to then it was at Karamea on the West Coast. Info from McConnell and Waugh's excellent The Story of Nelson Aviation. According to the book it was the first 'large' aircraft to land in Nelson. Southern Cross landed in Nelson two months later, although that wasn't the first time it was in Nelson skies; that took place a year earlier flying from Blenheim, but didn't land on that occasion.
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Post by madmax on Oct 12, 2020 17:18:05 GMT 12
I'm sure "Faith in Australia" visited the Wairarapa. Back in the early 70s I was given a number of photographs of it which I was told were taken at Hood Aerodrome, sadly a box containing the photos went missing during one of my many moves.
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Post by errolmartyn on Oct 12, 2020 17:57:18 GMT 12
A bit of a longshot, but has anyone ever compiled an itinerary of where and when Faith In Australia went while in NZ (like DaveH's fantastic Southern Cross page)? I've read Ulm visited Wanganui but haven't found anything online, only the club's 50th Jubilee magazine. According to an article by John best in the December 1983 issue of the AHSNZ Journal, 'Faith' arrived at Wanganui from Hawera on 12 Jan 34 and left nextday for Westport. As published in a more recent issue, there is an entry in my 'Toll of the Air' series that describes a tragedy that occurred at Wanganui on the 12th: FRIDAY 12 Jan 1934 Charles T. P. Ulm’s Avro X VH-UXX Faith in Australia The trimotor monoplane had arrived at Wanganui from Hawera this day at 10 am as part of its first New Zealand tour (4 December 1933 – 17 February 1934). A short time later, in preparation for making local passenger flights, the two outer engines were restarted and Ulm’s mechanic, Ronald Smith, then climbed on to a small platform at the machine’s nose in order to swing the centre engine’s propeller. While slowly turning it the propeller started unexpectedly, striking him and causing severe injuries from which he died at the Wanganui Public Hospital two-and-a-quarter hours later, at about 1 o'clock. † Roland Eric Smith, aged 26 (Aramoho Cemetery, Wanganui) Although death and cemetery records give Smith’s first name as Roland, newspapers of the day refer to him as Ron or Ronald. It was reported that he had migrated to Australia from England nine years earlier and trained as a mechanic at Sydney’s Mascot aerodrome. Errol  |
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Post by ZacYates on Oct 13, 2020 12:19:43 GMT 12
I had no idea about that incident, thank you for posting about it. I'll see if I can find his grave when I'm next at Aramoho. According to an article by John best in the December 1983 issue of the AHSNZ Journal, 'Faith' arrived at Wanganui from Hawera on 12 Jan 34 and left nextday for Westport. Errol That's just what I was hoping to see, thank you. |
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Post by Mustang51 on Oct 14, 2020 7:25:54 GMT 12
P.G.Taylor's youngest daughter Gai is living near Byron Bay in New South wales and continues to be involved in Aviation. She for many years was the spearhead for the Great Eastern Fly-In at Evans Head held every year in early January.
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Post by ZacYates on Oct 14, 2020 12:38:32 GMT 12
As published in a more recent issue, there is an entry in my 'Toll of the Air' series that describes a tragedy that occurred at Wanganui on the 12th: FRIDAY 12 Jan 1934 Charles T. P. Ulm’s Avro X VH-UXX Faith in Australia The trimotor monoplane had arrived at Wanganui from Hawera this day at 10 am as part of its first New Zealand tour (4 December 1933 – 17 February 1934). A short time later, in preparation for making local passenger flights, the two outer engines were restarted and Ulm’s mechanic, Ronald Smith, then climbed on to a small platform at the machine’s nose in order to swing the centre engine’s propeller. While slowly turning it the propeller started unexpectedly, striking him and causing severe injuries from which he died at the Wanganui Public Hospital two-and-a-quarter hours later, at about 1 o'clock. † Roland Eric Smith, aged 26 (Aramoho Cemetery, Wanganui) Although death and cemetery records give Smith’s first name as Roland, newspapers of the day refer to him as Ron or Ronald. It was reported that he had migrated to Australia from England nine years earlier and trained as a mechanic at Sydney’s Mascot aerodrome. Errol A concrete slab and a simple plaque are what I found at Aramoho Cemetery this afternoon:  Grave of Roland (Ronald) Eric Smith, Aramoho Cemetery, Whanganui 14/10/2020 by Zac Yates, on Flickr  Grave of Roland (Ronald) Eric Smith, Aramoho Cemetery, Whanganui 14/10/2020 by Zac Yates, on Flickr |
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