Temora - 10th and 11th June.

[xr6turbo1]

Wow that photo of the car and plane together is awesome, well done ;D

[Bruce]

"This shot is taken at the famous weekend that the Locusts moved into town"

So it genuinely is a "Bugsmasher"!

looks great! I have always said the 180 and 185 wre the finest bits of "Wichita Tin" ever made......

[planeimages]

A rather more moody shot taken on the Friday of the June QB Weekend 2005.

[corsair67]

Bruce, you asked me to keep an eye out for some of the interesting
civil stuff that pops up at Aussie airfields, well here you are!

Does anyone know what the white 'thing' is?

[Bruce]

Both the aircrat shown are idigenous Aussie microlights - the Red one is a Skyfox - which is derived from the Kitfox / Avid Flyer/ Skystar family of light aircraft but produced in Australia. The other I think is a Seabird Seeker which is also a local Aussie design - but I may be wrong, I'm open to correction.

[Bruce]

na... got it wrong the little white thing isn't a seeker - although it looks very much like a scaled down one - I give up, what is it?

[corsair67]

I have no idea: I was hoping someone might be able to tell me and put me out of my misery.

[Bruce]

O.K. after checking out the Australian Ultralight Federation Homepage I have identified the little pusher as a Sapphire - it is an Aussie design still, see www.auf.asn.au/buyguide/sapphire.html
www.users.bigpond.com/stevendumesny

[planeimages]

Here are two websites on the Seabird Seaker. It looks a little larger than the subject aircraft. There are not many photographs of the Seabird so it is difficult to compare. Glen will know.

www.dfat.gov.au/dept/annual_reports/03_04/gallery/126.html
www.seabirdaviation.com.au/

[glenn]

[Dave Homewood]

Now that is a awesome photograph Glenn. The reflection looks massive and really menacing compared with the actual Spitfire.

Does anyone know the history of this particular Spitfire? It was a genuine WWII RAAF Mk VIII, wasn't it? Did it see combat? Where was it based, etc, during the war? And where was it between the war and Col Pay?

[corsair67]

Dave, here's a little something from the Temora Aviation Museum:

VH-HET Military S/N: A58-758


This Spitfire is the only flying Spitfire in Australia. (not for long! - C67)

The Spitfire Mk VIII is an all-metal, semi-monocoque construction with a cantilevered wing, fabric covered elevators and rudder and retractable landing gear. A total of 20,334 Spitfires were built before, during and after the war. 1652 Spitfire Mk VIII variants were built.

This aircraft was the last Spitfire acquired by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It was built by Supermarine in England in 1944, test flown and then shipped to Australia. The Air Force took delivery of the aircraft in April 1945. With World War II drawing to a close, the aircraft was not required on active service and was placed into storage.

After the war, the aircraft was used at Sydney Technical College as an instructional airframe. It was then acquired by Mr. Sid Marshall who stored it, disassembled, at Bankstown until 1982. Mr. Colin Pay of Scone obtained the Spitfire and began a detailed restoration program which was completed in 1985 when the aircraft flew again.

The aircraft is painted in the green and grey camouflage colours worn by the RAAF aircraft defending Darwin during World War II and in operations in the South West Pacific. The aircraft carries the markings of Wing Commander R.H. (Bobby) Gibbes AM WG CMR DSO DFC*.

David Lowy acquired the aircraft in May 2000 and donated it to the Temora Aviation Museum in July 2002. The aircraft is maintained in an airworthy condition and regularly flown at Museum displays and airshows.

[amitch]

corsair67 said:

This Spitfire is the only flying Spitfire in Australia. (not for long! - C67)

Ah, I believe you are wrong there as you agreed to post it back to where it belongs if I remember correctly!

Has anyone here ever heard the story of a Spitfire (mk5?) spotted flying in the outback some years ago?

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks Craig.

I now vaguely recall a programme on TV one Anzac Day afternoon in the mid-late 1980's of the restoration, and also about Bobby Gibbes. I don't recall it's title or anything. I wish i'd recorded it now.

Alex, I heard the rumour too, and when i asked about it some time ago on the FlyPast forum there was a bit of discussion then, see this thread from post 24 onwards (the rest was semi-related but many of the posts have since been removed so it's confusing)

forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=30479&highlight=Spitfire+outback