Volume 22 #2, Issue 100

CONDOR- The Return of Tank’s Big Bird!

The graceful Focke Wulf Fw 200 was initially designed as a modern airliner, however with the onset of war and the Luftwaffe’s need for a long range maritime patrol aircraft; it would be impressed into a military role. In this guise it would prove effective in the opening stages of the Battle of the Atlantic, so much so that Churchill would call it the “Scourge of the Atlantic.” This article takes a look at a very special bird- one which will be the sole representative of the type on display once the momentous rebuild is complete circa 2020. The circumstances of how the Condor ended up in a Norwegian fjord, the recovery which went pear shaped and the huge commitment of the Berlin Technical Museum and several German companies who have brushed aside the setback, rolled up their sleeves and are well on the way to bringing back the big bird of prey make fascinating reading.

FLAK-BAIT - Preserving History

Project Leader of this famous Marauder, Jeremy Kinney, updates progress on the conservation of this time capsule bomber, the aircraft which flew the most US Army Air Force combat missions during World War II. Included is a brief overview of the aircraft’s history before it goes on to describe the conservation techniques- much of this centred around how to stabilise the fragile flaking paint work, this down to the B-26 not receiving a coat of primer on the factory floor. Due to be completed around 2020, the end result will see one of the most important WWII artefacts extant educating visitors for generations to come.

TEMPEST BREWING – Combat Veteran Restoration

The mighty Sabre powered Tempest V is the focus of this article. Beginning with a brief overview of the type and of 486 (RNZAF) Squadron which was one of the most successful flying the type, Tom Woodhouse describes the journey of one of 486’s surviving Tempests, EJ693. This fighter saw action over Europe, eventually being force landed by one of its most regular pilots Pilot Officer Hall, who would later be killed in another Tempest. Saved from scrapping due to its employment at a Dutch Technical School, the fighter was later returned to the UK and eventually acquired by Kermit Weeks. Tom was ‘hands-on’ for the many years of the restoration work and gives the reader an inside guide in what it has taken to get the big fighter in a position for it to return to the skies.

DOWNUNDER RYAN RENAISSANCE!

It would be difficult to not be attracted to the shapely lines of T. Claude Ryan's art-deco masterpiece, the Ryan Sport Trainer series of open cockpit monoplanes. Despite the suggestion of their racy looks however, the STs were not designed to compete in the contests of the 'Golden Age' of air racing that put names like Goodyear and Bendix; Gee Bee and 'Mystery Ship' into the public psyche. These pretty little aircraft were created for exactly what the designation suggests - training and sport flying. In this article the Editor looks at the history of the type and their resurgence in Australasia and whilst there will never be squadrons of these stylish classics flying in this part of the world; the trend is at least one of growth rather than decline.

Airshow – Tyabb, Australia