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The North American Mustang Mk 23 “Duffy’s Delight” (serial A68-170, registered VH-SVU) of the Royal Australian Air Force Museum recently made its first engine runs since the engine was returned from overhaul.

Mustang A68-170 painted as A68-750 at Avalon Airport in 2011 (Photo Johntorcasio (CC BY-SA 4.0)).

The aircraft was fully restored in the nineties and made its first post-restoration flight on 17 February 1999. In 2012, the aircraft was grounded after metal had been detected in its Merlin engine’s oil screens.

The Merlin was shipped to the UK for overhaul and was reattached to the airframe in late 2018. More ground runs will be necessary according to the RAAF Museum & Heritage Centres’s Facebook page but one can reasonably expect to see “Duffy’s Delight” back in the air soon.

https://www.facebook.com/RAAF.Museum/posts/2037510773029167

Source: RAAF Museum & Heritage Centres

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Yakovlev Yak-9UM VH-YIX (Photo Robert Frola (GNU FDL via Wikipedia))

A man was killed in the crash of his Yakovlev Yak-9UM in the state of Victoria in Australia, on Friday the 7th of September. The causes of the accident are unknown at this time. The aircraft, Yak-9UM CH-YIX, was one of the series of aircraft built by Yakovlev in the early 1990s, and was powered by an Allison engine.

Our thought and prayers go to the family and friends of the deceased.

Source: ABC News

Continue reading]]> John Travolta is donating his historical Boeing 707, part of a batch of 11 Boeing 707 delivered to Qantas in 1964. These were the first jetliners to be used by the Australian company and replaced the legendary Lockheed Constellation.

The aircraft hasn’t flown since last December and will reportedly require some minor repairs before delivery to HARS, which hopes to maintain the aircraft airworthy.

Source: ABC News

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Photo © Temora Aviation Museum

From the Temora Aviation Museum’s website:

In the biggest news in recent years, the Temora Aviation Museum’s President and Founder, Mr David Lowy AM, has announced, that the Museum would start a complex project to return the Museum’s English Electric Canberra and de Havilland Vampire to flying condition, neither of which have flown for a number of years.

He said, “A main component of our mission is to preserve our military aviation history, keep these aircraft flying and enable people to learn about the veterans who flew them. This will be a very resource-intensive project that will see these aircraft fly again progressively over the next three years.”

Photo © Temora Aviation Museum

In other news at the Museum, Mr David Lowy AM, also announced the appointment of the former Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force, Air Marshal Geoffrey Brown AO (Retired) to the Temora Aviation Museum Governing Committee.

Mr Lowy said, “I am very pleased that Air Marshal Brown has agreed to join me on the Committee. His appointment will ensure that the Temora Aviation Museum continues to honour the men and women who contributed to our military aviation history.”

Two other members of the Museum’s Governing Committee, Dr David Solomons and Mr Phillip Wolanski AM have announced their retirement from the Committee. Mr Lowy thanked both for their support, service and contribution to the development and leadership of the Museum.

Air Marshal Brown will join the former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Mr Glenn Stevens AC and the current CEO of the Museum, Mr Murray Kear AFSM, on the Governing Committee. Mr Stevens will also become the Governing Committees Deputy President.

Mr Stevens thanked Dr Solomons and Mr Wolanski for their contribution and said, “I look forward to continuing their great work alongside Mr Lowy, Air Marshal Brown, and Mr Kear.”

The Temora Aviation Museum conducts regular Flying Aircraft Showcase days each month, with dates for October, November and December will be released very soon. The Museum is open 361 days a year and has just announced the dates of Warbirds Downunder Airshow to be held on 12 and 13 October 2018.

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A preserved Hawker Hurricane at La Ferté-Alais, France. (Photo © Bertrand Brown)

The Hawker Hurricane Mk XII (s/n 5481) registered C-FDNL flew again on Sunday October 2 in Scone, Australia. The aircraft was restored by Vintage Fighter Restorations.

It is painted in the colours of Hurricane Mk I V6748 of the Royal Air Force’s No 46 Squadron de la Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain. P/O J. D. Crossman was shot down and killed by German fighters flying this aircraft on 30 September 1940.

Photos of the aircraft and its first flight are available from Aviation Spotter Online.

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An airworthy DH.84 Dragon (Photo Tony Hisgett (CC BY 2.0)).

Six people were killed yesterday in the crash of a 1934 de Havilland DH.84 Dragon (VH-UXG) in Australia yesterday. The aircraft was flown by pilot Des Porter, accompanied by his wife and four friends. Returning from an airshow in Monto in Queensland, the aircraft’s distress beacon was activated when they ran in foul weather.

A massive search and rescue effort including seven helicopters and six planes was initiated but the beacon’s signal went offline. The rescue parties eventually located the aircraft, whose debris were scattered over a very large surface. It would appear the aircraft got lost in the weather and ran out of fuel.

Tragically, Porter had already survived a crash in this same airplane in 1954. He was only ten at the time and survived the accident, but his father and brother did not. He restored the aircraft to flying status several years later and flew it regularly.