Aircraft

I'm just home from travels and still catching up, so here's a favourite archival image, copied from a Kodachrome slide. These two DC3s (then still in regular airline use) were at Melbourne's Essendon Airport in 1965. The nearest was owned by Bush Pilots Airways, the other by Ansett - both airlines now long since gone and the airport turned to general aviation following the opening of Tullamarine Airport a few years later..

Copied from an old slide. Far into the Southern Ocean, the weather conditions improved. The wind dropped a little and the sun came through, though we still continued to roll in large swells. Long after, someone recounted the story of how the Captain said of the Nella Dan "She's a good ship in the ice" : the reply was "yes, but she's no b****y good in the ocean" . She was as tough as nails though, even if she would roll on wet grass. :) The ship rolled particularly badly one night during the storm. The result was that the Beaver aircraft dipped a wingtip causing the damage seen in the PiP: needless to say, it was unserviceable for the trip.

From an old slide. I was fortunate to take a trip in one of the Fairchild Hiller FH1100 helicopters that the Nella Dan was carrying. This is the coast to the east of Mawson, with the second helicopter alongside.

From an old slide. As the "Nella Dan" left the harbour heading North, there still were jobs to be done on the ship, such as checking the Fairchild Hiller FH1100 helicopters. The small orange boat is the "Macpherson Robertson", used by ANARE as a general work boat. Named after the owner of an Australian confectionery company who had been a major sponsor of Antarctic exploration, it was usually referred to as The Lollypop.

This photo of a Short Sandringham was taken at the former Rose Bay flying boat base in Sydney Harbour, prior to departure for Lord Howe Island on 7 June 1974. This was the world's last airline route still operating flying boats : they ceased operations in August that year when a new runway at Lord Howe Island came into service. Copied from Kodachrome slide taken exactly 40 years ago today: more in a set to follow soon. I'd suggest viewing on black. Any flying boat enthusiasts might enjoy a video I found, of the same aircraft departing from Sydney Harbour. Be adventurous and put the sound up, to enjoy the sound of the four Pratt and Whitney engines.

There were no aerobridges for flying boats! Arrival at Lord Howe Island by Sandringham involved going ashore in an open boat. Here the aircraft's Purser (they used nautical terminology), having tied the mooring line, watches from the front hatch as the passengers depart. The inset note shows the approach to the island, which is mainly National Park and has the world's most southerly fringing coral reef. Flying boat enthusiasts might enjoy this video about flying boats at the island: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmTVKs15n4U

Short Sandringham "Beachcomber": from a slide taken in early June 1974, shortly after arrival from Sydney. The image in the note shows the aircraft in relation to the two large mountains at the south of the island, Mt Gower and Mt Lidgbird, as we headed toward the shore in the motor launch. Our flight out to the island was smooth and itself an unforgettable experience. There is no comparison between the modern airline ‘cattle class’ and the 1930s style timber-panelled ambiance, large windows, and generally spacious and relaxed style of the old flying boats. Unlike the pre-packaged fare dished out now, our breakfast was cooked fresh on the aircraft by the Purser! The 'downside' of flying boats was that the airline timetable depended on the tides! The state of the seas also meant that flights often could not be operated in rough weather.

When I visited Lord Howe Island in 1974 an airstrip was being built to enable normal air services, but it was incomplete. The only way to fly to the island was by flying boat. This was the last regular airline service in the world still operated by flying boat, but they had been sold and were being retired. One had been taken out of service to prepare for the trip overseas, by replacing the seats and other fittings with long range tanks, but this one was doing limited service until the airport opened. Our return trip was to be two days later, but a gale on the second night broke the flying boat’s moorings and washed it aground. These flying boats had been the island’s lifeline for many years, and it was a disconsolate crowd of locals and visitors who gathered around the damaged aircraft on the beach next morning. The good news is that the aircraft was repaired on the spot, flown out, and in September 1974 it became the last flying boat out of Lord Howe. The aircraft is now housed in a special aviation museum in Southampton, England. As I mentioned though, the other flying boat was out of service being refitted, and the runway was unfinished. We had become castaways on a sub-tropical paradise! Unfortunately it was winter and the weather was poor: you can't win everything. :) Insets Another view of the beached aircraft; The wingtip dug into the sand and damaged; The damaged float removed from under the wing. From Kodachrome slides.

The flying boat on which we had travelled to Lord Howe Island was blown aground by a gale, leaving us castaway (unfortunately in winter) for a week before another flying boat was able to retrieve us. We began our take-off run from alongside the stranded flying boat, with choppy seas. Airport runways are always smooth, but not so for flying boats. Our first takeoff run needed to be aborted because the boat was being badly affected by waves: we left without problem on the second attempt. Islander , the flying boat on which we left, is now in a museum in the USA. The damaged flying boat Beachcomber was repaired and eventually went back to England, where it has pride of place in a special museum. Second photo in note. View on black.