Volume 25 #2, Issue 115

THRUXTON JACKAROO

One of the rarest of the many iterations of vintage de Havilland aircraft types surviving around the globe is the Tiger Moth-derived Thruxton Jackaroo. Only a handful remain, so the just-restored example featured in this article makes a welcome addition to the meagre world-wide fleet of these quirky cabin tourers. In this article Editor Graham Orphan explores this engaging oddity, with aerial photography by Gavin Conroy.

SOVIET STEEL - PIMA’S SHTURMOVIK

In March 1992 an IL-2 Shturmovik was lifted up through the ice of a frozen lake south of Leningrad. However, the wreck would be left on the shore of the lake until springtime, and it was in the warmer weather conditions of May 1992 that the team loaded the heavy fuselage on to the back of a GT-T tracked cargo carrier and pulled it away from the water. After 48 years in an icy lake this iconic ground attack aircraft was back on dry land. A decade later the aircraft was donated to the Pima Air & Space Museum but it wasn’t until 2016 that it was decided that the aircraft would be restored. This article follows the journey of discovery which resulted in only the second example of the most produced combat aircraft on public display in Nth America.

AUSSIE SPITFIRE ADVENTURE

When Richard Grace took Spitfire XVI, TE392, to the skies over Brisbane earlier this year, the culmination of many months of restoration work was realized. Beautifully presented in the colours of Aussie ace "Tony" Gaze, the fighter has come a long way since suffering water damage when it was caught in the Lone Star Flight Museum’s hangar by Hurricane Ike in 2008. In this article we take a look at the aircraft’s history and its new lease of life in Australia, complemented by superb air to air photography. The fighter has now joined the fleet at Fighter Pilot Adventure Flights, allowing the public to enjoy “Fly with a Spitfire” experiences, a unique opportunity to get alongside an aviation icon Downunder.

AVRO 504 PT.2

Continuing our look at Avro’s much loved 504, the final instalment of this two part feature concentrates on the type’s extensive foreign use, notably in the Dominions of NZ, Australia and Canada, where it would be employed in both military and civilian roles. We also focus on the original survivors scattered around the globe, encompassing a dozen or so complete examples.

Our Last Mystery Aircraft was a ...ALBATROS L 101

One of the many obscure 1930s aircraft, the Albatros L 101 Series was the final product of this famous company, which was one of the few to be allowed to continue aircraft production post World War One. The parasol winged aircraft introduced some important innovations over its predecessors, however it failed to impress when entered in the 1930 International Touring Competition. Few were completed before the company was dissolved and incorporated into Focke-Wulf. However, with the birth of the new Luftwaffe, improved versions found much employment at training schools. Sadly only one incomplete example has survived, a refugee from the Berlin Air Museum, which is now on display in Poland.

Airshow: Tyabb, Australia

Sadly, likely to be one of the few air shows of 2020.