Aussie vacation

[Baldeagle]

Just got back from two weeks in Australia, and saw some neat stuff. Highlight of the trip for me was the National fly-in of the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia at Echuca, about three hours drive north of Melbourne. I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few. I got a ride in a Winjeel with Matt Grigg during a photo shoot of it and the only flying Ceres (named after a god of fertility, since it was a cropduster), which is a modified Wirraway.



There were actually two photo shoots from two different Bird Dogs



James Kightly photo of us returning after the flight



And another Ceres on static display at the HARS Museum south of Sydney



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[Baldeagle]

Some more shots from the fly-in. I think there was about 80 aircraft there, lots of neat De Havillands of course, and a good selection of US types as well.








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[Baldeagle]

And this is neat, this is Seven Mile Beach, about 50 miles south of Sydney. In January 1933 Charles Kingsford Smith took off from here on the first commercial flight from Australia to New Zealand. On a hill overlooking the beach is a memorial with a 3/4 size concrete outline of Kingsford Smith's Fokker Trimotor "The Southern Cross".






http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/stor ... niversary/


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[quemerford]

Great shots of the Ceres: I hadn't realised that there were any still flying.

[Zac Yates]

So much to take in! What a cool trip! I bet the lineup at Echuca was vastly different to the fly-ins you're used to at home?

I had no idea about the Seven Mile Beach memorial, that's cool.

Flying in a Winjeel? Wicked! With a Ceres off your wing? Even more wicked!

Thanks for sharing your photos. I expect you enjoyed yourself!

quemerford - I think SSY's the only one flying, but I seem to remember chat about another one in Aussie that's underway. Unfortunately all ours were wrecked or exported to become spares sources for Wirraway restorations, and the last one's in a museum. Disappointing as the company I used to work for had one back in the 60s and I had a cool poster of it on my childhood bedroom's wall.

[DH82EH]

Great stuff folks.
Looks like loads of fun. Good for you.

Andy