Indonesian Warbirds (and Hi from Jakarta)

[aseanaero]

Hi all,

I'm an Australian expat based in Jakarta , Indonesia and I have been working here since 1999 living here since 2000.

I've just joined the WIX forum as I'll be starting on a project.

There's a T-6 sitting on the airfield here that hasn't flown for 4 years and I have volunteered to help supply parts etc get it back in the air rather than continuing to rot. We will be using Indo Air Force mechanics with T6 experience to do the maintenance (the T6 is owned by sport aviation wing of the air force). It was parked due to difficulty in getting avgas amongst other things. It needs a thorough clean, service and the control surfaces will be need to be recovered. I'll do a separate post on this project later.

At 46 years of age after a career in appraising and consulting and the collapse of my employer (Arthur Andersen) I decided this was my last chance to get back to aviation so I guess I am semi retired but working 7 days a week as this is what I love.

I started flying in 1985 and did around 900hrs TT with an Australian CPL and flew the usual Cessnas (172,182,206,210,310,337) as well as some more interesting aircraft such as 150hrs in the Pilatus PC6 Turbo Porter (my first PIC of a warbird as it was ex Australian Army), as well as an S2A Pitts endorsement, aerobatic endorsement, formation endorsement etc. My flying came to a screaching halt when I got divorced 10 yrs ago and now things are coming back together, I'm getting my Australian Licence revalidated this year and then getting my Indonesian licence and hoepfully have a couple of interesting planes coming this year.

My warbird experience includes helping restore a DHC Sea Venom fighter to static display in South Australia plus some flights in the T-6 Texan and Stearman owned by some friends of mine when I was still in Australia.

I run an aviation trading company since 2007 and buy up surplus new old stock for both military and civilian aircraft and helicopters which I mainly export to the USA , Australia and Europe. I also sold 8 Westland Wessex helicopters and spares last year (ex RAF), and Alouette II heli (exported to the UK) and a Cessna 402C (ferried to Australia) . I have started accumulating A-4 Skyhawk parts (Indonesia operated ex Israeli A-4Es) , I have a few items already with the first large package of new old stock arriving next month as well as parts for P+W and Curtis Wright radials as there are still pockets of new old stock of these parts around.

There were a lot of P-51Ds and Cavalier P-51s, Mig 17s and Mig 19s but most of these were exported to the USA by collectors in the mid '80s or have ended up as gate gaurdians or museum displays. As there isn't a warbird movement or historical group here other than the Air Force musuem a lot of the older piston engined military aircraft and more exotic aircraft like the Mig 21 and TU-16 were just scrapped after being left to rot for years.

There are no warbirds flying in Indonesia now so I hope to change that and eventually get one of my own. The local aviation authority has told me if it flew in the Indonesian military I should have no problem getting a permit to fly so that's good news.

PHOTOS



Me , my kids Tim and Natasha and my CJ2A/MB Willys Jeep hybrid

GATE GAURDIANS





AIR FORCE MUSEUM , JOGYAKARTA CENTRAL JAVA















AT WORK



My J20 work truck slightly overloaded with a NOS Ivchenko Ai20k AN-12 4,000shp turboprop engine , it's a bit heavy !



'Zee Check' on a Boeing 737-200 on an airbase in Indonesia Dec 2008 , thats me near the JT8D ... Zee or Z check is aka being salvaged for parts then scrapped, it won't be going back in the air again


--------------------

I have a lot of customers in the US so we may actually meet up next time I'm in the US , if anyone is in Jakarta please PM me.

Best regards

Tony

Last edited by aseanaero on Sat Mar 14, 2009 11:15 am, edited 3 times in total.

[steve dickey]

Hello Tony and welcome to WIX Thanks for the great photos, is that a Zero or Oscar stashed in the corner Anymore shots of that one or others would be appreciated, Thanks.

[jet1]

I double dog dare you to light that up...!

[aseanaero]

Hi Steve

It's a Zero , there's an Oscar there also

The full collection can be viewed here

http://www.imogiri.net/

I double dog dare you to light that up...!

The traffic cops didn't like it much , they were looking at me wide eyed as I drove by but figured I was best left alone

[airnutz]

The local aviation authority has told me if it flew in the Indonesian military I should have no problem getting a permit to fly so that's good news.

Good news indeed! Hopefully the Indonesian AF folks will be more benevolent than ours!

Welcome Tony! Wow, great first post! Looking forward to news of your project(s)!:drink3:

PS
I loves me sum Turbo Porter!

[aseanaero]

Here's some photos off airliners.net

SATRIA MANDALA MUSEUM (DOWNTOWN JAKARTA)



These aircraft are now under cover

Gate Gaurdian at Halim Air Base , Jakarta



YOGYAKARTA MUSEUM (again)



BALI AIRPORT



NEAR AMBRAWA AIRPORT

[Stoney]

In 1979 I think, Ralph Johnsom thru Art Stagg imported about 12 P-51s from there to Oakland, CA, I parked my SNJ next to their hangar then. They sold as kits for about $150,000 at the time. Many are flying in the USA now.

[steve dickey]

I believe it was Stephen Johnson that did the importing,
thanks again Tony for the link, do you have any of the Oscar, Valiant or B-25?

[aseanaero]

Hi Steve

I was actually working at the air base that day so snuck into the museum on my lunch break so I didn't get time to photograph everything.

I'll see what photos I can dig up and post some more

[bdk]

T-6 should run fine on 91 octane auto gas unless it has alchohol.

http://www.autofuelstc.com/autofuelstc/ ... rames.html

[steve dickey]

Hi Steve

I was actually working at the air base that day so snuck into the museum on my lunch break so I didn't get time to photograph everything.

I'll see what photos I can dig up and post some more

Thanks Tony and this time I don't want to forget to say I like your CJ , did you build that up over there or have it shipped?

[aseanaero]

I don't want to forget to say I like your CJ , did you build that up over there or have it shipped?

Hi Steve,

I found the Jeep here in 2001 in bad shape and built it up as a jungle racer , it's back to the chassis again at the moment for a rebuild after a lot of hard off roading.

The Willys has a CJ5 4cyl engine , stock trans with a Warn overdrive giving 6 forward and 2 reverse gears, full lock differential front and a Detroit Locker rear and a heap of other mods. Now getting a 350 Chev and suspension using undercarriage side support brackets from a Boeing 727 and braking rods from a B747 as trailing arms plus aircraft grade wiring, switches and relays.



River exit





Reversing on 2 wheels , using the side rear view mirror







Really stuck in quicksand

Last edited by aseanaero on Sun Mar 08, 2009 3:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

[aseanaero]

I believe it was Stephen Johnson that did the importing

Yes , that's the guy that bought the bulk of the Indonesian Mustangs

[tom d. friedman]

for being out doors in the damp humid environment those birds are pretty well maintained & note the lack of crazed plexiglass on most of them sitting in the harsh sun.

Last edited by tom d. friedman on Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

[aseanaero]

Well observed Tom

Most of the damage from the humidity here is when you give the moisture something to bond to , for example dust and dirt which then holds the mositure causing corrosion.

Once the moisture has a foothold it turns into a fungus which really holds the mositure and it will finish most aircraft paint jobs and cause serious surface corrosion for aircraft parked outside within 8 to 10 yrs (you can see an example of the fungus on the top of the Grumman Albatross photo)

Most of these display/monument aircraft get washed every few weeks which keeps them in reasonable shape.

The biggest enemy is water sitting in crevices and dis-similar metal corrosion, this is the factor that causes big dollar damage like main spars , wing attachments etc. It rains A LOT here.



This photo is from a HS-748 I broke up for salvage last year , this is in the wing root / fuselage area . This aircraft had been parked for 4 years , it looks like it came from an underwater wreck salvage than from an aircraft. The tail inspection hatch was hard to open and I found out why , the whole tail behind the pressure bulkhead was full of water , at least 100 gallons of water in there. So water gets inside long term parked aircraft in large quantities from monsoon storms.

The sun and moisture will eat through Ceconite fabric coating in 3 to 5 years , if you look at one of the mustang photos you can also see what looks like 3 rat holes in the elevator , they probably are rat holes

The other thing is the lack of vandalism and removing parts for souvenirs, at least 25% are in areas where they aren't under supervision and other than the 'authorised' graffiti on the A-4 (Franks A-4) in one of the photos above the kids here aren't into vandalising parked aircraft, displays or monuments.

Last edited by aseanaero on Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:33 am, edited 1 time in total.