Dan Jones wrote:
Beautiful work! Does anyone have any pics of what they started with?
Unlike the other surviving Beauforts which were all recovered as hulks from New Guinea in Dave Tallichet's well known 1974 recovery project, this restoration is based on an airframe that had been recovered locally in Australia and was on display as a hulk in Pearce Dunn's Warbirds Aviation Museum at Mildura which also saved and held 2 mustangs, Wirraways' Hudson, P40 cockpit, the Wangaratta Kingfisher and RAAFM Mosquito.
In some ways Pearce was an Australian version of Walter Soplata, saving rare static display aircraft at a time no one else could be bothered with them, many of which only survive today because of his efforts!
For a long time this was the largest chunk of Beaufort surviving in a museum/collection anywhere in the world, other than a cockpit at the then Moorabbin Air Museum (A9-150) then identified incorrectly as A9-152, and a cockpit at the Harold Thomas collection A9-703.
This Beaufort still survives in Australia today and is "near" live and well due to its airworthy restoration by Ralph Cusack, but it has suffered an identity crisis over the years from its first collection and display at Mildura.
For a long time it was recorded as A9-43, and later in publications such as Leslie Hunts [i]Veteran & Vintage[i] it was quoted as A9-143.
The aircraft is now correctly identified as A9-141 and is under restoration to fly with Ralph Cusack in Caboolture in Queensland.
All other major surviving examples were recovered by Monty Armstrong and Charles Darby in 1974 from Tadji PNG,
T9552/A9-13 mark V at the Australian National Aviation Museum,
A9-555 mark VIII with the Bristol Aero Collection - USA,
A9-557 mark VIII, at the AWM,
and A9-559 mark VIII as DD931 mark II with the RAFM in the UK,
other than a cockpit/fuselage/centre-section of A9-501 mark VIII that sat derelict at Gove strip in the Northern Territory that has largely been consumed by other restorations, although its cockpit is being restored for return to that site for display, and of course the cockpits of A9-150 and A9-703 mentioned earlier.
I first saw it @1976 and at that time A9-141 was essentially a derelict cockpit, rear fuselage and centre-section and due to their condition have been repaired/replaced with additional parts recovered from PNG and elsewhere. ie a stern fuselage has been located, along with wings, and the rear fuselage and centre-section replaced.
The above photos are from the projects website.
http://www.beaufortrestoration.com.au/Pages/RestorationChild/RecoveryPhotos.htmlregards
Mark Pilkington
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