Warbird Information Exchange

IF you get enough support from WIX I am sure you could get all three flying!

Got to stay positive.

_________________
Shop the Airplane Bunker At
www.warbirdbunker.com

Hi JDK, I love how people use the term " fully original " hahahahaha

As one of the numerous persons who helped Matt with his restoration , I can tell you that it isn't "fully original". Its almost in the same league as the Zuccoli Boomer. Yes Matt's does have more original parts in it than the Zuccoli bird but certain items like Wing Centre section and wings came from modification to similar aircraft parts eg Ceres,Wirraway, Texan and the wings were reverse engineered and built as new.
Also the cockpit did have some liberties taken with it in order for it to comply with todays regs.

I don't mean to take away any of the shine from Matts hard work and dedication , I look up to him as a shining example of what can be done and his advice and help has been invaluable from day one.

If you want an even closer "original" Boomer just you wait until Greg's hits the tarmac (coming pretty soon ).

All in all, they are still one of the sexiest aircraft in the world, and I can't help but get that lump in the throat when I hear or see it flying. And full kudos to all those restorers in Oz that are helping bring back an almost extinct aircraft type into something the whole "aircraft nut" population in OZ can enjoy

The truly unsung hero of the Boomerang story is the man who designed it. During the time he was designing the Boomerang at the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation he was considered an enemy of the state. His name was Fred David.

Fred David was born in Austria in 1900 and after graduating university he went to work for Heinkel in Germany. When Hitler came to power Fred, who was Jewish, forsaw the problems that were to come and he travelled to Japan where he worked for the Aichi Company and allegedly had a hand in designing the Val dive bomber.

With Japan and Germany cementing close ties in the mid 1930's Fred was less than comfortable in Japan and emigrated again; this time to Australia, where he got a job at CAC as a draughtsman.

The day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbour Fred sat down at his drawing board to design the Boomerang and 14 weeks later the prototype flew. Because of his background Fred David was considered a "hostile alien" and once a fornight he was forced to leave one of the most secret facilities in wartime Australia and report to his local police station. If he didn't his next stop would have been an internment camp.

Fred David passed away in 1992. An intensely private man, there are, almost, no photographs of him. If I can track down one I'll post it. While many other people have been recognised for their contributions to Australia the man who designed Austrlia's only homegrown got nothing; not even a footnote in the history books.

Hey Keith,

Thanks for that truly great story. It's very sad indeed. It's a real shame he has not yet been properly recognised for what he did for Australia.

Cheers,

David

Perhaps it would be better to say 'most original restoration to airworthy', as it's not, as you correctly point out 'fully original'.

As I'm sure you know, of the three Boomerangs so-far restored to fly, the first, by Saunders Aviation was a 'lookalike' on a T-6 basis, and the Zuccoli machine also had significant compromises - a metal clad rear fuselage, rather than the correct wood structure is, IMHO, a major deviation from original. Also the Zuccoli machine was first restored (in America) with significantly un-original wings. Thanks to Matt's work, his, the Zuccoli machine and several others will be able to fly on accurately reverse-engineered wings.

There's a lot of great work been carried out in Australia to restore and preserve Boomers - but it's also worth pointing out that of the three airworthy restorations only one was restored to fly in Australia; the other two were American rebuilds. Personally, I feel promises of airworthy achievement are nice to hear about, but what counts is inches under the wheels and airspeed - harder to achieve than many actually manage.

Keith, thanks for pointing out Fred's history. I recently discovered that my (now) 93 year old grandmother was a neighbour of Fred and his wife in Melbourne during W.W.II. And they were co-workers; my grandmother was one of the first female employees at CAC in 1936; her recollections of Fred are mostly of his good manners and private nature. Fred's not entirely forgotten; he's mentioned on tours of the RAAF Museum where appropriate, and there was a feature (with photographs) in Flightpath magazine a couple of years back.

Incidentally, I think you meant to say 'Australia's only homegrown fighter'; and it holds another record,being one of the few wartime front-like combat fighter aircraft in history not to have notched up a single air-to-air kill. That's not to say it wasn't hard used and in dangerous skies, but there Japanese never presented targets when the Boomer was in service.

Incidentally, I think the similarities in concept and design between the Boomer and FFVS J-22 are worth study.

Cheers,

_________________
James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com