14 FLYPAST May 2015briefi ngs
NEWS THE LATEST IN AVIATION HERITAGE
New Zealand’s only airworthy
Consolidated Catalina is set to return
from major refurbishment work in
time for next year’s Warbirds Over
Wanaka International Airshow.
Catalina PBY-5A ZK-PBY is a
favourite at Wanaka, but has not
attended the last few shows due to
extensive work being carried out
on the wings and fuselage of the
70-year-old aircraft.
The restoration is being undertaken in
Brett Emeny’s hangar in New Plymouth
by members of the New Zealand
Catalina Preservation Society at a cost
of around $250,000 (£125,000). The
team is hopeful that the aircraft will be
fl ying again by the end of this year.“We’ve done all the structural work
on the wings and fuselage, and all
that remains are some fabric repairs
on these two sections,” said Brett.
“We’re also taking advantage of
some fi ne weather to work on the
tail which is poking out of the hangar
doors.
“Then there’s a fair bit of re-
assembling work to do and we’ll need
to get it weighed and re-certifi ed
before we can take her out for a test
fl ight.”
The Catalina is scheduled to make
its airshow comeback at the Wanaka
event in 2016. It will be the aircraft’s
fi rst appearance at the biennial show
since 2010. http://www.nzcatalina.org.nz‘Kiwi’ Catalina to fl y again this year
Work on Catalina ZK-PBY is continuing in
New Zealand.Catalina ZK-PBY on Lake Wanaka in 2010.
BOTH COURTESY WOWGeneral Motors-built Grumman TBM-3E Avenger 69472 (N9593C) has been repainted at
Tucson, Arizona’s Pima Air & Space Museum. Delivered to the US Navy in February 1945,
it served with VT-1 (Navy Torpedo Squadron 1) from USS ‘Bennington’, and participated
in raids on Japanese military bases. It has been at Pima since December 1979 and was
recently returned to a display position following its repaint. PHOTO–TONY SACKETOSAvenger
repainted in
Arizona
Dassault Mirage III A3-42, a former
Royal Australian Air Force machine, has
been acquired by the Historical Aircraft
Restoration Society (HARS) at Albion
Park, south of Sydney.
The jet went to Melbourne’s Essendon
airport in May 2010, where it had been
hoped to restore it to airworthiness.
Sadly, despite some initial work, this
plan did not come to fruition.
With HARS having taking ownershipof the Mirage late last year, the jet
was transported by road to its new
home, arriving in the early hours of
February 10. It will join the society’s
existing collection, and the possibility
of restoring it to ground running
condition will be explored. PHIL HAWKS
http://www.hars.org.auDassault Mirage A3-42 at Essendon on
February 9, shortly before the journey to its
new home. PHIL HAWKSAustralian Mirage III on the move
The fuselage of Supermarine Spitfi re IX
G-MCDB, which is based on the remains of
MA764, is on its way from Haverfordwest in
Wales to Biggin Hill where it will be fi tted
with cockpit instrumentation and systems.
The move follows previous work carried out
by Hull Aero, which used a specialised jig to
access the fuselage and cockpit. GEOFF JONESPersonnel at Newark Air Museum are
continuing with the restoration of General
Aircraft Monospar VH-UTH. The team has
recently applied the polyester fabric to
the starboard wing’s complex latticework
structure. As warmer weather approaches,
the work will be accelerated and a coat of
paint applied. HOWARD HEELEY14_News_fpSBB.indd 14 09/03/2015 10: