used by the RAAF during WW2
but was decommissioned soon
after the war. In recent times a
group of locals have made the
decision to build up a museum of
aircraft types that operated from
Nhill during those critical years.
The Nhill Aviation Heritage
Centre started off with obtaining
the remains (a wreck?) of Avro
Anson W2364. It has steadily
been built-up to the stage where
the fuselage is effectively complete
along with the two Armstrong
Siddeley Cheetah radial engines.
Now the project is to rebuild the
outer wing panels – a big job but
not insurmountable.
Also on display is Wirraway
A20-722/VH-CAC, which is
owned by well-known aero engine
rebuilder Borg Sorensen. Borg has
elected to sell the Wirraway to the
Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre,
and the museum is now well along
the way to raising the funds to
purchase this historic aircraft.
To add to the collection a local
pilot has purchased de Havilland
Tiger Moth DH.82a VH-RIN,
previously A17-588. With three
aircraft so far on display in an
immaculate hangar, the Nhill
Aviation Heritage Centre is soon
to become a must-visit tourist
attraction, one that tells the history
of Nhill’s WW2 heritage.
AUSSIESINSEOUL
The Seoul Aerospace and Defence
Exhibition (ADEX) is South
Korea’s major international trade
and airshow, held biennially at
Seongnam, a Republic of Korea Air
Force (ROKAF) base just to the
south-east of the capital city, Seoul,
writes Darren Mottram.
The exhibition sees the latest
technology on show and last year
was no exception with a pair
each of USAF F-22s and F-35s, a
Global Hawk surveillance UAV,
US Navy P-8 Poseidon and a
Royal Malaysian Air Force Airbus
A400M on display alongside
the ROKAF’s latest front-line
hardware.
Among all this technology
and military hardware, Paul
Bennet and Glenn Graham from
Australia’s Paul Bennet Airshows
team were a highlight as the
only civilian performers at the
show, with their bright orange
Pitts S1-11X (VH-PVX) and Pitts
Model 12 (VH-TYJ) aerobatic
biplanes. Paul and the team have
performed at many shows in South
Korea (and China) for several years
and are always very popular with
the huge crowds.
The Aussies displayed alongside
the US Air Force’s Air Combat
Command F-22 display team
and the ROKAF’s Black Eagles
aerobatic team in its Korean
Aerospace Industries T-50B lead-
in-fighter-trainers.There were also individual
handling displays of the KAI KT-1
turboprop trainer and T/TA-50
trainer/light attack jet and a
combat search and rescue (CSAR)
set piece involving USAF A-10s
and ROKAF F/A-50s, HH-60
Black Hawks and a KA-1 forward
air control version of the KT-1.
Saturday also saw flypasts by a
pair of USAF B-1B bombers and aU-2 high altitude reconnaissance
machine.IN BRIEF
The Parkes Aviation Museum, a
division of HARS, was broken into
on November 12/13. A $4,000
pressure washer and a toolbox
were stolen.Contact Dave: [email protected]Warbirds
Paul Bennet & Chris Tibbetts
in Beech Adventure’s Beech 18
VH-BHS on display during
the Luskintyre Aviators Club
Christmas party. DARREN MOTTRAMPaul Bennet Airshows’ bright
orange Wolf Pitts S1-11X on static
display while the ROKAF’s Black
Eagles aerobatic team flies
overhead at the ADEX airshow.
DARREN MOTTRAM