12 FLYPAST December 2018
briefi ngs
NEWS THE LATEST IN AVIATION HERITAGE
Society plans to return C-54 to the sky
The C-54 Skymaster Society at
North Weald in Essex is hoping to
return Douglas C-54Q 56498 to
fl ight. It is currently raising funds
and is keen to talk to corporate and
individual sponsors about investment
opportunities and partnerships.
As a registered charity it also aims
to form links with local educational
institutions and technical colleges to
offer an apprentice-type programme.
The society draws its membership and
expertise from across the aviation
world, and wishes to share its wealthof skills with younger generations.
A target of £800,000 has been set
for the fi rst phase of the return to
fl ight programme.
The aircraft was built in 1944
by Douglas at its factory in
Chicago, and was initially
assigned to US Navy unit VR-
on Guam in the western Pacifi c.
Serving with both the navy and
USMC, it was used in World War
Two, Korea and Vietnam.
http://www.savetheskymaster.org
The Skymaster was a star attraction at North Weald’s Jetfest on September 28. DARREN HARBAR WITH THANKS TO ALLAN VOGELNapier powerplant
ready for restoration
A complete and original Napier Sea
Lion engine has been saved for
restoration and potential installation.
Among the most important
high-power-to-weight engines of
the interwar period, the Napier
Lion was fi tted to several record-
breaking machines on land, sea and
water during the 1920s and ’30s. A
Napier Lion VIIA was used to power
Supermarine S.5 N220, which won the
1927 Schneider Trophy (see Spotlight).
It’s thought that just three running
examples are extant, all of which are
either in cars or on static display. The
‘new’ unit is now for sale with further
details and proposed project plans
available through Jack Gifford Marine
Design Studio.
https://jackgifford.co.ukAn original Napier Sea Lion engine is available to purchase. COURTESY JACK GIFFORD
Joel Swager fl ew Hawker Sea Fury
T.20 Dreadnought to victory in
the Unlimited Gold Race at this
year’s Reno National Championship
Air Races in Nevada. The
Sanders Aeronautics machine’s
average speed was 417.735mph
(672.279km/h). It’s the third
time Dreadnought has won the
event – its previous titles both
coming in the 1980s – but this
year’s competition marked the fi rst
triumph for Swager.
Bell P-63A Kingcobra 42-
(N163BP) also participated at the
September event, the fi rst timethe type has done so for 40 years.
The Palm Springs Air Museum
machine, named Pretty Polly, was
fl own by Jim Dale. No Kingcobra
qualifi er has made the fi eld since
1978, and although N163BP trailed
in the heats, it did manage to
outpace one of the North American
Mustangs. F MORMILLO / PETER COLWILLHawker Sea Fury
takes top honour
at Reno
Hawker Sea Fury T.20 ‘Dreadnought’ fl ying
to victory at this year’s Reno races.
FRANK B MORMILLOA memorial featuring a Blue Angels
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet has been
completed at the Lee Victory Recreation
Park in Smyrna, Tennessee. It is dedicated
to US Navy and Marine Corps pilot Capt Jeff
Kuss who lost his life fl ying a Blue Angels
Hornet on June 2, 2016, the day before an
airshow in Smyrna. TONY SACKETOSThe Royal Navy has withdrawn the last of
its Westland Sea King helicopters after 49
years of service. Three of its fi nal eight
machines undertook a commemorative
fl ight from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall on
September 26. They fl ew over the type’s
‘birthplace’ – Yeovil in Somerset – en route
to HMS Sultan in Hampshire for disposal.The Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson,
Arizona has taken delivery of Boeing 777
B-HNL, an airliner operated until recently
by Cathay Pacifi c. The jet fl ew for the
fi rst time on June 12, 1994 and was used
by Boeing for trials until 2000. The well-
travelled machine has retired with just
under 50,000 hours ‘on the clock’.