Auster in Oz

[LowNSlow]

I'm planning to bring my Auster out from Blighty to Oz later in the year. Does anybody have any suggestions for "reasonably priced" hangarage in the Gold Coast area?

[aroa]

Are you going to fly it out, or put it in a box.??

As a capitial A Adventure flight I can recommend it. Hardest part was getting all the clearances sorted... the flying was pretty straight forward, being a series of cross-countries, that added up to the end game.

If you can flight plan to keep away fom major centres... where the bureaucrazies are, all the better...less BS.

Gold Coast and "reasonable price" are not usually synonomous.
Fear not... you may get lucky and find a good deal.

Welcome to Oz. Always good to have another Auster on the vintage scene.

Happy Landings..!!

[BrokenConrod]

I'm planning to bring my Auster out from Blighty to Oz

I can't imagine why you would want to do that!

BC :cool:

[jas24zzk]

hmm, i wonder how well it would work 'down under', I mean the engine is already wrong way up (down?) and the fan spins the wrong way :} it wouldn't blow the dunny budgies away, it'd attract more wouldn't it?

http://www.mustang.org.au/forum/images/smilies/banana.gif

[Frank Arouet]

A gentleman's aeroplane once mastered gives the pilot the right to say he can actually fly. (as opposed to drive something as crass as having a nosewheel). The gymnastics involved in flap operation builds character and muscle and co-ordination. Can take off in a cricket pitch and similarly land, the belly tank can be accessed in flight and fuel transfered from a drum in the back making it a truly range worthy aircraft.

You may look toward Murwillumbah, just a bit south of Sufferer's Paradise, for more friendly people who appreciate good aeroplanes and have the specialist maintenance facilities available. (as does Redcliff to the north).

If I were a bit younger, I would line up to share the flight from Pommieland to Aust.

Oh, and in the southern hemisphere the engine is the right way up.

You should really consider the adventure.

Cheers.:)

[spinex]

Like most places, hangarage on the Coast is at a premium. Murwillumbah (40-45mins south) in Northern NSW is a pleasant spot but there are already a number of aircraft standing in the open there and I believe hangarage is very tightly held. The other option is Jacobs Well a bit north of the Coast - there is some turmoil there at present with the property owner, but that may create some opportunities with some people moving off. Happy to forward contact details if required - pm me. Southport is much closer but very expensive, I don't believe there is any scope for casual hangarage there. Several coasties keep aircraft out at Boonah, a picturesque grass strip about an hour, twenty inland. There is also a strip at Tyagarah, near Byron Bay which may be a possibility if you're going to be based toward the southern end of the Gold Coast.

Good luck!

[aroa]

BC.... do you have something against this fine piece of English aeronautical engineering?

[Jamair]

Also consider Watts Bridge, Kilcoy, Caboolture and Redcliffe.

[BrokenConrod]

BC.... do you have something against this fine piece of English aeronautical engineering?

Yup, most unattractive and least inspiring aeroplane I have ever flown!

And yes, I have flown J5B, J1B, and J5F.

Did my tailwheel rating in the J5B.

BC :cool:

[jas24zzk]

BC.... do you have something against this fine piece of English aeronautical engineering?

I think they look rather good but thats about it. They'd be a good thing if they were designed elsewhere.

'Made in England' is actually a globally recognised warning for all mechanical repair tradespeople. it translates to RUN!

http://www.mustang.org.au/forum/images/smilies/banana.gif

[aroa]

in the eye of the beholder....

I must confess I found the handling a bit daunting when I first tried one as a sprog. But there's the challenge... spend a lot of time with one and get to know its quirks..and its all good from then on.

On old mustering pilot, now deceased, and a Yank .! reckoned the Auster was better than the Super Cub for the job of low level steep turns, etc.

"Aahh doo lark that Auster wang"

At least they were built to last, not like some of that US throw away stuff.
...for example, during rebuild..we found under tube glamps there was a very fine brass mesh with grease,.... and minto tube.
In the Pa 25 Pawnee under the tube clamps was....RUST... so the tube had to be cut out or repaired.
Nice to see a little thought and detail to make the frame last longer.:D

Love 'em or hate 'em ... they're still a fun machine that keeps you on yr toes.:ok:

[Frank Arouet]

most unattractive and least inspiring aeroplane I have ever flown!

Flying aside, why would anybody think a DH 82 with a built in headwind looks cool and an Auster looks unattractive? (Probably the DC3 syndrome).

I have some ugly photo's of French and Russian photo's if you would like to see them for a comparison.

[mustafagander]

So much fun to fly with the weird flap lever and the heel brakes!!! You've gotta love the Morris Minor window winder handle used for elevator trim too!!

[tail wheel]

Careful! :=

There are those of us old enough to remember when Austers, Chipmunks and later Tri Pacers and Air Tourers were wonderful, modern, state of the art flying machines.......

Also, global positioning systems were a WAC chart, aerials were tuned with a loading box, avgas was dirt cheap, air nav and landing charges weren't invented, a TIF was 10/- (One Dollar) and an hours flying cost £4/10/- (Nine Dollars).

[jas24zzk]

you mention the tripe amongst that distuingished list???? :ugh:


Give me a Pacer over a Tripe any day.

[chimbu warrior]

They'd be a good thing if they were designed elsewhere.

I was under the impression that the original design was purchased from Taylorcraft in the US, and then "de-engineered" a bit.

[jas24zzk]

So yer....it started out as a good design :D

must be a bit like the difference between a Canadian Chipmunk and a pommie one.

The pomme one, 480 AD's :ugh::ugh::ugh:
Canadian one....somthing like 5 AD's

[By George]

I flew a J5F in the sixties, VH-AFT, which still exists somewhere in Victoria, a true testament to its sturdiness of design. The 'F' with its short wings was fully aerobatic but an awkward beast to land. Any lift remaining in the wings all it wanted to do was pig-root down the runway. Heel brakes, a reverse sense trim to the American Pipers, a flap handle designed by a madman and a steel banana for a stick. It certainly was a machine of character. I hope you bring it down here "Lownslow" good luck with it all.

[Aye Ess]

Acrylic on stretched canvas 20cm x 25cm.

http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a401/alan_spears/Auster.jpg?t=1318044202

VH-BYQ was based in Cairns in the early 1960s as an Air Ambulance. Imagine being SO sick, transport to Cairns was required on a hot,bumpy,noisy slow Auster in the middle of a North Qld summer..... if the illness didn't kill you,the transport probably would have.

[aroa]

... must be in the hand of the beholder, as well.

The J5F we rebuilt was, in my humble opinion, the nippiest and best Auster to fly... and land. Doesnt have those big butterfly wings to keep it floating and with full flap it would touch down even slower than the light weight J2 Arrow.
All wing and no flaps.!
If AFT went "pig-rooting' then, the problem lies elsewhere... too tight HD bungees or something...???

I did like the J5G with the 180hp Lyco conversion model J5G
/A2....?... levitated like a startled roo.!

All good..!

Arent Taylorcraft still made in the US ?. Part Nos on early Austers are TA #

[tiptanks]

Beware ... not all Austers are born equal in Australia!

Suggest you check with CASA to determine if a Type Certificate exists for the model you are bringing to Oz. If the TC does not already exist for your model then forget about registering your machine in the VH category.

[aroa]

Tip T.. is there a mark that you know of, doesnt fit the Oz bill of Austers ??

There seems to be just about every Mk known to man in the country, so I can't see why it would be a problem On second thoughts... well yes,... with CASA it probably would..!! Life wasnt meant to be too easy. :eek:
And Auster Ltd was a recognised OEM.

With the new RAA max wt... a better way to go, no doubt.
Couple of J2s on there already.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

Holy Mackerel Tailee,

We must be of the same 'vinatge'......I can resemble all of that.

Maybe the reason I am part owner of both a Tiger and a Chippy......Both with the 'upside down' engines.....

(Fill The Oil and Check the fuel, son.....):ok::ok:

[LeadSled]

tiptanks,

And which Auster hasn't already been on the VH- register. Most Australian ex-RAF Chipmunks never had a Type Certificate, we got around that one, post 1998. There are quite a few aircraft around from before the days the Type Certificate (or equivalent) was invented.

Where there's a will (or bribery and corruption), there's a way.

I never did understand why DCA used to get their knickers in a twist about the J5F (short wing) --- does anybody remember/know ??

Had my first genuine engine failure in an Auster Autocar, double mag failure --- two different reasons, within about 15 minutes, fortunately the second one was just after touchdown ---- the CFI took a lot of convincing that the problem wasn't a lack of motion lotion.

Wonderful chap who checked me out on Austers originally, on completion, made the following comment (to be said in a very posh RAF Ossiffers voice):

"My dear young fellow (it was along time ago), you realise, I suppose, that the Auster will never replace the aeroplane."

Wing Commander Gordon Carey, RAF, now long gone, CFI of the Royal Bengal Flying Club from 1934 to 1939, when he returned to the RAF. The kind of bloke that made certain flying was fun, even when it was chasing Me109s --- nothing seemed to fazer him, he was over 70 when I first made his acquaintance ---- what a ripper of a bloke.

LowNSlow,

Have no fear, there will be plenty of people to help you.

Home - Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia (http://www.antique-aeroplane.com.au)


Tootle pip!!

[LowNSlow]

Thanks for all the tips gentlemen.

I'll be bringing the J1 over in a box as the engine would be past it's TBO by the end of the flight if I was flying it over!!

Southport is indeed a tad expensive to say the least, hangards there are selling for between $180-$200k!!!!

[LeadSled]

LowNSlow,
If you have comprehensive engine records, including oil consumption records, with a bit of luck you will be able to run the engine on condition.
Also have a look on AU eBay, there are several O/H Gipsy engines that are proving very hard to sell.
Tootle pip!!
PS: Or do you still have the original Cirrus?

[LowNSlow]

LeadSled, she's not at TBO yet but would have been if I flew her over, she's got about 150 hours to run yet on the original Cirrus II.

Oil consumption records are easy, she's been burning about 0.25 litres an hour since 1946!!! Unfortunately there's no approved oil ring mod for the Cirrus as far as I'm aware.

[LeadSled]

LowNSlow,
With those records, running on condition shouldn't be a problem, remember it is only "recommended time between overhaul", not a hard limit --- and that's "modern terminology", reading some of the original manuals makes interesting reading.
EG: Gipsy Major II fuel requirements, quote: " A good grade of motor spirit, well filtered". That back in the days when all petrol was about 60 octane, an before lead became the norm in fuel, initially to increase the octane to about 86 during WWII.
Another one, from the original Gipsy: "------ should obtain a local source of pistons" ----- which is why modified auto pistons are widely used, and that is not a recent development. Clearly, in those days, neither the engine manufacturer nor the regulatory authority (if there was one) were quite so anal about "suspected unapproved parts".
Tootle pip!!

[Frank Arouet]

My Auster manual noted "any good STANDARD" grade motor spirit. This of course referring to the only two types of motor fuel being "SUPER and STANDARD".

[aroa]

And as for pommy engineering being an acronym for...RUN I think that myth dates back to about the summer of 1940...!

Heer ist kommen many flugensh*te of das Englander, Ja ?

Ja, Dumkopf,! Achtung Spitfeur... RUN !!!!

And Austers were busy in WW2 as well, but lower and slower. :ok:

[LeadSled]

Frank,
You must have had the new updated post WWII manual?? Such modern aeroplanes, additional complications --- never ends. Whatever happened to KISS.
When the Gipsy first appeared on the scene, I doubt whether multiple grades of petrol had even be thought of.
Tootle pip!!