Intrepid Display Flying
From Memoirs
September 1962 saw more display practice in a Canberra which somehow had become my task by default. No one else was inclined to fly the manoeuvres which I had developed for the Canberra at light weight. This particular year was to take on some different developments. A few days before the display date of 17 September, a Squadron of USAF B57s had arrived from the USA. The Commanding Officer, Colonel Tom Aldrich, was allocated a house on the base and became a neighbour and close friend. His squadron of aircraft were based at Avalon whilst his personnel were housed at Laverton. USAF U2s had already been operating from Laverton for some two years conducting upper air sampling. The B57s were to extend this research. Colonel Aldrich readily agreed to place two of his B57s on static display at Laverton for the air display.
The B57s had marked across their tails in large letters WEATHER to show their Weather Reconnaissance Role. In view of the America's Cup yacht races, then in progress in the USA between The US's WEATHERLY and Australia's GRETEL, enterprising RAAF airmen got to work overnight and neatly painted an appended LY to WEATHER on the B57s and GRETEL across the tail of the Canberra on static display next to the B57. This was a great crowd pleaser.
The display on Sunday 17 September was a huge success and was of course attended by most of the B57 Squadron personnel. I soon found myself in detailed discussions of comparisons of the Canberra with its USAF copy during a party in the Mess that evening. The comparisons of performance and manoeuvring capabilities of these similar aircraft went on for some time between us RAAF pilots and the USAF pilots who all had much more flying experience on their aircraft than we were ever likely to accumulate on our Canberras. Ours were fitted with more powerful engines and the cockpits were much different. Theirs had fighter type canopies with crew members in tandem and their airframes were somewhat heavier. The USAF pilots, and our own squadron pilots, had never been permitted to perform aerobatics. They were rather impressed by the routine which I had evolved for the display.
My routine was to start the display, using an aircraft at light weight having minimum fuel, by lifting off the runway at a speed well below normal and immediately raising the undercarriage whilst holding down low. At the end of the 5000 ft runway I would have accelerated to a speed of about 220 Kts, at which point I would pull up sharply into a 30 degree climb whilst executing two barrel rolls at maximum roll rate to the left. By the time the aircraft was first inverted, I would still be accelerating at full power and climbing away at about 400 feet. After comfortably completing the two climbing barrel rolls, I would pull power back to idle whilst pulling up to the vertical to bleed off speed for a stall turn to the left into a vertically down attitude and a flattening turn as I came back over the airfield for a fairly slow and low steep turn. During the turn I would open the weapon bay doors to release a full load of air filled meteorological balloons. The balloons floated down onto the crowd much to the delight of all, particularly the children.
Following the release of the balloons I positioned for a short field landing using anti-skid maximum braking to stop the light aircraft in about 2000 feet on the 5,000 ft runway. Just before stoping I would have the engines accelerating to full power whilst holding on the hot brakes for about 10 seconds. The take-off could then be achieved in about another 2,000 feet leaving about 1,000 feet of unused runway. This performance even surprised experienced Canberra pilots. My fuel load was, by now, well down leaving just enough for the later flight in the last events of the display - the handicap pylon air race and a mass fly past, which I was to lead.
The air race was flown at 500 feet around significant ground marks all within view from the airfield. All aircraft types were assigned a speed to fly 5 laps and were assigned a particular time to roll on take-off. A handicapper in the tower assigned speed corrections on each lap aiming to bring all aircraft over an airfield finish line as close as possible to the same time. The air race became a popular feature of the Laverton displays. The race was also useful in getting all aircraft airborne for the finale - the mass fly past.
Two Canberras were to take part in the fly past and I wondered how I may be able to arrange for both to fly in the air race under different handicaps. I found that a single engined Canberra could be identified from the ground if an engine was closed down, allowed to cool and then made to stream unburnt fuel by opening the high pressure fuel valve and throttle.
I elected to fly the single engined Canberra in the air race following a normal two engined take-off. This was the same aircraft I had flown for the individual display and by now had low levels of fuel in its tanks. My assigned speed was 200 Kts. At this speed there was inadequate rudder to maintain balanced flight as I increased power to maintain speed while turning hard around the ground markers. I began by feeding fuel to both engines from the centre fuselage tank. The tightest turn in the race was between Laverton and Werribee and as I yawed the aircraft around this turn on the first lap the fuel in the tank must have been forced to one side away from the pick-up point for the immersed booster pump. Suddenly my only operating engine failed.
I pulled up to gain height for a dead stick landing attempt on to the airfield, declared an emergency and then started to sort through my other options. The obvious thing to do was to go for a relight on the other windmilling engine so I closed off its streaming fuel and waited a while for the fuel to blow clear. It then lit up as expected and my emergency was now over. I then joined in on the air-race again, cutting a corner to get back into my handicapped position. I now had the time to sort things out, recalling that I had seen a low pressure fuel warning light as the engine stopped. This gave me the clue I needed to deduce the reason for the engine failure. I then relit the "failed" engine which continued to perform as expected. So I then shut down the other engine again and started fuel streaming.
Little did I know but a fire had been burning in its nacelle. A gap between the engine tail pipe and the jet pipe had allowed raw fuel to dribble down into the nacelle. This had not cleared before I went for the emergency relight and had been burning whilst I relit the other engine. Nor had the fire burned out before I started to feed more fuel from the streaming engine. I had not finished the next lap before I was presented with the dreaded glow of a fire warning light. I immediately closed down the streaming, pulled up again declaring another emergency and slowed to a lower speed before discharging the nacelle fire extinguisher. I was relieved when the fire warning light went out presuming that if there had been a fire then it had gone out. I had no desire to foul up the display with an emergency landing so I called off the emergency and rejoined the air race for the second time. The handicapper was now speaking with a frantic voice while I tried my best to exhibit a matter-of fact voice showing no further concern.
A passing Sabre pilot looked me over and reported no sign of fire remaining. I could not determine whether there had been a real fire so I determined not to restart the offending engine again.
We all completed the race in a mass scramble to the finish. I cannot recall which aircraft won. My mind was already working on what to do next. I had to stay on one engine and realised that I could achieve enough speed to still lead the fly-past. I also had to be the last to land else I would block the only runway useable. I did not want to divert to another airfield. The fly-past went according to plan - the landing sequence did not, as I came in tail-end charlie.
I had to close down on the runway and have the aircraft towed away. Inspection showed there had been a fierce brief fire which had caused some wing damage. The wing was removed and replaced. Geof Wilson, the navigator, knows all about adrenaline rush. He sat on his hands for a few days to stop them shaking and even volunteered to fly with me again. I would like to hear the story again as he now tells it.