Galaxy Flying School memories at Essendon.
Does anyone at Essendon remember Galaxy Flying School which was situated in Wirraway Road near the ATC control tower?
A few days ago on a bright sunny morning, I happened to stroll past the Galaxy Flying School building and peeped through the windows. The original owners of the flying school had long since passed away and the building has been empty for years.
The place was deserted and decrepit and I wondered why the owners of the airport had not demolished it long ago. Perhaps the owners are hoping some one will eventually move in. A temporary holding pad for Afghans asylum seekers from Christmas Island, maybe?
This post is to encourage a few replies from those who remember John and Elizabeth Brown who owned Galaxy Safari Tours well over thirty years ago. A close relative of mine learned to fly there when he was 16 and is now a captain on 737's overseas. He told me the story of undergoing dual instruction on the Galaxy Warrior with Elizabeth Brown as his instructor.
Elizabeth was one tough cookie and could be a bit of a shouter in the Warrior.
On this occasion the dual sequence was PFL.s in the training area west of Bacchus Marsh. Elizabeth had demonstrated one PFL by cutting the mixture and setting up the PFL pattern into the well known area called the Tee of Trees west of Bacchus Marsh. There was an ALA there and big fields.
Before going around again from the PFL, Elizabeth re-started the engine and then climbed to height for the student to conduct another PFL. Handing over control to the student she asked him to get cracking on a PFL. The student had earlier observed Elizabeth using the mixture control in the Warrior to cut the engine to simulate engine failure.
He then cut the mixture only to be on the receiving end of a torrent of abuse from the instructor about the folly of cutting the mixture to simulate engine failure. Obviously a case of do as I say - not do as I do... Like I said, Elizabeth could be abrupt at times.
Each Friday evening, John and Elizabeth would open the flying school bar to all comers at Essendon airport and it was a lovely little cocktail bar at that. The floor of the bar-room was polished wood and John would turn up dance music from a stereo radio and people socialised and danced. John was the barman and could pour a mean drink. He was also a flying instructor. The Galaxy Friday nights were a wonderful way of meeting people of aviation backgrounds and there was always a well mannered social crowd.
One of the visitors was a DCA Examiner of Airman Ricky Tate. Ricky was a popular man and one of the best Examiners I have ever known. He was my instructor on Lincoln bombers at Townsville in the early 1950's. In those days the DCA Flying Unit had a DC3 VH-CAN and a couple of F27's VH-CAT and VH-TFE. Often DCA pilots would drop over to Galaxy on Fridays evenings and have a beer or three.
Elizabeth Brown died suddenly of a brain haemorrage around 18 years ago and poor old John Brown never got over the loss of his wife. He gradually went down the drain after that and he lived his final years out at his flying school which was their home. Old friends called in every day to ensure he was eating OK and to check on his mental health which was fading. Always a friendly chap his kindly manner attracted many students to the flying school.
I know I would rather see the Galaxy building pulled down so it's ghosts could fade away. I find it sad to walk by and still see the now faded Galaxy Flying School sign still showing in the cracked paintwork above the weeds and waterless unkempt bushes that block the front entrance to the building with its dust covered club house floors. But for many pilots Galaxy and John and Elizabeth Brown were synonymous with an earlier fun era of flying.