Alby's 337

[VH-XXX]

I came across these photos recently.

The story goes that Alby thummed a ride with a woman in NZ and she just happened to have a 337 in the shed that she wanted to get rid of and the market was better in Australia, so Alby took the 337 out of the shed, jump started it, flew around NZ and headed for Australia.

At first it seems like a great barn find, but then I got thinking, he's probably not a mechanic, it would need to be registered and have a 100 hourly etc even in the early 80's or whenever this was filmed. It was in the shed for 3-4 years the story goes and in theory it may have been near new.

So I'm wondering if anyone knows the history of this aircraft, was it actually owned by Alby and did they just rub some mud all over it and then go flying? It makes for an entertaining story and I know some of his exploits seem slightly embellished, but it's always good to think that these kind of barn finds do exist!

http://members.iinet.net.au/~bc_j400/alby0.jpg

http://members.iinet.net.au/~bc_j400/alby5.JPG

[fujii]

When I was working at Parafield, the 337 was in and out of there. The "mud" that was on it when there was actually paint.

[Buttscratcher]

What? So Al painted 'mud' on it to make it look tough and cool?
What a jip!

[Wizofoz]

Mangels last few films have been shown to be pretty much 100% fabrication. One of the current affairs shows did an exposé, and I remember the 337 came up.

They had people involved who admitted it was all a con- the aircraft was serviceable and Mangels didn't fly it to Aus, a ferry pilot did.

The footage shows him supposedly hand- swinging the front prop- he swings it a few times, then the prop starts turning on it's own, CLEARLY being cranked by the starter!

ETA- BLOODY IPAD SPELL CHECKER!!!

[Buttscratcher]

He did crank Judy tho
I don't think I saw any footage of that, but she was a fox!

[kingRB]

so you saying the car accident in the middle of a paddock at night into a stobie pole was faked too??? :{

[Fred Gassit]

Fake or not, I loved it when I was a kid!

[rnuts]

Point of interest !!
This 337 is still around and was auctioned recently at Essendon airport.
VH-SBZ

[gerry111]

I remember being with a mate at a disco on Greenhill Rd, Adelaide in around 1984. Alby was there and what a way he had with the chicks!

[Buttscratcher]

I liked watching his nautical adventures.
Man, he put a lot of seamen on those poopdecks!

[Wally Mk2]

At the time those Alby World Safari adventures where very entertaining & after all that's what it was all about anyway. Most of the shows would have been 'staged' in some way but filming such high risk advetres obviously resulted in some genuine footage such as the famous vehicle prang leaving the two love birds all banged up, not the sort of 'banged' Alby was used to with Judy either:E
I recall reading that there was a lot of people out of pocket at the end of the day due perhaps some fraudulent behavior.
One interesting thing if I recall correctly was that when Alby found this 'barn fnid' C337 he mentioned that it had to be flown with the wheels down due some sort of reason/story at the time ( something like 'cause it hadn't been used in years) but a little time latter there was video footage of the plane in flight following a road down low (under wing mounted camera & no 'Go Pro' back then either) that showed the plane with the U/C retracted, ahh the magic of TV:-)




Wmk2

[Jack Ranga]

The day he pranged his car with Judy in it was the day I stopped watching Sale of the Century. Bloody devastated. In the days before redtube that's all we had :ugh:

[Lasiorhinus]

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/0/9/8/0469890.jpg

[VH-XXX]

A far cry from the old 337 that Alby worked on to get running for the female owner to fly back to Australia that the chooks had been living in !

[Jack Ranga]

I don't get the point of that thing by the way?

[Vincent Chase]

That must be an old photo, it sat derelict at Essendon and was eventually written off with I believe hail damage? Now resides in pieces in the hangar of a certain collector of 337s in central Vic.

Looked the part at the time with the Westpac paint job. Also had air con, stol kit, gear mod and a nice interior so pretty flash for a mixmaster!

[VH-XXX]

What do you mean Jack, the 337 or Shark Watch?

[Raropilot]

This wouldn't happen to be ex Air Rarotonga 337 now would it?? formerly ZK-TAI... The old boss said it was sold to someone in NZ and had a wheels up or prang sometime later, and the last he'd heard was that it was in a shed somewhere in the south island! :}

[SIUYA]

I recall reading that there was a lot of people out of pocket at the end of the day due perhaps some fraudulent behavior.

It was aviation-related WM2, so there was nothing surprising about that. :}

[VH-XXX]

I'm interested in re-watching World Safari I and II if anyone knows how on earth I would be able to do that.... I would find it quite entertaining.

[Wandering]

Try here: http://www.albymangels.com/ (http://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.albymangels.com%2F&session_token=mciTGv8m94r_9i2z1OCQ13gE7758MTM4MTQ0NDk0MEAxMz gxMzU4NTQw)

There is also a load of stuff on you tube.

cheers, W

[2b2]

7mate or Gem or one of those was running the series in the afternoon in the last few months.

[Valdiviano]

Alby will be flying again, I know he bought a SeaRey kit recently:E

[spinex]

There was a Savannah for sale not long ago that had supposedly been built for Alby - "configured for an around Australia trip that didn't happen"

[gerry111]

Valdiviano,

Let's hope that you are right about the SeaRey. Alby could then call his next movie: "Around Australia at 85kts, wheels up or down." ;)

[VH-XXX]

I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that a guy bought a Slepcev Storch off him less than 10 years ago so sounds like he is still enjoying the odd adventure.

[Arnold E]

The "mud" that was on it when there was actually paint.

Me and a mate saw the 337 at Adelaide years ago in the days when you could just wander around the GA park. The "mud" was indeed mission brown paint (popular colour at the time ), looked like it was applied with a 6'' house paint brush. Apart from the brown paint the aircraft was not in bad condition as I remember.

[Horatio Leafblower]

I have seen Alby's Storch - it was bought by Mrs Leafblower's cousin Jeff, a farmer type from around Goulburn/Crookwell area, and hangared in Friendly Steve's hangar at Gurrundah.

Nice aircraft in white with red and blue stripes/stars as I recall.

[AussieO2]

This 337G was originally ZK-DRO, then to VH-SHT, then to VH-SBZ.

[Go West]

Many moons ago... I was on a quest to romance a South African lady in at a bar in Cape Town. After some small talk she asked me if I knew AM. I have not met the man so no. She continued to go on with a story about how her and her sister had not such a pleasant experience with him, so as a consequence aussies were off the menu. Bummer.

[Desert Flower]

She continued to go on with a story about how her and her sister had not such a pleasant experience with him, so as a consequence aussies were off the menu.

I think one of his nicknames was Alby Mongrels. Met him once years ago after he cadged a freebie ride on the Augusta Airways mail plane. Can't say I was impressed by him.

DF.

[Desert Flower]

Just remembered this:

Documentary maker Alby Mangels puts his Coorong home on the market | News.com.au (http://www.news.com.au/realestate/selling/documentary-maker-alby-mangels-puts-his-coorong-home-on-the-market/story-fndbawks-1226627353172)

Not sure if it's still on the market or not. Anyone got $1.2 million to spare???? ;)

DF.