RACNSW in 'De Good Ole Days'....
Maybe urban myth but during my time working there in the 70s/80s the accommodation block was reputed to have been the VD clinic during the war years.
Never did ask whether you got 'it' or lost 'it' in those rooms!
Never did ask whether you got 'it' or lost 'it' in those rooms!
No accommodation block was the hospital for the RAAF base, my aunt was a nurse there for a period.
I remember the early 70's at the RNSWAC, good day, i'll never forget going out on a freezing winter morning to meet Stan Mobbs at 7AM to do an hours circuits in the "NEW" Cessna 150 VH-KPU.
The other memory was coming into the club after a weekend away flying, there was an air of comradreship that no longer exists. People spoke their minds be it the DCA people, the instructors, the students and other aviation people - no one was hated and everybody got on - now we have people who despise CASA, and those that have this air of superiority just because they wear a white uniform shirt.
My father who is now 92, was an instructor with the likes of Jimmy Minahan, prior to joining the airlines always says the 12 months instrcuting was some of the best year of his life - easy going
I remember the early 70's at the RNSWAC, good day, i'll never forget going out on a freezing winter morning to meet Stan Mobbs at 7AM to do an hours circuits in the "NEW" Cessna 150 VH-KPU.
The other memory was coming into the club after a weekend away flying, there was an air of comradreship that no longer exists. People spoke their minds be it the DCA people, the instructors, the students and other aviation people - no one was hated and everybody got on - now we have people who despise CASA, and those that have this air of superiority just because they wear a white uniform shirt.
My father who is now 92, was an instructor with the likes of Jimmy Minahan, prior to joining the airlines always says the 12 months instrcuting was some of the best year of his life - easy going
Grandpa Aerotart
Ahh Stanley Q Mobbs - now there was a gentlemen. I did a bunch of flying with him at Rex Aviation in the early 80s. Aerobatics in a C152A (he had a low level approval in them) night circuits - great instructor with a great sense of fun...bordering on mischief
I doubt the statute of limitation is up so I won't relate my Stan story
I doubt the statute of limitation is up so I won't relate my Stan story
The collective experience of instructors in the mid 60s ( ex military, ex and current airline as well as experienced GA guys) makes the present crop of instructors look underdone.
Ain't that the truth, the larger clubs, like the Royals, had a mixture of salaried and volunteer instructors ---- now actively discouraged, which is a great pity.
The reasons for today's degradations of basic stick and rudder skills is not too hard to work out.
Memories of Chris Braund, who finished up in Cairns with Bushies, as I recall.
When he was with EWA, he seemed to be the core of a never ending series of stories, but one takes the cake:
One morning at (then) ASSY ( why did the public servants agree for us to loose the A for Y, we don't live in Yustralia) said Braund's DC-3 was cleared for takeoff on the old RW16. One of the new fangled B727 was on the ILS ( there was only one, RW07), and the tower has stuffed up the separation a bit, and cancelled the EWA t/o clearance, but CCCCChris was a bbbbbbit sssslow on the rrrreadback, so the tower sent the B727 around.
When finally the EWA was heard from, came the never forgotten "CCCCCChicken".
Back in those days, on 07, A very crisp " Sydney Tower, XXX, Glenfield inbound, left 3000" was the height of professionalism in announcing yourself on tower.
Not for our Chris, who, when the mood took him, would come out with something like (to the tune of the Aeroplane Jelly song) " Sssssssydney Ttttttttttower iiiiis our tttttttower, wwwwwwe hhhhhear then eeeeeevey dddddday etc".
There are some ripper stories of his days in the CAF Mustangs, including "orbiting" the Harbour (ostensible to check a boat in trouble) but he orbited the bridge verticaly !!
I often wondered if the stories of his then girfriend's farmer father running his tractor on avgas was true, with the "logged" flight time on a practice cross country allegedly being some what more than the actual genuine dinky dye flight time.
Tootle pip!!
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The passing of Tom
Fantome;
Recently I found out that Tom Long has passed away, he taught me a lot, especially instrument flying on the rain making contracts. Tom had one of the best pair of hands when hand flying of any pilot that I knew.
May he Rest in Peace.
Tmb
Recently I found out that Tom Long has passed away, he taught me a lot, especially instrument flying on the rain making contracts. Tom had one of the best pair of hands when hand flying of any pilot that I knew.
May he Rest in Peace.
Tmb
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Chris Braund
Fantome,
I remember the time that Chris caused a stir by singing to Sydney Tower something like "Sydney Tower is our tower, we use it every day..........." Apparently singing helped with the stuttering.
Good days,
Tmb
I remember the time that Chris caused a stir by singing to Sydney Tower something like "Sydney Tower is our tower, we use it every day..........." Apparently singing helped with the stuttering.
Good days,
Tmb
Thread Starter
And....the way it told around the Club was the second 'verse'
'AAnd, Ththis is EEWA, aand we're aabeam of Broken BBay.."
lamax mentioned Spike Jennings - Spike was ONE of the instructors I flew with - there were 'many'...didn't question it at the time. The ex RAAF system was entrenched. If you were 'roostered' to fly with 'x', you flew with 'x'.
As said in another thread, Spike certainly was a character - as they all were I suppose.
His account of being shot down twice in Italy in WW2 and being found by the Yanks in a vineyard accompanied by two (2) local girls, and 'almost sober'....and evading the Germans.
The second time around, he said he wore ARMY boots as they lasted longer when he had to 'walk back'. Those 'Silly' flying boots weren't made for walking.
When I asked him about his first flight in the Mustang he said it was at Mildura. He had opened the throttle 'a bit at a time'... a few times, got the tail up, and thought 'thats enuf!'
One day, he says, he 'left it a 'bit late' and when he looked down again the ground was about 20ft below him. He was passing a couple of thousand ft before he was game enough to move his hands and get the gear up.
His description of the landing was something to behold...especially at the bar to a 'young fella'....
You sort of looked straight ahead, thru the curved down side panels of the windscreen, as you rounded out, and... When the 'black' of the bitumen on one side turned to green - you knew you were on the grass...
BUT, one thing he did say that has 'stuck with' me, was that 'one day they will invent a gadget that you will pull out of your pocket, lick the suction pad, stick it on the panel, and there you are - the complete nav kit. And when you're finished, you unstick it, put it in ya pocket, and 'go home'.
And now with some 'pocket' GPS...wot do we do..??
Onya Spike.
Cheers
'AAnd, Ththis is EEWA, aand we're aabeam of Broken BBay.."
lamax mentioned Spike Jennings - Spike was ONE of the instructors I flew with - there were 'many'...didn't question it at the time. The ex RAAF system was entrenched. If you were 'roostered' to fly with 'x', you flew with 'x'.
As said in another thread, Spike certainly was a character - as they all were I suppose.
His account of being shot down twice in Italy in WW2 and being found by the Yanks in a vineyard accompanied by two (2) local girls, and 'almost sober'....and evading the Germans.
The second time around, he said he wore ARMY boots as they lasted longer when he had to 'walk back'. Those 'Silly' flying boots weren't made for walking.
When I asked him about his first flight in the Mustang he said it was at Mildura. He had opened the throttle 'a bit at a time'... a few times, got the tail up, and thought 'thats enuf!'
One day, he says, he 'left it a 'bit late' and when he looked down again the ground was about 20ft below him. He was passing a couple of thousand ft before he was game enough to move his hands and get the gear up.
His description of the landing was something to behold...especially at the bar to a 'young fella'....
You sort of looked straight ahead, thru the curved down side panels of the windscreen, as you rounded out, and... When the 'black' of the bitumen on one side turned to green - you knew you were on the grass...
BUT, one thing he did say that has 'stuck with' me, was that 'one day they will invent a gadget that you will pull out of your pocket, lick the suction pad, stick it on the panel, and there you are - the complete nav kit. And when you're finished, you unstick it, put it in ya pocket, and 'go home'.
And now with some 'pocket' GPS...wot do we do..??
Onya Spike.
Cheers
"Wings in the West - A History of the First Fifty Years of the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia" - Giles, R. O.
Rob Giles was a member of the club in the early thirties. He became an instructor, served in the RAAF and after the war was a manager with MMA following which he became state manager for TAA.
His book is highly readable as it gives a colourful account of the varying fortunes of a club that played an important role in civil aviation in Australia.
He sets each period in the more general context of the times. The picture he paints of Maylands in the thirties is graphic. At times it was a struggle to stay afloat. (Not a pun on the Swan that sometimes burst it's banks and flooded the aerodrome.) The clubs depended heavily on subsidies and other disbursements from the federal government . Some of it's DH Moths were acquired from the Civil Aviation Branch of the Defence Department that preceded DCA .
An important aspect of club life was it's thriving social side, with dinners and picnics and fly aways even in it's earliest days.
There is not a comparable history published about either Royal Vic or it's Bankstown, Archerfield or Parafield counterparts. Rob Giles earned high accolades for the thoroughness and liveliness of his book.
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f104
Tommy Long Brian Walker Jim Hazelton Ray Clamback Minnie Hennessey Ray McLain Pat Harrington Bob Heyhoe (instructors ) and blokes that I flew with Mick Hutchins Bill Lazzerini and that is only at BK .!!25 years and near 13000 hrs in 5 countrys and never scratched an aeroplane or anything. except my car door when ,being an assault in the car park I thumped the blokes head into the first solid place that I could find. It turned out to be MY car!!A great learning experience if you wanted to learn.!
Last edited by bob johns; 2nd Mar 2012 at 21:48.
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FIO4
my girl friend took off and hid, the car door was ,repairable, the drunk was battered, tattered, and (thank God ) not seen again. The sheila that took off came to PNG to marry me ,two kids3grand kids and 38 years on 16 March 12
Last edited by bob johns; 2nd Mar 2012 at 21:44.
Thread Starter
ONYA Bob....Congrats!!!! And a VERY HAPPY anniversary to you both!!
Pat Harrington - flew with Pat a few times at 'Aircraft Rentals' under the careful watch of 'Father' Ray McLean.
Pat used to play the clarinet, I think it was....
Pat Harrington - flew with Pat a few times at 'Aircraft Rentals' under the careful watch of 'Father' Ray McLean.
Pat used to play the clarinet, I think it was....
Last edited by Ex FSO GRIFFO; 3rd Mar 2012 at 10:16.
Folks,
Pat Harrington was the bloke who wrote of Bushie's first Metro ( Emerald, I think) having previously written of a Commanche (250) on the 5th fairway at Pennant Hills Golf Club, and a C-182 in the hills, somewhere.
If I remember correctly, Bob Heyhoe went to ATC.
I well remember the afternoon Blackjack did a gear up in as Baron --- on an air test after a rebuild after a gear up --- back to DeHav's shed and start all over again. Gear up seemed to be Brian's specialty.
Re. Aircraft Rentals ---- "maintenance" done by Ed "Isiah" Fleming, called Isiah, as a result of a Mustang crash, leaving him with "One eyes higher than the other".
Tootle pip!!
Pat Harrington was the bloke who wrote of Bushie's first Metro ( Emerald, I think) having previously written of a Commanche (250) on the 5th fairway at Pennant Hills Golf Club, and a C-182 in the hills, somewhere.
If I remember correctly, Bob Heyhoe went to ATC.
I well remember the afternoon Blackjack did a gear up in as Baron --- on an air test after a rebuild after a gear up --- back to DeHav's shed and start all over again. Gear up seemed to be Brian's specialty.
Re. Aircraft Rentals ---- "maintenance" done by Ed "Isiah" Fleming, called Isiah, as a result of a Mustang crash, leaving him with "One eyes higher than the other".
Tootle pip!!
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Fly Illawarra
My Grandfather was Eric Greathead!
He flew for Fly Illawarra for a long time to the best of my knowledge.
Unfrotunatly when i was younger I took a lot of the things i was told about his time as a pilot by him (passed in 1993) and my Father Eric Greathead Jr (passed in 2010):sad
So it wasn't till afterwards going through old boxes and finding great pictures of the mustangs (Vh-BOY & VH-BOZ) and the Sea fury (VH-BOU) and thinking back to being told as a kid, that i realized just how incredible his life was and how highly i think of him for it.
My brother and i have been hooked on aircraft since the day we were born because of him and my grandfather on my mother side who was in the C47's during WWII.
Anything anybody can tell me about Him, old stories, pilots he trained ect or even photos if you have any would mean the absolute world to me and my brother.
I've spent the last 2 years on and off digging up old photos of then and finding the 3 old war birds. but still would love to hear anything!.
Please feel free to email me. i just signed up to reply this!
He flew for Fly Illawarra for a long time to the best of my knowledge.
Unfrotunatly when i was younger I took a lot of the things i was told about his time as a pilot by him (passed in 1993) and my Father Eric Greathead Jr (passed in 2010):sad
So it wasn't till afterwards going through old boxes and finding great pictures of the mustangs (Vh-BOY & VH-BOZ) and the Sea fury (VH-BOU) and thinking back to being told as a kid, that i realized just how incredible his life was and how highly i think of him for it.
My brother and i have been hooked on aircraft since the day we were born because of him and my grandfather on my mother side who was in the C47's during WWII.
Anything anybody can tell me about Him, old stories, pilots he trained ect or even photos if you have any would mean the absolute world to me and my brother.
I've spent the last 2 years on and off digging up old photos of then and finding the 3 old war birds. but still would love to hear anything!.
Please feel free to email me. i just signed up to reply this!
Chris Braund lived over our back fence in Harbord back in the 50s. He bought 2 Mustangs for 50 quid each, and used to fly them to country airshows, doing flour bombing displays. He never hit much.
He had to sell one of them to pay for the X-ray crack tests on the wings of the other, then he had to sell the second one to pay for the d-d-d-divorce.
He was in the front of the Ennie-Weenie Airlines DC-3 with Kevin Crowe when I had my first powered flight as a passenger. (Flown in a glider before with my father, who had flown with both Chris and Kevin). What a hoot, standing between their seats, with a headset on, listening to the local radio station 2NZ (Inverell).
He had to sell one of them to pay for the X-ray crack tests on the wings of the other, then he had to sell the second one to pay for the d-d-d-divorce.
He was in the front of the Ennie-Weenie Airlines DC-3 with Kevin Crowe when I had my first powered flight as a passenger. (Flown in a glider before with my father, who had flown with both Chris and Kevin). What a hoot, standing between their seats, with a headset on, listening to the local radio station 2NZ (Inverell).