Alby's 337
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Alby's 337
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!
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!
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!!!
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!!!
Last edited by Wizofoz; 9th Oct 2013 at 06:52.
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
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
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
Last edited by Wally Mk2; 9th Oct 2013 at 01:01.
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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!
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!
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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! 
I recall reading that there was a lot of people out of pocket at the end of the day due perhaps some fraudulent behavior.