Qf Hs-125 Vh-ece
 

Just spied a recent picture of the old lady rotting away at the Oaks on airliners.net.

Link here:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1112411/L/

How did she get to the oaks in the first place, when was she retired, what happened to the other HS-125's, did they have an exact replica of a 707 cockpit and any chance of restoration of ECE?

Tanks:(

Starting backwards;

- Buckleys

- Not exactly; it had the AH and Nav systems of the B707 [Collins FD108...ahh] plus a switch to reduce or cutout the rudder bias in the event of an engine failure to simulate the foot-force required on 3 or 2 engines in a B707. otherwise, it was as Hatfield designed her. Don't even ASK about the electrical system [see above answer!!:mad: ]

- Early 80's when simulation entirely replaced the need for S/O's to actually demonstrate they can fly an aircarft in the air.

- An ex-QF [may even have been current at the time] F/E bid at auction and won. As to what was included and the argy-bargy which followed, someone else can take up that drama.

Hope this helps a bit.

G'day ;)

:uhoh: Why would anyone want to restore something that was no bloody good when it was new?

The other Qantas HS-125 VH-ECF was sold in the UK as G-BAXL. It was later re-registered G-OBOB but written-off in a crash near Columbia MO on 30 Jan 90.
I know of at least two museums which would be happy to preserve VH-ECE.
Regards

On second thoughts - three museums.

Now they were the days.

We ordered a -4BRA could get it it on the AOC but couldn't get it past customs into the country, it was that two airline policy wot done it.

You could fly around all day in private or aerial work but you weren't allowed to operate it in charter.:rolleyes: :{

The good ole DCA had a pair of them for "navaid calibration" :\ .

And then when they were way past their use by date a certain enterprising used aircraft salesman of no fixed percentage (who went on to bigger things :rolleyes: in the airline business) painted one up and I think it was VH-CAO and sold it to some gormless hopeful bizjet owner for a motza. Can't remember his, the owners, name nor heard the conversations that must have resulted when he tried to operate it.

There was then as now one born every minute.:sad:

Yup.

My old man wanted to import a Dakota in the '70s (when they were still plentiful and cheap) and do the odd charter but DCA or whatever it was then refused it, saying it was a 'commercial aircraft' with such capacity as could be used to compete with the incumbents.

Yup... a Dak competing Sydney - Melbourne against 727s... :ugh:

Here's VH-ECF: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0190708/M/

Cute little fing, innit??

Ahhh, just to complete Feather's story... A QF FE looked at the plane (which wasn't worth much anyway) and realised that he could make some money selling the flight director system, avionics etc as they were the same as the 707s.

After he bought the plane however, QF pulled everything out. The FE protested but was told tough luck. When he retired he took legal action and won. I understand the company had to pay compensation of some kind.

Here's a shot of the two aeroplanes together
VH-ECE and VH-ECF

I was lucky enough back in the 70's to be put thru a company course for both engine & airframe licences. Just in time for them both to be retired!!!! They used to be the best maintained 125's in the world!!!! Maintained regardless of cost!!!! Those were the days when Qantas actually spent money & maintained aeroplanes!!!!! Funny Hey!!!!! The company continued to pay the licence ratings even though the aircraft were retired. Sad to see ECE in such condition. At least the Air Cond inlet scoop (Leading edge at root of fin) is still blanked off!!!!!! Was the FE who bought it first name Dave???? They used to be excellent aircraft for LAMES to sleep in on night shift too!!!!! Ahhhh memories..........:8

VH-CAO's claim to fame is that the venerable DCA pilots of the day guts it at Avalon, even before the paint was dry.
There was another one about at the time operated by Tom the Cheap (honest injun) - VH-TOM
CG

Fris
PM me if you would like contact details for the owner.

Chief Galah
Here is a photo of VH-TOM

Thanks Fris,
Tom the Cheap - a grocery chain. How things have changed.
Others were Associated's G1 and G2.
As a fledgling enroute controller at the time, the few corporate jets like that used to give us headaches in the procedural control environment.
CG

Guys now you've got me stonkered, I was around in them days and there was VH-TOM and VH-BBJ, Tom the Cheap and Bell Bros (Harry Baker? Bells came to there via Austers Cessna and yes Meta Sokol etc....)respectively and we couldn't get ours in to the country for charter use due Customs and that really dumb two airline policy, despite running all over MMAs DC3s and F27s with our Navajos and C402's.

The piccie of VH-TOM has me buffaloed, are you sure that is Perth Airport as the sawtooth industrial buildings to the rear dont look like anything I remember at Perth Airport?? the building in the foreground is familiar being standard DCA issue.??

Had a look at the Ad Astral website and Barclay Archbold = VH-TOM gets a mention, anybody know what happened to him?

Methinx the Onus would be on Graham to restore VH-ECE ( at least once upon an auction ). May have changed hands several times over since then. :ok:

I remember seeing the QANTAS 125s while I was training at Cambridge. They would do and ILS to Hobart and a missed approach at the decision height. Lots of noise and and a climbing turn to intercept the course back to Sydney.

Heavy sigh from me and back to the mighty Cherokee 140. :oh: They seemed to be the height of sophistication and I have to admit that they did lead me to at least apply for a QANTAS cadetship.

Seldom, ECE is still owned by GDO. He has plans for the Oaks, but, as always, there is a problem with $$$$.

He must like HS125's - AFAIK he owned the black one at YSSY for a while.

They were used for cadets to flog around in Feather#3?

BTW did anyone archive the Space Ace newsletters from the 70'S?

Gaunty
I checked with the photographer who was living in Perth at the time and he's certain it's Perth. He, in turn, checked with a fellow historian who has also lived in Perth and he confirms it's Poith.
Regards

Well, yes, the Department did own two HS125s, but not at the same time. Also, they were never fitted for navaid calibration. They were used for personnel transport, training, radar calibration and testing of instrument approaches and visual approach aids, among other things. The job of navaid calibration was really the province of the F27s and later F28s.

A history of VH-CAO can be found at http://www.airwaysmuseum.com

The second, VH-JFT, came oh so close to being written off on its ferry to the UK after being sold that it's not funny. But that's another story...