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-   -   How many aircraft have flown under the Harbour bridge (https://www.pprune.org/pacific-general-aviation-questions/570358-how-many-aircraft-have-flown-under-harbour-bridge.html)

fencehopper 12th Nov 2015 04:45

When I was a young teenager Tricky Dick sucked me right in when he took a 'Jumbo' under the bridge. Of course it was a circus elephant on a barge.

ChrisJ800 12th Nov 2015 06:23

I was bored in the Gold Coast so took my 14yo son for a fly at the Coolangatta airport A320 sim. only paid for 30min but when they realised I could fly, stayed for 90min and included an under harbour bridge flight. So for the OP, a sim could be a fun adventure for your daughter and give her some hands on flying!

OzBob 12th Nov 2015 08:23

I believe one person who has flown under the Sydney Harbour Bridge is Sydney businessman Phil Dulhunty. He had told me had done it once but in his own words he has done it half a dozen times.
Phil was one time chairman of the Seaplane Pilots Association and the association's newsletter of 2009 has some recollection
http://www.seaplanes.org.au/Newslett...20-Aug09-f.pdf

Phil is now 91 but for many years has been actively involved in securing and returning a Catalina to the air. He is currently (and still) the Chairman of the Catalina Flying Memorial. They found and purchased one in Portugal, returned it to Australia and now doing the hard bits in funding its restoration to fly again.
About Catalina Flying Memorial

LeadSled 12th Nov 2015 22:15

Folks,
Then Squadron Leader Peter Issacson flew Lancaster Q for Queenie under the bridge in 1943.
He flew this aircraft from the UK via the US and Canada on a bond raising drive, becoming the first pilot to fly from UK to Australia via the west, surprisingly enough.
As an aside, he arrived in Sydney on his 26th birthday, having completed one tour with 460 RAAF, then another tour with Pathfinder Force. I still have the newspaper cutting from the Sydney Morning Herald for that day, preserved by my late mother.
Tootle pip!!
PS: Orbiting the bridge vertically was not the only cunning stunt Chris Braund got up to in a P-51D. He was, literally, a legend in his own lifetime at East West Airlines, before he moved to North Queensland.
PS2: Flying a cockpit (sorry, Flight Station) full of guests under the bridge was SOPs at one particular airline, needless to say, a B747 fits easily. Flying under the Gladesville bridge is a bit harder, it has a bit of scenery quite close, it is not a straight run up. But a B737 fits just fine.

Frank Arouet 13th Nov 2015 03:33

Sid Marshall funeral: City fly by saw a few strange formation antics.


CAsA advise those persons are obliged to surrender to the nearest office by COB today, Friday 13th November 2015. Failure to do so will result in further flogging of the industry until a signed admission of guilt is obtained.


For all our sakes, give yourself up!

Alexander Muro 4th Apr 2022 02:18

My grandpa was the first and we still have the newspaper clipping!
 
My grandpa (now deceased) Tom Woolsey flew under the bridge with a buddy in a small rental. I still to this day wish I knew who the other pilot was. I grew up with my grandpa in McAllen and now reside in corpus and every time I drive over I think about that.

thunderbird five 4th Apr 2022 06:43

Sydney Harbour Bridge Alex, not the miniature one in Corpus Texas....
Good effort for grandpa though!
I know a guy in Sacramento who says he and a buddy flew under the Golden Gate bridge one time, and they just kept going - did not stick around to see what the result was.

John Eacott 4th Apr 2022 07:17

Somewhere I have a few photos, probably of Ascend Charlie , faffing around under the Sydney Harbour bridge a few years back. Scuttlebutt was that the change of Harbour Master resulted in a flying ban under the bridge some 20+ years ago, with him threatening to close all shipping movements should an aircraft be seen under the coat 'anger.

Meanwhile the West Gate Bridge was first flown under when it was within Essendon CTA, rumour has it that the recently departed Ben Buckley may have been in the aircraft? I was the first under the Bolte Bridge, and my AOC Dispensation allowed me to fly under that and the Westgate when conducting filming or photography operations: I always had at least one passenger with a camera to legalise the adventure :p

missy 4th Apr 2022 07:25

Polair has.

dbr36 6th Apr 2022 03:47

Henry Goya!
 

Originally Posted by SeldomFixit (Post 9175158)
Pinky - re the over and under routine. Goya Henry would be your man.

Knew Henry - in fact we were roommates in Lae 'houssic' (??) in 1960s, Henry was by then a skipper on a vessel plying the Sepik.
A real character - believe his spouse was a very well respected Sydney girls college principal?

resonance 6th Apr 2022 06:42


Originally Posted by Ascend Charlie (Post 9175807)
I have done it, and all I was worried about was somebody dropping something onto my rotor disc.

It was when I was flying for the police, and we were looking for a "floater" off a ferry. Passed under the bridge several times, a weird feeling to have an object over the top of a rotor disc..

Was that in 2007? If so I think I may have some photos of you!

The Banjo 6th Apr 2022 09:32

Here is a good place to find the evidence!


https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/cate...rbour%20bridge

Ascend Charlie 6th Apr 2022 11:01


Originally Posted by resonance (Post 11211234)
Was that in 2007? If so I think I may have some photos of you!

Nahh, it would have been 1983 or 1984. But put the picture up anyway, good to look at.

resonance 8th Apr 2022 09:38

I would if I could but the forum software says I need more posts


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