PPRuNe Forums - C-47 Dakota Darwin 17 August?

PPRuNe Forums (https://www.pprune.org/)

- The Pacific: General Aviation & Questions (https://www.pprune.org/pacific-general-aviation-questions-91/)

- - C-47 Dakota Darwin 17 August? (https://www.pprune.org/pacific-general-aviation-questions/583087-c-47-dakota-darwin-17-august.html)

C-47 Dakota Darwin 17 August?

Anyone know where the C-47 that overnighted in Darwin last night is heading to? Not sure what the tail number was, but it was in green military duco with U5 painted on the forward fuselage.

From Australian Warbird News Facebook.

Former RAAF C-47 is now flying its way to China for its new life.

It had resided at Bathurst airport for last few months due to operational issues but now all fixed and test flying, It is leaving Australia for the last time it seems to become a museum item in China, regarding the Hump famous flights of WW2.

Parked in Bathurst for operational reasons!!!!

Simply to escape the clutches of BAL and their greedy daily charges

VH XUX departed Bali around 0830 today heading north.

It looked great taking off from runway 09 and the sound :D

VH-XUX?
What was its previous identity - can somebody say?
The memory cells are dimming a bit.

VH-XUX a 1944 built C-47A has been flown in recent times after a lengthy restoration. The aircraft has seen service with the USAAF as 42-92709 and then with the RAAF as A65-41. After wartime service the Aircraft was transferred to MacRobertson Miller Aviation Company (MMA) in Western Australia and put on the Australian civil register as VH-MMF. Sadly the news reaches us that the aircraft is to leave our shores headed for China.

https://www.facebook.com/HistoricAus...01945986554754

Thanks for that, RENURUPP. :ok:

Perhaps the Chinese may use XUX as a pattern aircraft? :)

I am advised that the registration XUX was the next available and has no other significance.

Rgds

I've just been informed that it blew a cylinder to-day and had to fly for 30 minutes before landing at Surabaya Indonesia ..Glad all are safe.

Quote:

I am advised that the registration XUX was the next available and has no other significance.

Nope. Someone has specifically chosen that rego, it was not next in line. Probably a simple reason like it sounded cool at the time.

Quote:

Nope. Someone has specifically chosen that rego, it was not next in line. Probably a simple reason like it sounded cool at the time.

Maybe there was an element of choice but the owner tells me there is no significance to the registration.

This aircraft has had an interesting history and like a cat 9 lives.

VH-MMF Douglas DC-3

During its stay with Air Tasmania the seating was increased to 36Y.

What a history. Thanks for the link B772

Slim Rosier told me they got some interesting comments climbing straight to Fl250 in
the survey machine, with paddle blade props (and IIRC a manual two stage super charger).
I guess it was MMF.

From your link

Quote:

Aircraft was granted a liquor licence and classed as a public place - February 1974

Licensee was Air Tasmania's Chief Pilot Captain Terry Burns and aircraft configured with 32 seats

Terry Burns - quite a character down in Tassie :ok:

It's not looking good for XUX.
She's done an engine. Safely on ground at Surabaya, Indonesia.
Some details here:

FLYING THE HUMP -- Commemorative Flight across the Himalayas to China

Post purchase look at aircraft, Bankstown Airport, Sydney

Landing at Surabaya, left engine feathered
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8ae73d30b1.jpg

Not looking good
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1a3ddb8205.jpg

Sad news, however there is hope - if we chip in, even if it's a few dollars. Didn't realise the history of this aircraft.

I'm really happy I opened this thread!

The book Flying the Hump. by Jeff Ethel and ?? Top read and great pics
Well worth hunting up a copy

Flight continues

It is believed XUX is scheduled to depart Surabaya for Singapore, 5 hrs, tomorrow at noon Syd time. Live tracking at web site.

Singapore Departure

After flying over 'The Hump' (13,000 ft), the R engine blew a cylinder
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....61229e900d.jpg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A World War II-era C-47 aircraft awaits repairs at Kunming Changshui International Airport in Yunnan province on Saturday after a commemorative "Hump" flight.Li Zhe / For China Daily:

Plane donated to preserve memory of Flying Tigers, wartime alliance.

An aging World War II-era C-47 aircraft, heading for Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, landed at Kunming Changshui International Airport in Kunming, Yunnan province, on Saturday after a commemorative "Hump" flight, widely known as the most dangerous aircraft route in China during World War II.

The plane will be donated by the Flying Tigers Historical Organization to the Flying Tigers Heritage Park in Guilin for permanent display.

The Hump was one of the most important air routes connecting China with allied forces in South Asia. During the war, about 850,000 metric tons of supplies reached China from India via the route, though about 1,500 US planes crashed along the way - victim to the formidable mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and their fickle, often nasty, weather conditions. Pilots said the huge ridges looked like humps, thus the moniker.

The American Volunteer Group, also known as the Flying Tigers, took on the dangerous mission, and American C-47s delivered the first, small load of supplies in July 1942.

Aircraft flies final Hump to China

The plane currently has five crew members, including two from the United States and three from Australia. Their average age is above 70 years.

Larry Jobe, the captain of the first flight who now serves as president of the historical organization, said he wants to honor the men and women who risked their lives flying the Hump and preserve the memory of what China and the United States accomplished.

Beginning in Australia on Aug 13, the final flight over the legendary route was pretty smooth until Indonesia, where one of the aircraft's engines blew out. After six weeks of repairs, the plane took off again and finally made it over the mountains to Kunming on Saturday.

"Unfortunately," Jobe said, "before landing in Kunming, we had to shut another engine down. The plane is not flyable."

As the single most important aircraft for China's survival of the war, the C-47 once transported fuel, ammunition and oxygen that China needed in the China-Burma-India theater.

"Without the supplies, Burma and its fighters would be nothing more than ground targets for the Japanese," he said.

The plane has served many useful missions during its life.

Before the historical organization bought the plane, it was used in movies, Jobe said.

"They painted it up and named it 'Buzz Buggie'. We kept the name because we found a B-24 Burma aircraft called Buzz Buggie had also flown the Hump," he said.

At the moment, the plane cannot continue its journey. The plan is to fly it to Guilin after repairs are made.

"Although she is in Kunming, she did cross the Hump and came back to Chinese soil," Jobe said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kunming International Airport. Mixing it with the heavy metal...but looking a little broken.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....3ef9448c44.jpg

...but they made it. The "Humpers" and middle flag carried over "The Hump" on 15 Oct 2016 to honour the crews of over 600 aircraft lost flying The Hump in WWII.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....36e33982c9.jpg