HAPPY HOLIDAYS
On this Christmas Eve Temora Aviation Museum would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters and visitors over the past year. We wish each and every one of you a safe and happy holiday season and we look forward to your continued support in 2004.

The launch of our online shop this month has been a huge sucess and now that the Christmas rush is over we would encourage you to remember to use the shop for those special gifts.

The engineering crew is busy giving the Meteor its annual inspection and planning for our next flying weekend on January 24th and 25th is well underway. Between now and then many members of the crew will be taking a well deserved break so we can start the new year fresh and ready to fly….

Visitors to the Museum were treated to a fantastic end of year flying weekend thanks to crystal clear blue skies and dynamic flying displays. Joining us for the weekend was our friend and ‘Flightpath’ Editor, Rob Fox and from the UK were ‘FlyPast’Deputy Editor Jarrod Cotter, and Chief Photographer Duncan Cubitt. Both publications were on site to do stories about the Museum and it’s Aircraft.

On Saturday the Museum was honoured with a visit by Sir Tim Wallis, wife Prue and son Nick from New Zealand. Sir Tim is the principal behind the Alpine Deer Group and the Alpine Fighter Collection which has made him a leading light in the Warbird community worldwide.

Saturday also saw the Museum’s Vampire and Canberra participate in a flypast over the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, commemorating the re-dedication of the famous Lancaster ‘G’ for George.

The flying displays comprised graceful aerobatics by the gleaming Ryan, the Vietnam workhorses in the guise of the O-1 and O-2, the Vampire, Meteor, Spitfire and A-37B Dragonfly. There were also two extra special attractions. The first was the visually exhilarating race between the Castrol/Perkins V8 Supercar and Tom “Mr Magic” Moon’s Extra 300S. The smoke, noise and speed were awesome, with a near photo finish on Sunday! The second was the participation of the World’s only flying Hudson Bomber! The Hudson was gracefully diplayed by Tony Alder and as an added bonus, the first ever formation of the Hudson Bomber with the Museum’s Canberra Bomber. The Museum wishes to thank Larry Perkins and his team and Malcolm Long, sons Michael and Peter and Tony Alder for their contribution in making this a most memorable finale.

The big news at the Museum this week is that a series of five minute programmes featuring the Museum’s aircraft will be aired on The History Channel during the month of December 2003, in celebration of a centenary of powered flight. The series which has been produced by the Museum was handed over to The History Channel last friday and word has just been received from them that they will start to go to air today. The Canberra segment will air at 4.24pm, the Wirraway segment at 8.23pm and the Spitfire segment at 9.20pm. All together there are eight segments each featuring a different aircraft. The History Channel has advised that they will endeavour to air them at approximately 8.23pm and 9.20pm each evening throughout the month of December.

This weekend will be our final flying display for 2003. Aside from the Museum’s aircraft we have a couple of special items on the programme. Larry Perkins will be here with his Group 1 V8 Supercar Commodore and will race the Extra on Sunday. The Ryan will take to the skies and a Hudson Bomber will make an appearance on both Saturday and Sunday.

In an effort to help all of you with your Christmas shopping the Museum gift shop will be offering 15% off everything in the store except admissions and gift certificates on Saturday and Sunday. This could be your last chance to get that special aviation gift.

We are planning a great weekend and hope to see you all here

As a result of the severe wind and rain storm which hit Temora of Friday November 21st, parts of our facility have been damaged. The damage mainly affected the engineering facility and one aircraft. Thankfully no injuries were received by our crew and the public areas and display hangar have not been affected. Although there is a big clean up ahead we are confident that there will be no change to our normal operating hours or flying weekends.

Despite the big clean up we are in full swing preparing for our next flying weekend. The Museum aircraft including the Spitfire, Vampire, Meteor, Canberra and Dragonfly will participate in the displays. Special guest this weekend will be Larry Perkins with his V8 racecar. Larry will race the Extra 300s which should prove to be a worthy opponent.

Also joining the flying days will be Malcolm Long’s Hudson Bomber. Malcolm is kindly bringing his aircraft from Queensland to Temora where it will participate in our flying. The Hudson is the only one of it’s kind still flying in the world.

A reminder that the Museum will open at 10am with flying commencing at 10.30am on both Saturday and Sunday.

What a fantastic flying weekend! Not only were we treated to 30 degree plus summer weather, the aviation variety on display was unparalleled. In addition to the Museum’s displays there were three other noteworthy additions. We were delighted that Col Pay dropped in on Saturday with his CAC Mustang. The sight and sounds of the Mustang and Spitfire together is seldom found anywhere in the world – but it was heard here over the weekend. The RAAF Point Cook’s trainng aircraft through the ages provided an excellent opportunity to see the grouping of CT4s, Winjeels and the Harvard in formation. Of course one of the weekends’ highlights was the precision aerobatics displays by the RAAF Roulettes. The Museum is grateful for their participation as it enhanced the overall venue much to the benefit of the visitors.

An important note for your aviation diaries. The Museum will be commencing the flying displays at 10:30am for the December 6th and 7th and the January 24th and 25th flying days. This is to take advantage of the cooler morning temperatures. With only three weeks until the next Museum flying weekend, preparations are already underway for our final diaplay of 2003. We hope to see you here.

With the Museum’s staff in high gear preparing for this coming weekend, it was important that we took time out yesterday to remember all those service men and women who gave their lives so that Australia can enjoy a freedom that is envied the world over. We also give thanks to those currently serving at home and abroad, carrying on the Aussie ‘Digger’ tradition. The Temora Aviation Museum sincerely hopes that through the public flying displays we conduct, we may act as a link to keep alive the memory of men and machines that are Australia’s aviation heritage. (more…)

Currently all participants are on track to attend the Museums November 15th and 16th flying weekend, which will provide a unique blend for all aviation enthusiasts and photo buffs alike.
The Museum is eagerly anticipating participation from the RAAF Roulettes, HARS Catalina and RAAF Museum Point Cook with some of their aircraft. We would love to see as many people attend as possible to help us celebrate the Centenary of Flight. In addition to meeting visitors on Saturday afternoon, the RAAF Roulettes will be signing autographs Sunday morning between 1000 and 1030.
Today the Museum had a special visit by veteran members of 3 Squadron RAAF. The Museum’s DH82 was able to fly a couple of circuits to add some ambiance and hopefully rekindle many nostalgic memories for them.

The Australian Airshow season is underway with three back to back airshows taking place in southern NSW and Victoria. The Museum participated in RAAF Point Cook’s Air Pageant last weekend with Roger McKay conducted a stunning display in of our Cessna Dragonfly.

On Friday the 5th of March the Museum will take the Canberra to RAAF Williamstown to participate in a ceremony for the reactivation of 2 Squadron RAAF. Our Canberra is painted to represent a 2 Squadron aircraft that operated in Vietnam.

Sunday 7th March will see a strong presence from the Museum attend the Albury Airshow. The Cessna Dragonfly under the command of Darren Crabb will thrill the crowds with its noise, smoke and incredible performance. Albury pilot Steve Death will be the star of the show as he displays the Museum’s Spitfire which is the only flying Spitfire in Australia. The Museum will also have a stand selling gift shop items and hosting World War II pilot Ted Sly. Ted will be happy to talk with you and autograph copies of his book “The Luck of the Draw”

New Runway
The Temora Shire Council is constructing an additional runway here at Temora. The project has been under development for over 12 months and construction commenced prior to the end of 2003. The new runway will be 2000m long and oriented NE/SW or 05/23.

The Temora Aviation Museum is excited about this project as it will give greater flexability to our aircraft operations. The runway is part of the Temora Shire’s ongoing commitment to attract aviation related businesses to Temora. The runway is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter 2004.