A couple of exciting additions have been incorporated into this Saturdays Aircraft Showcase – Korea. 2010 marks the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War and the RAAF Sabre and Meteor are being showcased along with the CAC Mustang from the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. The Mustang is a welcome addition to our popular Aircraft Showcase. This is the first time the RAAF Museum Mustang has been able to make the journey to Temora, so this is definitely an opportunity not to be missed. http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/exhibitions/interactive/mustang.htm

With his aircraft fresh of the ship after finishing the Red Bull Air Race season, pilot Matt Hall will display his skills during the Aircraft Showcase this Saturday. Seeing Matt perform his tight turns, loops and rolls is something which must be seen to be believed. Matt is an experienced pilot and his logbook includes time in the F/A-18 Hornet as well as many Warbird and civilian types. When he last flew at the Museum it was in a WWII Mustang but this time he will amaze our visitors with an aerobatic routine in his Red Bull race machine. http://matthallracing.com/

Aircraft Showcase allows the you to get up close to the aircraft, talk with the pilots and gain a insight into how we keep these aircraft flying and what it is like to fly these old warbirds – which only a handful of pilots have the privilege to do.

One of the most popular aspects of Aircraft Showcase is the informative talks and demonstrations given by the Museum’s Engineering team. This Saturday, Engine builder David Finch will be on hand to demonstrate the operation of the Rolls Royce Derwent engine which powers the Gloster Meteor while Ben Muller will be helping you to understand the complex hydraulic system which is a critical part of the RAAF Sabre. Andrew Bishop with be available to answer any questions regarding the powerful V12 Merlin Engine and we will also have an assortment of instruments and gauges demonstrating their internal workings. The engineering tour takes place after the flying display with all engineers and pilots on hand to answer your questions.

We are also planning an informative discussion on ejection seat use and operation which will be presented by Alan Clements. Alan is a Group Captain in the RAAF and currently flys the Museum’s Meteor F.8. Assisting Alan with the discussion will be Sabre pilot Squadron Leader Paul Simmons. This will take place in the Display Hangar immediately following the morning movie.

A successful weekend was had by all at the Museums August Flying Weekend, which was held on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28. All Flying displays were co-ordinated smoothly with a cloudless blue sky for the backdrop.

The Royal Australian Air Force Roulette Aerobatic Team proved to be a big draw card for visitors on the Sunday, when they performed their fantastic synchronised flying routines. We thank the Roulettes for attending our Flying Day and we look forward to them returning to Temora again.

Two other big attractions to the Museums Flying Weekend were Col Pays P-40E Kittyhawk and CAC Mustang. To continue the 60th anniversary celebrations that were held to commemorate the end of WWII in Canberra, these two aircraft, along with the Spitfire, put on a special World War II tribute by flying one after the other in the skies above Temora.

The Museums next Flying Weekend will fall on the weekend of 1-2 October. The Museum looks forward to seeing you there.

More action is expected at the Museum on September 9-11 when the Jet Flyers Association of New South Wales will meet for their annual Model Jet Championships for 2005. The event will be held over three days, Friday 9, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September at Temora Aviation Museum.

The Model Jet Flyers Association claims to have the best jet pilots in Australia running turbine powered scale jets. Pilots come from all over the country to visit Temora to partake in this three day event. The high speed display, at 200 kph plus, promises precision aerobatics. Model aircraft that you are likely to see will range from the usual sport jet to the scale jets such as the F.18, MIG 15, F.15, F.86, Vampire, Euro Fighter, Saab Vigen and many more.

Friday will be a set-up and test fly day, with Saturday and Sunday being the main event days. Flying will begin at 10.00 am until 4.30 pm on Friday, with Saturday and Sunday’s times being 9.30 am until 4.30 pm.
Entry to the event is through the Museum at Museum admission prices:
$10 for adults; $7.50 people aged over 65; and $5 for children (3-18 yrs).

Full canteen facilities will be provided all days, which will be run by the local Fire Brigade within the Museum’s Mess Hall.

VP Day Celebrations at Canberra

Seven aircraft from the Temora Aviation Museums collection flew to Canberra over the weekend to participate in the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II – Victory in the Pacific (VP Day) August 15. The celebrations and exhibits were held over three days on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin and were themed as a Salute to Veterans. The Museums participation was concentrated mainly within Sundays events, where we were fortunate to have sunny weather. For those of you that visited the VP Day celebrations in Canberra but were unable to see the Museums aircraft up close, check them out at Temora Aviation Museums Flying Weekend on August 27 and 28.

The Museums promotion stand was taken to Canberra and it proved to be a popular attraction. Likewise, a busy time was had by the Museums engineering team, whom spent most of their time frantically fuelling and preparing the Museums aircraft, ready for flight above Lake Burley Griffin. We would like to thank Museum Crew member and aircraft historian Peter Anderson for the fantastic job he did with providing commentary throughout the event.

The Museum was also fortunate to have an F-111 visit briefly in the afternoon of Saturday 13. The F-111 flew with the Museums Canberra and Hudson for a formation practice in preparation for Sundays display.

Flying Weekend

The Museum continues its celebration of VP Day with our next Flying Weekend which will occur on August 27 and 28. Visitors can expect to see history come alive as the Museums fleet take to the skies above the Museum. The Museum is also pleased to announce that Col Pay is bringing his magnificent P-40E Kittyhawk and CAC Mustang for the weekend. Cols P-40E is painted in the colours of RAAF 3 Squadrons desert camouflage scheme. The aircraft carries the markings of Bobby Gibbes AM WG CMR DSO DFC* and is complete with a replica of the original nose art.

Another attraction to this coming Flying Weekend will be the attendance of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Roulette Aerobatic Team on the Sunday only. The Roulettes are always a popular attraction due to their skilled manoeuvres in synchronisation. The Museum looks forward to their involvement.

Museum Flying Days involve interesting commentary, interviews with the pilots and a selection of background music. Visitors can get up close to the aircraft and pilots during the ramp talk session, which occurs at the end of the day. This opportunity can be used to ask the pilots any questions, obtain autographs or get close photographic shots of the aircraft.

Temora and the surrounding district experienced some wet and foggy conditions over the flying weekend, June 11th and 12th. The Saturday of the Museums Flying Weekend was washed out with the arrival of some much-needed rain. This steady rainfall throughout the day ensured that the Museums aircraft and visiting aircraft were not able to take to the skies. However, visitors were able to look around the Museum, view the displays and theatre, as well as the Museums collection of aircraft. The Caboolture Mustang, Matt Dennings Boomerang and one of the F/A-18 Hornets were also exhibited. Visitors were able to climb up and view inside the Hornet, while members of the Hornets team were on hand to impart some detailed knowledge about the aircraft. Meanwhile, various Museum crew took turns speaking to the crowd entertaining them with their knowledge about the Museums aircraft and what they are like to fly.

Museum staff, crew and volunteers were anticipating better weather for Sunday and were eager to get the show underway, although this was also dampened with a low fog that never lifted. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 Hornets were a great attraction nevertheless and the visitors that stayed until the end of the day were able to view the two Hornets departing for Williamtown, which was a spectacularly noisy and fast display.

Temora Aviation Museum would like to thank all the RAAF team including Temora district local Group Captain (GPCAPT) William ‘Billy’ Henman for bringing their splendid aircraft to the Museum, as well as Tony Alder for bringing the Mustang and Matt Denning for his visit with the Boomerang. The Museum would also like to thank the patient, co-operative visitors that took part in our event over the weekend. Uncompromising weather and unforseen circumstances are simply part of the package of hosting an outdoor aviation event.

For everyone that missed out on seeing our aircraft fly during the June weekend, we would like to remind visitors that our next flying weekend is not far away. At this stage it is exactly four weeks away and will fall on July 16th and 17th 2005.

Temora Aviation Museums June Flying Weekend is rapidly approaching with the event to take place on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th. The Museum is excited to announce that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 Hornets are scheduled to attend. It is expected to be a huge weekend with flying by the Museums aircraft, an F/A-18 Hornet, as well as the bonus inclusion of Matt Dennings fabulous WWII Boomerang and the Caboolture Queensland based CAC Mustang, to be flown by Tony Alder.

F/A-18 Hornets are rarely seen at rural air-displays thus making their appearance at Temora a truly unique opportunity for Museum visitors to see the aircraft up close. The F/A-18 Hornet is a multi role fighter designed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions and is one of the most potent fighter and accurate strike attack aircraft in the world. Manufactured by Boeing it incorporates two 7,258 kg thrust General Electric F404 turbo fan engines which allow the aircraft to reach speeds of Mach 1.8 (2,220 km/h) and reach altitudes above 45,000 feet. The Hornets participating at the Temora Aviation Museum’s Flying Days are from RAAF 77 Squadron based at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW.

A highlight of the Hornets visiting Temora is that one of the RAAF pilots is Group Captain William ‘Billy’ Henman. Billy was raised on his parent’s property at Barmedman NSW, which is a few minutes drive north of Temora, so he has a strong childhood association with the surrounding district. “To be able to fly into my hometown in an F/A-18 Hornet is a real privilege and honour and it just goes to show that if you really put your mind to something your dreams can come true” GPCAPT Henman said.

Also flying over the June weekend will be the Museum’s fleet. This includes aircraft such as the Spitfire, Tiger Moth, Canberra, Wirraway, Dragonfly and the Meteor. The RAAF operated Meteor F.8’s in Korea in the early 1950s, with the Meteor F.8 being the last RAAF aircraft involved in air-to-air combat. It will be a special occasion to have both a current serving modern attack fighter and the world’s only airworthy Meteor F.8 displayed together, especially considering that both aircraft are both painted in 77 Squadron markings.

This weekend is planned to be a fantastic show that will entertain families, veterans, enthusiasts or anyone looking for something different to do on the weekend. Come along and visit Temora Aviation Museum’s special flying weekend on the 11th and 12th of June 2005. The Museum will be open from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm, flying begins at 11.00 am.

Temora Aviation Museum’s June Flying Weekend is rapidly approaching with the event to take place on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th. It is expected to be a huge weekend with the inclusion of visiting aircraft such as Matt Denning’s fabulous WWII Boomerang and the Caboolture Queensland based CAC Mustang, to be flown by Tony Alder. This particular Mustang (A68-769) is an Australian built aeroplane which was sold overseas, after its removal from RAAF service. Years later it was acquired by a consortium of pilots and brought back to Australia where Sandora Aviation took on the job of restoring the aircraft. The Mustang was completely rebuilt and repainted to represent Mustang aircraft flown by 82 Squadron in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japan post war. Its paint scheme features distinctive nose art markings of a large Pegasus and a little cartoon dog called Snifter. This dog was a popular comic character during the war and appeared on many RAAF aircraft. This Mustang is now kept on display at the Caboolture Warplane Museum.
The restoration of Matt Denning’s rare WWII Boomerang fighter aircraft called “Suzy-Q” has been a personal life-long commitment for Matt. The Boomerang project was something Matt started as a fifteen year old (with skeletal aircraft remains) and which took him 27 years to complete. “Suzy-Q” artwork was adapted to his aircraft’s side cowl in memory of the name given to Boomerang A46-122, by its assigned pilot Paul Bash, who spent most of his RAAF service life with 83 Squadron. The restoration of Matt’s airworthy Boomerang is an amazing example of his devotion for historic Australian aircraft.

Also flying over the June weekend will be the Museum’s fleet. This includes aircraft such as the Spitfire, Tiger Moth, Canberra, Wirraway, Dragonfly and the Meteor. The RAAF operated Gloster Meteor F.8’s in Korea in the early 1950s, with the Meteor F.8 being the last RAAF aircraft involved in air-to-air combat.

Helping local charities

The Museum relies on the volunteer efforts of the Temora Branch of the NSW Fire Brigade (and families) to donate their time to manage the lunch and refreshments venue, the ‘Mess Hall’ at our Flying Weekends. The Mess Hall provides tasty items such as steak and sausage sandwiches, hot dogs, pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches, ice cream and hot and cold drinks. All profits made go directly to local charities.
The Museum would like to thank Captain Greg Matthews and his team, they volunteer every Flying Weekend to exert themselves with much preparation and cooking. To date, the Museum and the Temora Fire Brigade have raised more than $66,000 for the benefit of the Temora township.

As we rapidly approach the last flying weekend for 2004, we would like to remind everyone of the essence of the Temora Aviation Museum. Temora in its own right played a significant role in aircrew training and thanks to the sacrifices of members of all Australian Services Australia enjoys an enviable freedom. The Museum is proud to preserve and display some of the key aircraft associated with Australian Military Heritage and we are lucky to have the opportunity to enjoy, see and hear these rare and magnificent aircraft. Lest We Forget.

To contribute to the Museum’s Flying Weekend (27 & 28 November), a number of significant aircraft will be attending to compliment our own. Linked with modern aviation, the RAN Squirrel Helicopters will demonstrate their precision formations. The HARS Catalina will be making its Temora debut and in concert with the Hudson Bomber will display an ominous airborne presence. The most significant formation of WW2 Australian fighters will also grace the skies. The Museum’s Spitfire will be accompanied by no less than Matt Denning’s CA13 Boomerang, Judy Pay’s P-51 Mustang and Australia’s newest P-40 Kittyhawk, courtesy of Col Pay. This photographic opportunity will rarely present itself, so should not be missed! We look forward to enjoying another fantastic Museum flying weekend with all of you.

The Museum would like to welcome Ian Hender and David Finch to its ranks. Both are engineers and their expertise will be much appreciated and put to immediate use. They bring a wealth of experience covering engines, fabric and the woodwork skills necessary to help maintain our antique aircraft.

Spectators have also been privileged to see Australia’s newest Spitfire pilot, Guy Bourke performing in concert with the Museum’s Hudson and Judy Pay’s Mustang. Since the end of WWII, this is possibly the first time that the Spitfire, Mustang and Hudson have been in formation together.
In keeping with the WWII theme, Guy dressed in a period WWII fighter pilot uniform to enhance his display.

The new runway is still under construction and will require certification prior to its use. We will keep you posted on its availability for the November weekend. We’re hoping this will be an early Christmas present for Temora.

On Friday morning the 8th of October, Channel Seven’s Grant Denyer will be broadcasting the weather live from the Temora Aviation Museum as part of the Sunrise programme. The show airs on the seven network from 6am to 9am EST. If your up early come and join us or tune in for a spectacular look at the Museum and our aircraft.

The October 9th and 10th Flying Weekend is rapidly approaching and promises to deliver a wide array of exciting aviation displays. Spectators will be able to catch Judy Pay’s Vampire and Mustang in the company of many of the Museum’s aircraft. Australia’s newest T-28 Trojan is slated to make an appearance and participate in a spectacular Vietnam scenario, showcasing the Cessna 0-1 Birddog, Cessna 0-2A, T-28 Trojans, Cessna A-37B Dragonfly, Canberra and the Navy Historic Flight Huey.

As a special treat, the Museum is proud to present, for our third consecutive year, the RAAF Roulettes Air Demonstration Team. These guys will showcase their flying skills in a spectacular formation flying display. The Roulette Team will be on the ground both Saturday and Sunday to sign autographs and pose for pictures with you and your family. Bring the children for this fantastic day of fun and flying.

Needless to say, the Museum’s second last flying display weekend for this year will include sufficient variety to appeal to almost every aviation interest and is not to be missed! We look forward to sharing this fantastic weekend with all of you.

The flying will commence here at Temora Aviation Museum on Saturday 24th April from 11am with the Tiger Moth and the Ryan leading a field of Warbirds which will entertain you for four hours. This will include displays by the Boomerang and Wirraway: the Spitfire and Mustang: the O1, O2A and Trojan: the Canberra and the A37B Dragonfly. Tom Moon will also thrill you with his aerobatic display in his Extra 300s.

On Sunday 25th April the Museum is honored to be asked to participate in the Temora Anzac March and Cenotaph Service which will commence at 11.15am. Museum pilot and Retired Air Commodore Bruce Wood will be the guest speaker at the service. The Spitfire and Wirraway along with Matt Denning’s Boomerang and Judy Pay and Dick Hourigan’s Mustang will conduct a fly past at the conclusion of the service. The flying program will commence at the Museum at 12.30pm. Visitors will witness nostalgic displays by the Spitfire, Boomerang, Mustang, Tiger Moth, L-39, Trojan and A37B.

In remembrance of Anzac Day the Temora Aviation Museum has joined with the History Channel to air the programme titled Temora Aviation Museum Warbirds. This one hour documentary will premier in Australia and New Zealand on the History Channel Sunday 25th April 2004 at 6.30pm EST.