Warbird Information Exchange

Des and Kathleen Porter's beautiful DH-84 Dragon VH-UXG has been listed as missing today after making a distress call near Kilcoy.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-01/a ... ne/4289656
I hope everyone on board is ok.

I fear the worst but hope for the best.

Officials say the plane's 68-year-old pilot Des Porter made a distress call seeking navigational assistance through heavy cloud about 2:15pm yesterday near Kilcoy, shortly before the plane's EPIRB beacon was activated.

Rod Robertson from the Gladstone Aero Club has told the ABC that Mr Porter survived an accident in the same plane that killed his father and brother near Brisbane in 1954.

Awful news today.
http://www.news.com.au/national/wreckag ... 6486865551
My condolences to the families.

Dammit. Obviously the bigger tragedy is the loss of the people, but that beautiful aircraft makes us all feel that we had a certain kinship with Mr. Porter, a mutual passion, so all the more poignant to lose him and his friends. Maybe that's why these kind of losses evoke such emotion here on WIX.



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Very Sad Indeed. Condolences to the family and friends.

I add my condolences to those of other members. I have many photos of Riama taken at various Festival of Flight flyins at both Watts Bridge in 2008 and 2010 and Caboolture last year. Riama was crashed at Archerfield Airport in 1952 by Des's father Stan who walked away from the crash. It took Des and Mothcare at Murwillumbah 19 years to restore her to the gorgeous condition she was in last week. I doubt she'll ever be rebuilt now having been completely destroyed this time.

Ross.

Very sad indeed.

I'm sorry to hear about this sad news. My thoughts are with the friends and families of those lost.

Peace,

David M