Yesterday, we had the RAAF Museum's Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Mk.23 Mustang on show, flown by Flt Lt Peter Clements, RAAF Reserve.
The one lady owner? A few Mustangs have interesting or unusual histories. This one was built at CAC Fishermen's Bend (in sight of its current base, RAAF Point Cook, Victoria, Australia) and delivered to the RAAF in 1950. With various moves in between, this is believed to be the only active, airworthy Mustang with continuous military and current air force ownership; the owner being the RAAF, headed by Queen Elizabeth the Second. (To be totally honest, Guv, EIIR was the second owner, her father having responsibility for the first few years...)
Despite being a peacetime Australian-built CA-18 Mk.23, it is painted in the colours of the only RAAF Mustang to bear the shark's teeth, a North American built example, the markings being those of the wing commander in charge of the squadron in the Japanese Occupation Force in the 1950s.
Thought some folks would like to see our pride of the fleet, so here are the pics:
Peter gets ready to fly, helped by one of the senior technical staff. Another, the main man responsible for the maintenance of the Mustang has shot-through to the USA at the moment, for something to do with more Mustangs...
This example is fitted with a pre-oiling system (IIRC) and the team also pull through a few blades before flight. Not normal air force procedure, but we aim to be able to show this aircraft to the great great grandkids...
Grrrr....
I don't have a super-whizzy drainpipe fitted camera, but even the small zoom was challenged by the heat-haze of this warm Spring day.
We had a nice aerobatic display; loop, rolls, barrel and aileron, and a number of passes.
The Mustang wasn't the only thing airborne locally, and this Crow did a good demonstration of soaring in a light breeze with a remarkable selection of slats and variable geometry. Smarter than some aircrew too, and just as fond of chips.
The strange shape shimmering in the background is either a ship or perhaps a rig in Port Philip Bay.
The building in the background, just fitted with a new roof, is the Seaplane Shed, one of the oldest buildings on the site, many of which date back to the Great War era. This shed was used for Seagull III and V as well as Southampton hangarage. Finding a Supermarine Southampton in there now would be nice... I must check sometime...
I'm sorry to have to report our pilot arrived on an American orthodontist-wagon. I knew there were few corners on the roads near the base, but I didn't realise the roads were that easy to navigate. Of course we shouldn't be surprised by a Mustang driver wanting people to know he's coming by the loud noise emitted, would we? But I don't think being a 'soft-tail' is something a Mustang would be proud of, and 'eighty cubic inches' were amply out-sized today.
The aircraft was flown as part of the RAAF Museum's 'Interactive' flying displays. The Museum puts up an aircraft at 1pm Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, either from its airworthy fleet, or a guest aircraft, flown by a Museum friend. The Mustang is the max-puissance flying machine in the collection, which also includes a Tiger Moth, Sopwith Pup replica, CT-4 and Winjeel. The others we regularly have on show are a Birddog, Harvard and SNJ, as well as some others and the RAAF aerobatic team the Roulettes.
http://www.defence.gov.au/RAAF/raafmuse ... isplay.htm
And it's free. All you've got to do is get to the greatest city in the universe, Melbourne. ~hem hem~ See you there!
Cheers,
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