My father was at Albatross working with the Skyhawks before moving to Amberley when the Navy shut down the fixed wing aircrafts...
Boating and fishing
- Thread starter Bluey
- Start date
Same story as BiL he moved on to the RAAF Richmond to the Caribou, when they closed the fixed wing squadron down. If I remember they moved around 1986_1987 era when they moved.
Same years at Joeys in the cadets, did camps at Rathmines, Williamtown, Richmond, and Uranquinty. Great memories.
last year we stayed at the caravan park in Blacksmiths near Swansea, went for a drive over the other side of the lake to Rathmines, most of the hangars and workshops are gone but a couple remain including the ramps for launching the airplanes and the slabs for the gone buildings. The Airmens Mess there must have had the best view of any military facility in OZ, looking out across the lake!
Yep I had a couple of postings to the Tross, (74, 79,late 80)got a chance to ride in HMAS Air Sprite at Creswell, smelt of fuel, noisy as hell but wow what a ride across Jervis Bay....just like being on a PT Boat ............. also got ride in some of the aircraft we had ................and blow things up, a very good place to be......... fishing in Jervis Bay and off the coast where I could throw up some great burley to catch some fantastic Kingies, Weetta Puffs if I recal...............................also recall in Sydney watching the flying boats land at Rose Bay................... never fished in Sydney Harbour though.
I did two flights from Rose Bay, one when I was 11, flew to Hobart with my Mum to holiday with my sister. Landed on the Derwent near the old floating bridge, before the new Tasman bridge was built. The second time was a free flight to look at a block of land up on Smiths Lake, took my soon to be wife who had never flown before. I can still find the fingernail marks in my arm.
They were noisy, especially landing but very enjoyable, converted Sunderlands, the one to Hobart was a Hythe model.
They were noisy, especially landing but very enjoyable, converted Sunderlands, the one to Hobart was a Hythe model.
My dad was in NZ building houses when WW2 broke out, he went over on a boat and was crook all the way, he flew home on a Catilina. @Drover I have a freind around the corner who was on the HMAS Melbourne in his room ironing his uniform when it hit the Voyager in JB he still struggles
Be great memories of those flying boats @chartrock was always a dream of mine and I can certainly understand your dad being crook, the sea can be a mongrel ride at times, but a Catalina ride, just brilliant Dave.......................
I have sailed with a few blokes who were there that fateful day in 64 @DRW , my seamanship instructor was a Voyager survivor who I also sailed with in later years, his experience made me make sure my seamanship was spot on, still is I think, its what he reckons saved him, I just never wanted to prove it, come close enough at times to prove it too, just not that bad........wind was coming up early today here, so boat in shed, gave the lawn mower a push..mongrel thing.
I have sailed with a few blokes who were there that fateful day in 64 @DRW , my seamanship instructor was a Voyager survivor who I also sailed with in later years, his experience made me make sure my seamanship was spot on, still is I think, its what he reckons saved him, I just never wanted to prove it, come close enough at times to prove it too, just not that bad........wind was coming up early today here, so boat in shed, gave the lawn mower a push..mongrel thing.
After golf tomorrow, I'm heading out fishing again.
MOTAT musem in Auckland has two flying boats in its collection .A Solent ,only one left in the world plus a Sunderland.Both restored to non flying condition.Great place to spend a few hours.Also a Lancaster bomber .Not many people are aware the Sunderlands also flew off the river at Grafton.NSW Remember when first arrived in Sydney and was sailing on the harbour the Sunderlands would fly in low to make everybody aware they wanted to land.Flew in a restored Catalina at Warbirds over Wanaka NZ 10 years ago,did a touch and go on the lake.A few months later it was grounded for main spar corrosion.Now fully rebuilt and flying again.
Flying in a Cat, going to Wanaka if you add pictures I will have to see about you getting banned I reckon........... So damn envious, they have some great aircraft and restorations in NZ and Wanaka is a dream.
No fishing today I'm afraid, windy and rain squalls........
No fishing today I'm afraid, windy and rain squalls........
Eye Candy
Attachments
Apologies @Drover you are correct, (again), it is a Sandringham, the one they gat from the NZAF was a Sunderland on the register.
Good youtube clips on line of the NZ Catalina flying etc.The gov regs worldwide are making it harder to get airworthies for these old warbirds etc,although NZ regs are a lot less than UK and USA. Like the steam train restoration guys here.Had to pass main line exams at own expense to do a 10 k run at Glenreigh out of Coffs Hbr ,plus all the other workplace health and safety regs,they used to get over 3000 people on long weekend trips.Now mostly static,or a diesel run for a hundred yards.Remember when I was a nipper used to stand at a train shunting yard in Christchurch NZ and a certain driver would ask me up into the cab.A little steam shunter, what a great experience for a young fella.
HARS at Albion Park NSW has amongst its great collection of flying airframes a PBY Catalina, The Black Cat have viewed it at Temora and vids of it doing touch and go's on Lake Illawarra, @Crusty181 and I were at Lake Boga a couple of years ago for the Ctaalina Museums flying day but sadly bad weather on the coast kept the Cat on the grund but we did see some great flying displays......................All Short Sandringhams started off as Sunderlands then were converted to Sandringhams from about 1942, the Beachcomber started off the same way but never saw war service, converted in 47 then ended up in NZ but not a RNZAF aircraft then Oz under various badges, then USA then back to UK and Southampton.......... or so my Big Book of Planes says..... I always like to think of them as Sunderlands, just a few more seats and no guns..............
This is one of my favourite aviation history places https://www.goodall.com.au/photographs/afbs-70/ansettflyingboats.html
This is one of my favourite aviation history places https://www.goodall.com.au/photographs/afbs-70/ansettflyingboats.html
Last edited:
The RNZAF Sunderland that was sold to Ansett was on the Australian register as a Sunderland VH BRF, that is the airplane I was refering to previously. I just don't communicate my thoughts clearly, sometimes.
The photos of the Ansett airplane were indeed taken at Southampton a couple of years ago. It is in a smallish shed located near the passenger ship docks, hidden away in the back streets, I was driving past and saw a very small sign saying aviation museum, so stopped and had a look and there it was.
Had a look at the Cat at the Lake Boga museum when on a caravan trip, I didn't know of the maintenance facility that was there before that.
A lot of our WW2 history has been lost.
Ansett ran a Sydney to Port Macquarie flying boat service before the airstrip was built at Port. I have a photo of it taking off on the Hastings river but unfotunately it is on a kodachrome slide, so can't post it.