June, 2014

Membership

Thanks to all the members who have been so prompt with their membership fees. We have had a great response. Having this money available is a great help in the running of the organisation.

And, another reminder:

We are offering the opportunity for people to directly deposit their subscription into the B-24 Liberator bank account.

If you wish to use this facility please contact our Treasurer/Membership Secretary Lyn Gorman on

lyn_gorman@hotmail.com or on 0488 588 011

Engineering Heritage

The ceremony to mark the granting of Engineering Heritage status to both the aircraft & the hangar will be held at the hangar on Sunday, 13th July at 2pm. There will be some short speeches followed by the unveiling of the information boards, followed by afternoon tea.

Speakers will be:

National President Heritage Engineers, Alex Baitch

Andrew Elsbury MLC.

Doug Lindsay B-24 Liberator Fund President.

The ceremony will last about 45 minutes.

Liberator volunteers are constructing the metal frames to hold the information panels. The hangar board will be placed outside the building close to the external door into the tearoom. The aircraft board will be mobile so that we can move it around as needed.

Thanks to Ian Burston who instigated the proceedings to get Heritage Engineers’ recognition. This recognition will be beneficial when we start applying for grants for the museum complex.

Facebook

Our Facebook page has now linked with our web page. Michael, our web page man, says the web page showing the Facebook pictures got twice as many "hits" once the pictures had been posted. The cross referencing between the two has had great results.

Membership on the Facebook page is now well over 700 and we continue to get a healthy level of interest in our web page.

I know you don’t all agree but being in the computer age is good for us.

Liberator Update (Ron Taaffe)

After cleaning up the rear spar on the starboard wing we are repairing & fitting cable guides & hydraulic pipe brackets (undercarriage & brakes). Once the cleaning & painting is finished we’ll fit the flap tracks.  

Ted & Jock are completing the generator control boxes prior to fitting them in the wing. The cable stamping machine is being fully used making sure all the electrical cables can be identified by number, by future volunteers. 

John is still working on the saddle. It’s turned out to be a little more complicated than first thought but, when sorted, we’ll be able to lower it into place & successfully mate it up with all the attachment points.  

While the saddle is off, Roger is making full use of the opportunity of access to ensure all the wing attach bolts are in place & correctly torqued.  

Once all this is done cleaning & painting of the rear spar can take place. These sections were not painted originally but for the sake of preservation, they are being treated & painted as close to the original as possible.  

Volunteers in the engine section are modifying the test stand to lower its centre of gravity & slightly reduce its width. This should make it easier to move around.  

The cockpit area is being painted with a non-reflective olive drab paint which is closer to the original colour. Most of it will be covered but we want what is visible to be authentic.

Oxford Update

Work is still in progress on the wing spar. The aluminium panel is now fitted to the wooden section. The wooden ribs which connect the two sides of the wing have been completed.

Memorial Wall

John Temby has drawn up a plan for the memorial wall to be built as part of our proposed museum complex, wherever that might be.

We have in safe storage the pavers purchased by so many of you some years ago. They have not been forgotten & will be used as soon as possible.  

However, there are several spaces still available on the proposed wall for more people to have a paver in commemoration of a family member, a family group or themselves.  

I have checked with the manufacturer & current colours of pavers in stock match the ones we already have. 

At the reunion several people inquired about purchasing a paver & there have been some email & phone enquiries as well.  

So, if you are interested please contact the Secretary to express your interest. At least 35 expressions of interest will be needed before I can order a run.  

Cost will be $50 for a single paver suitable for a single name or $100 for a double paver suitable for a family inscription.

Remember, this is an expression of interest, NOT an order, yet.

The Radar!

Heard from a visitor that a bloke living nearby was a collector of radar gear. He was cleaning out his garage prior to selling his house & was interested in selling bits & pieces. He sent us some pictures & contact details. 

Ron Taaffe & a couple of others went to look at the gear & couldn’t believe their luck when it turned out that the item for sale, at a reasonable price, was a radar unit with the correct part number for our aircraft.  

Needless to say we snapped it up. When Doug finishes the radome we now have an authentic artefact to fit under it.

Museum Accreditation

The last week in May we submitted an Expression of Interest application to Museums Australia. This is the first step in becoming accredited as a museum. MA will appoint a mentor as soon as the application is assessed to assist us through the process. Again, this will help in grant applications. We will achieve greater credibility through this work.

Reunion Lunch

We had a great day on 26th April. 77 visitors arrived. We had thought this year would be the last as acceptances were slow coming in and, up until the final days for RSVP, there were only 20 people booked in.

But, it ended up bigger than last year so we will be continuing with the lunch in 2015. Saturday proved to be a better day for people to arrange transport.  

It was great to see the veterans. We were very pleased this year to see so many young family members accompanying their veteran relatives.  

A Query for 23 Squadron

Angela Incigneri sent us a photo of a family member, Ted Incigneri, who served in 23 Squadron during WW2.

The men in the photo are obviously in a warm climate & are relaxing in front of a "shop" called Dean’s Trading Post.  

Angela would love to find out more about the trading post, particularly where it was.  

If anyone has information please contact the Secretary who will pass it on to Angela.

Jet Powered Liberator (Sourced by Dave Miller)

After several years experience modifying & repairing Liberators for the RAF during WW2 Scottish Aviation Limited at Prestwick, Scotland was given engineering approval from Consolidated Aircraft to try this.  

Early in 1944 S.A.L. began considering the design of a civil variant of the Liberator. 

This design was to include the Davis wing, a fuselage similar to the B-24D and a new single fin tail unit. In this configuration a capacity for 38 passengers was planned. 

As part of this process, the registration G-ATK was allocated to the project named "Concord", following a CofA application on 9th March 1945.  

The search for suitable engines from piston power to jet power ended with the choice of the Metro.-Vick F 2/4 series "Beryl" engine.  

So the "Concord" design developed into a four jet powered airliner.  

Pressurisation of the fuselage of the B-24 profile would have been very difficult to achieve and was considered not to be a practical proposition. In any case the Government would have prevented further progress on the grounds that national policy was against the use of USA aircraft or components.  

A 15 ft section of fuselage in airline configuration was completed but was destroyed when the Ministry of Aircraft Production became aware of it and claimed Government ownership of the metal. The registration was re-allocated to a Halifax aircraft.

Youth Club  

Unfortunately this has had to close. We have been unable to attract & keep sufficient numbers of young people to make this viable. However, it is always being considered…..if we get enough inquiries, we’ll start it up again.  

Hangar Museum  

John Gilbert, with the help of Phil Taylor, regularly updates/alters the museum displays so as to always have something interesting to show our visitors. On view at the moment is a leather satchel holding all the Consolidated Instruction Manuals. This satchel was carried on board a Liberator by the pilot. The one we have was donated to the museum in 1966. All the manuals are in pristine condition.

Interesting Contact

Go to www.vintagewings.ca then there’s a choice between English & French. Choose English. Go to ‘Vintage News’, choose ‘History & Heroes’ scroll down to ‘Manufactured Victory’.

Best shots of B-24s under construction I’ve seen!