Old Station Fly-in & Heritage Show 2016 (pt.2)

Continuing our focus on some of the more prominate aircraft that attended Old Station Fly-in & Heritage Show 2016, part two features Matt Hall Racing Extra EA300L VH-IOG, North American T-28D-5 Trojan VH-TRO, Yakovlev Yak-52 VH-YBZ and Nanchang CJ-6A VH-XXB.

 

After spending 18 years as a pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and most of his military career flying McDonnell Douglas F-18A/B Hornets, Matt Hall now enjoys competing in the Red Bull Air Race Championship, or performing aerobatic displays at selected events.

 

The most common aircraft Matt uses to perform aerobatic displays is Extra EA300L VH-IOG. Specifically built as a high performance aerobatic plane in Germany in 1999, VH-IOG is powered a very capable Textron-Lycoming AEIO-540-L1B, 6-cylinder engine.    

 

 

 

Another common sight at the Old Station Fly-in & Heritage Show is North American T-28D-5 Trojan VH-TRO.

 

Manufactured in 1952 and powered by a Curtiss-Wright R-1820, 9-cylinder radial engine, this graceful 'ole lady of the skies served for a number of years with the United States Air Force (USAF) as 51-3722 before being converted to an AT-28D and transferred to the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), and later onwards to the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

 

After military service, VH-TRO has been noted to have worn a number of civilian markings including operations with Air America in Laos.

 

Initially intended to satisfy the role as a trainer, the Trojan was also successfully employed as a Counter-insurgency aircraft, primarily during the Vietnam War.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also a common sight at the Old Station Fly-in most years is a show of force by previous generation basic military trainers built by state owned Russian or Chinese aircraft manufactuers.

 

Among the sightings at this years fly-in at Old Station Farm was Yakovlev Yak-52 VH-YBZ and Nanchang CJ-6A VH-XXB.

 

Research indicates VH-YBZ was manufactuered in Russia in 1985 while VH-XXB was assembled in China in 1967. Both aircraft are powered by radial engines.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

Old Station Fly-in & Heritage Show 2016 (pt.1)

Air Queensland.blogspot had the pleasure to attend Old Station Fly-in & Heritage Show 2016 at Old Station Farm near Raglan, Central Queensland on Saturday, May 28 and pleased to inform the event was a huge success. 

 

As always, the Creed family and army of volunteers (air marshals, stall holders, emergency services etc) went above and beyond to ensure the safety and comfort of visitors with a variety of stalls including food, drinks and amenities readily available complimented by displays of heritage machinery, vintage tractor pulling and truck shows while not forget Australia's very own Top Gun, Matt Hall, put on a number of spectacular displays.

 

After sunset, overnighting aviators and campers were treated to a live band, bonfire and a selection of raffles while a jumping-castle provided amusement for the children.

 

As part one of a yet to be determined number of posts, we begin taking a closer look at the some of the more prominate aircraft that attended the fly-in and will be followed by an overall review of the event.

 

An aircraft not sighted in previous years of the Old Station Fly-in was amateur built Fokker DR.1 VH-FXP. Information indicates this magnificent little tri-winged beauty was assembled in the United States in 1978 and powered by an Avco Lycoming O-320-A2B, 4-cylinder engine.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seemingly becoming a regular at Old Station Fly-in's is Grumman American Aviation Corporation TBM-3E Avenger VH-MML.

 

Operated by Paul Bennet Airshows, VH-MML was built in 1943 and powered by a Curtiss-Wright Corporation R-2600, 14-cylinder, radial engine.

 

Of interest, the Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft assembled by General Motors) was a torpedo bomber developed for the United States Navy (USN) and Marine Corps however was also used by a number of allied naval forces including the Royal Navy (RN), Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Paul Bennet Airshows crowd wowser was Wolf  Pitts Pro VH-PVB.

 

This spectacular little buzz box is a purpose built aerobatic plane and was assembled in the United States in 2008. Providing ample power to allow this Wolf Pitts Pro to perform the way it does is an equally purpose built Textron-Lycoming AEIO-540-EXP, 6-cylinder aerobatic engine.