HISTORY
Last update 3/10/2018
Our little school stems from a three generation active interest in flying,
spanning the years since 1946.
Here are a few shots from our archives of adventures and misadventures. We
hope you enjoy these snippets of aviation history in the Wagga area and of local
pilots and their adventures.
Click on any shot to enlarge.
HAROLD TRELOAR
W H Treloar purchased a 90 horsepower RAF V8 powered DH6 in 1919 and proceeded
to conduct a tour of northern Victoria and the Riverina. As the tour was sure
to generate wide attention, Harold was able to sell advertising space on the
machine. Good revenue was generated by selling "joy rides" at 2 pounds 2
shillings for a five or six mile flight. Harold was possibly the prototype of
the safe and sane commercial operator and his tour was completed in safety and
with commercial success. The only damage of the tour occurred at Wagga, when a
child put his foot through the wing fabric.


The sign writing is first rate and even today most of us will recognise a well
known brand or two. Remember....click to enlarge !

NOT local history....but a great shot, eh? Click to enlarge.
EARLY FLYING SITES AROUND WAGGA
The Frog Hollow area north of Ashmont was at times used by aviators from the end
of WW1.
Charles Kingsford Smith liked to use Bill Dunn's property on the Oura Road when
passing through. This property was bounded by the Oura Road/Patterson's Road
intersection. On one occasion (1928 or later) a wheel was removed from SOUTHERN
CROSS and brought into town for repairs.
Bert Hinkler visited Wagga at least once, landing at the showground.
From 1930, the Riverina Aero Club operated a De-Havilland 60 biplane, under the
guidance of a local shire councillor, Hughie Condon. Condon also happened to be
the regional Examiner of Airmen, appointed by the Civil Aviation Branch, Dept.
of Defence.
The Mount Austin area has seen some aviation activity. A "temporary aerodrome"
in the vicinity of the site now occupied by "The Haven", in Bourke Street, was
used for the first regular scheduled services in 1936.
RPT AIR SERVICES
Australian National Airways (ANA) operated the first regular scheduled service
to Wagga. The first arrival was on the 14th of December 1936 and the Sydney
Morning Herald reported that the flight was hours late because of unfavourable
weather. At this early stage, the landing ground was a paddock in the area of
southern Bourke St, possibly near the location of "The Haven". The route was a
"milk run", Essendon-Wagga-Canberra-Mascot. The inaugural service was flown
using DH89 Rapide VH-UFF. On 29th of March 1937 it was reported that the
service might not continue in winter, as several chains of the aerodrome was
subject to inundation by water. With the proposed introduction of the big
Douglas machines on the direct Melbourne-Sydney run, ANA's two surviving DH86
Express machines would be released to be available for the "milk run". ANA
stated that "the margin of safety would not be met", using the DH86 at the
temporary site. The DH86s, VH-USW "LEPENA" and VH-UUB "LOILA", were, however,
soon on the run and using the site with "extreme caution". Indeed, on the 29th
of December 1937, "LEPENA" was damaged at the temporary aerodrome "when the
airliner was running in after making a normal landing". The ARGUS of 6th of
January 1938 reported that "LEPENA" "has been repaired and will return to
Essendon". It appears that the Wagga Municipal Council was then spurred into
action to set up a new landing ground.

VH-USW
"LEPENA" Shot taken at Duntroon airstrip, Canberra, January 1937.
CIVIL AERODROME
On the 10th of October 1938 the Civilian Aerodrome on Hammond Avenue was opened
on land owned by the Wagga Wagga Municipal Council and Kyeamba Shire. An "air pageant" was held
on this day to celebrate the opening. The pageant featured aerobatics by RAAF
Hawker Demon biplanes. Commercial pilot, Reg Hamblin, offered joy rides in his 3
seat Miles Falcon, and a group of aircraft from the Royal Aero Club of NSW
arrived to support the event.
The three gravel airstrips were variously 1200 to 1300 yards in length.
The location is easily identified in 2018, being on the Sturt Highway, bordered
by Lawson Street (Busabout), Tasman Road (roundabout), and a line running along
the southern boundary of the Clay Target Association range (can be seen from
Tasman Road). The 'Airport Service Station' still
stands (2018) across the road from the site of the single corrugated iron
hangar. The Wagga Municipal Council (not yet a city) built a brick control tower/ops
room/terminal, next to the hangar. Both these structures stood on what is now
the Hartwig's Trucks site. The terminal building was pushed over circa
2012.
The southern 40% of the 'drome was not used
because it was more prone to being waterlogged. The three runways were all
within the the northern 60%.
By around 1940, Eric Condon was operating an Aeronca J.A.P. powered
Hillson Praga machine from this venue. During WW2 this 'drome was used as a
satellite field for Forest Hill. A communications flight was also based there.
This flight used mainly ex-civilian aircraft that had been impressed into
military service by government decree.
Shortly after the war, all airline and
most other civilian flying, was transferred to Forest Hill. One RAAF Bellman
Hangar at Forest Hill, number 204, was set aside for civilian use at that time.
Wagga and Kyeamba Councils would likely have been pleased to be rid of the
responsibility for maintaining an aerodrome. The last
aircraft to use the site was a De-Havilland Beaver, of Aerial Agriculture Pty Ltd,
that was spreading superphosphate circa 1961.

Click
to enlarge.
A clipping from the DA. Praga aircraft made under licence by F. Hill and Sons
in England.


Click
to enlarge.
This is the "AIRPORT" service station. It still stands, in 2013, across the road
from where the corrugated iron hangar and brick terminal/caretakers cottage
stood. The terminal was basically a brick house with a neat 'control tower'
section grafted into the roof. If you click to enlarge this 1946 Dept. of Lands
map, you will see both the Forest Hill RAAF Station and the civilian aerodrome
in Hammond Ave. The RAAF Test Stand, north of the base, is an unexpected
discovery.
Also of note is the "South Campus" of CSU, quite obviously a WW2 military
hospital to anyone who has looked at the buildings. It was the RAAF hospital.

This
section of the above map shows Wagga's other RAAF Base, Uranquinty. A few miles
to the West can be seen a "satellite" landing ground. Basic flying schools of
WW2 used these as traffic relievers. Air traffic was intense at times! At the
western edge of the map is the fabled "bombing range". Concrete "pillboxes"
still stand on the site today (2013). Observers scored bombing accuracy from
these positions.
WAGGA FLYING SCHOOL and WAGGA AERO CLUB - ERIC CONDON
In 1946, a young plumber who had laboured, with his father, on the construction
of Forest Hill RAAF Station, went to visit Eric Condon. Eric had been a pre-war
civilian pilot and wartime military flying instructor. His visitor, Fred Burke,
had a proposal. Fred offered to be Eric's first student, if Eric set up a flying school.
A plan was agreed. Eric would concentrate on getting the school up and
running. Fred would call a meeting to form an aero club, in effect, the social
arm of the school.
Eric's school proved a great success and Fred was soon a pilot. RAAF technical
apprentices were a natural customer base, as were young locals, hungry for some
thrills! Soon Eric needed to acquire more Tiger-Moths to keep up with
business.......and attrition! In one terrible incident, junior instructor Gil McAinch, and student, were killed, when their Tiger-Moth dived vertically into
the ground at very high speed. It was widely thought that the student was
mentally unsound and had "frozen" on the controls. It was said that the impact
left the shape of the aircraft imprinted into the ground, at Shepherd's Siding.
One disappointment for Eric was his attempt to start a charter service using a
war surplus Avro Anson. The authorities just wouldn't "wear it" and the poor
old Anson was left to rot near the entrance to Albury Aerodrome. The
authorities probably already had their suspicions about the glues used in the
Anson's wooden wing structure.
Eric Condon died suddenly, of natural causes, in 1955.
Don Kendell
Around 1951, a young farmer named Don Kendell arrived at the hangar, looking to
learn to fly. After training with Eric, Don moved to the UK, where he flew
airliners. During the sixties he returned to Wagga and established Premiair
Aviation, offering air charter services and flight instruction. Later, around
1971, he took over the Wagga - Melbourne service from Ansett. He used Piper
Navajo aircraft, as opposed to the DC3s used previously. The direct operating
costs were considerably lower. Don's wife, Eilish, ran the booking office in
town, while Don did the flying and carried the luggage. With this low cost
structure and Don's ongoing attention to detail, the venture was very
successful. Today, Don's work continues...as Regional Express, REX.

Members of the recently formed Wagga Aero Club gather in front of Eric Condon's
Avro Anson at Forest Hill in 1946. This was the second Aero Club at Wagga.
Rosie (centre, front row) enjoyed a flight in our Jabiru, sixty three years
later.


Eric Condon discusses the finer points with some adoring students. The
De-Havilland Tiger Moth biplane was readily available as ex-military surplus in
the post war years. It was by far the most widely used machine at this time, as
private/club flying became popular and affordable.
INEXPERIENCED and UNSUPERVISED



A day of joy riding at Lockhart on 28th December 1948 went
wrong for Fred. He managed to stall CAC Wackett VH-AFD, on climb out. At
the time, Fred was working for
Australian National Airways. The Wackett was no hot-rod with the 165HP Warner Scarab
radial, and would
have required careful handling on a hot summer's day, especially with
two paying
passengers in the single rear seat. After the impact, one of the
passengers, Colin Smith,
was able to get Fred out of the bent cockpit and drag him away from the
wreck,
which then burst into flames. When the meat wagon arrived, the medics
assumed
Fred would not make it, because he had severe head injuries and was unconscious.
Fred spent the next year learning to walk, and getting his eyes to work
properly.
Scrapping of surplus RAAF aircraft post 1945
Click
to enlarge
Sturt Highway at top right. Guard House (now the museum) is at top centre.
Aircraft are parked on what is now the golf course.
Types scrapped at Wagga include DAP Beaufort, DAP Beaufighter, Curtiss Kittyhawk
and Vultee Vengeance. Two hundred and four aircraft in this view but lots more
were here and also at the western end near Elizabeth Ave.
These Vultee Vengeance dive bombers were melted down by metal recycler, R H
Grant Trading Co. Ltd. Bert Winnell ran the operation at Forest Hill. Scrapping
wound down circa 1960.
LOCKHEED HUDSON
This magnificent 1957 shot captures F C "Chris" Braund, carrying out one of his
legendary beat ups, in the EWA rain making Hudson.
To position the aircraft in 2018, imagine the Control tower being behind the
aircraft. What we now know as taxiway Charlie and
runway 05/23 can be seen in the background. Shot from the
observation deck on the roof of the RAAF control tower.
Photo: East-West Airlines via Phil Vabre

Heavy metal at Forest Hill on 6th July 1957. This great shot (stolen from
another site!) shows a Flying Tiger Line DC4 delivering migrants from Europe.
The Ansett Convair Metropolitan, seen in the background, operated daily RPT services until 1960.
Chipmunk VH-RVV was up from Royal Vic at Moorabbin, flown by Barrie Colledge.
LAKE ALBERT ROAD
Between 1957 and 1962 Fred (Agricultural Aviation) operated Tiger Moth and
Cessna 180 aircraft from Bruce Brown's paddock beside Lake Albert Road. Take-offs were
commenced next to the TOP SHOP (at the bottom of Baden Powell Drive) and ran
South East through what is now the STURT PRIMARY SCHOOL and White Avenue.

Click
to enlarge.
Lake Albert Road action, 1959. Geoffrey Jones uses the handy water trough to
top-off another forty gallon spray mix in Agricultural Aviation Tiger-Moth
VH-BXF. The site is now occupied by Sturt Primary School. Lord Baden Powell
Drive can be seen in the background.

This January 1960 shot is looking the opposite way, from the Lake Road fence
through the future White Avenue, Simkin Crescent, Fay Avenue and out toward
Gregadoo. Newly imported Cessna 180
VH-TTV is for Tumut Air Taxis. Not sure about the sandals.....
PIONEERING A NEW INDUSTRY !


This Jeep...complete with wind-sock...is CRANE NO.1 of Air-Griculture Control
Pty Ltd. This was the first mechanised superphosphate loader. Movietone
cameraman on the job.

A Fox Movietone cameraman records Bob Pairman demonstrating the new business of
spreading superphosphate by aircraft. 1/5/1952 at Merriman's property via Yass.
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Sel Cleary inspects the damage after the Tiger Moth of Bill Melius attacked
Fred's machine at Myles property, Uriara ACT in 1952. Air-Griculture Control
Pty Ltd.

Here is a later Jeep Tiger-Moth loader. It is still a three person operation
but it incorporates a blade to scoop bulk superphosphate off the ground. The
move away from bagged super had began.
The Tigers stood up well, except for the end fittings of the undercarriage.
These were remade in steel, to handle the overweight take-off runs.
CRANK FAILURE......NO PROP !



Fred was ferrying VH-PCP from Bankstown when the crank snapped near Goulburn. A
"BLITZ" crane was despatched with a replacement Gypsy Major and prop. Aerial
Agriculture Pty Ltd.
BEAVER



Here is VH-AAI at Forest Hill in November 1960. Bedford loader at Forest Hill,
November 1960. Another one at Hammond Ave, Civil Drome, 1961.
By 1956, Tom Watson was on the lookout for a replacement for the Tigers operated
by his firm, Aerial Agriculture Pty Ltd of Bankstown.
After considering the available types, he settled on the De-Havilland Canada
DHC-2 Beaver. Some advantages of the Beaver were it's construction (no wood or
fabric), supercharged Wasp Junior powerplant (to combat the negative effects on
payload and climb caused by density altitude), a payload four times that of the
Tiger, and a five year history of successful operation in New Zealand.
With financial backing from ex- taxi driver and now successful car dealer, Fred
Sutton, a new Beaver was purchased. VH-AAI arrived in May 1957. The beaver
required a more capable loader, so Aerial Ag came up with a fully hydraulic
model, built on a Bedford truck and using the cab from an Austin ute.
TROUBLE at WILLIAM CREEK




Laurie Crowley (Crowley Airways) strikes trouble during the 1954 REDEX around
Australia Trial. Laurie performed in depth surgery on the Gypsy Major power
plant, using a hammer, chisel and shifting spanner. A replacement cylinder and
con-rod was air dropped from a passing air liner. The drop included two bottles
of beer....one of which broke. Laurie reported that, by the end of the trial,
the rear fuselage was coming loose, because "the glue was no good". In 2013,
Crowley Airways are still servicing and operating small aircraft at "Victoria
Park" near Old Junee. Percival Gull VH-UTP is going strong also !



Dragged down by thistles! Roto NSW 1955. VH-PCA of Aerial Agriculture Pty
Ltd. This happened with a full hopper load of chemical, heavily diluted with
distillate (diesel fuel). The Tiger-Moth was one of the safer machines to
prang, safer than the majority of it's replacements. There was no electrical
system to ignite a post-crash fire, so Fred escaped without a scratch. Of note
in the cockpit shot is the utterly useless fire extinguisher!

Forest Hill in November 1960 with an impressive line-up of period agricultural
aircraft parked where the SAABs now pull up.
ZLIN




1961 Forest Hill. This Zlin 326 Trener Master flown by Jiri Blaha introduced
GYROSCOPIC TUMBLING aerobatics to Australia. The stunning display of negative G
low level aerobatics was the highlight of a sales tour of Czechoslovakian
aircraft, the other machines being the Meta Sokol and the elegant Morava L-200
twin. A future Jabiru operator seems to be hogging the limelight in a couple of
these shots.
POST WAR RAAF at FOREST HILL

The RAAF's first helicopter. Sikorsky S51 A80-1 at Forest Hill. The machine
arrived in Australia in 1947.

The RAAF's first jet aircraft. De Havilland Vampire A78-1 at Forest Hill.
This machine also arrived in 1947....a big year for new technology!
TUMUT AIR TAXIS


Cessna 180 VH-TTU of Tumut Air Taxis has just "got away" and bolted down the
airstrip towards the creek. Luckily the tail-wheel snapped off and the leg
plowed in, stopping the machine. Did you forget the park brake and chocks,
Fred? Note tail-wheel and steering cables on tail-plane. Bill Gill was killed
in this aircraft whilst topdressing on the 21st of January 1961. Right. Drums
of water to balance the half ton of superphosphate in the bucket.
CHIPPY

Training aircraft, 1950's style. This Beautiful De Havilland Canada DHC-2
Chipmunk VH-MCC was at our hangar on 4/3/2011. This was the first chippy in
country, arriving in 1947 as VH-BFT.



7th April 1962, Forest Hill. Chipmunk VH-WFC got the tree, the telephone wires
AND the railway line at the Eastern end of runway 05. Neil Whybrow and student
Kevin Walters got out OK and posed for a happy snap by photojournalist Tom
Lennon. Dennis Tullberg legged it to the scene with that heavy extinguisher.
Dennis is still flying at Wagga (2018) and Kevin Walters runs a flying
school in Queensland.




BEFORE Our second Tiger-Moth, VH-FBT, had at one time been on strength with
the United States Army Air Force.....quite unusual for a Tiger. It is seen here
spraying on "Den-Hills", Gregadoo Road...about two miles South of Forest Hill,
circa 1960. Pix at right taken near Old Junee in 1959.



AFTER Wire strike..... with backwards landing. The newly fitted overturn
truss worked as advertised. Beside The Gap Rd, North of Wagga, August 1963.


LATER THAT DAY ...job completed using the new YEOMAN CROPMASTER, VH-FPB. We
were fond of the Australian built Cropmaster, but thought Fred would kill
himself in it. The soft wet farm strips that we used in winter, were always
threatening to upend the machine because the wheels were not far enough
forward. One day, when operating out of the old Uranquinty RAAF base, the spray
pump fan shattered and a blade came up through the cockpit. The sporty Cropmaster was not the answer for us.
The government ordered that Tiger Moth agricultural operations must cease by the
end of 1965. The Piper Pawnee was known to be a good money making spray
aircraft but we ruled it out because it usually burst into flames after
crashing. Good pilots were dying in survivable
accidents.
For operational safety we needed a slow flying biplane. A firm at Archerfield
was representing Grumman and had ordered a new Ag-Cat (VH-CCG S/N 210). Although our Cropmaster had only done the 1963 winter and spring
spraying season, Fred was keen to try out the demonstration Ag-Cat as 1964
dawned. He placed an order and in August '64 VH-FPB S/N 263 went into service.
It is still with us....taking up hangar space.
In
1966 we got another new Ag-Cat, VH-FPA ( later VH-FBA ) S/N 397.


Newly delivered VH-FPB over Wagga Racecourse in 1964. At Forest Hill.

FBA is seen here spraying cotton at Maude NSW in Feb 1967.
Marty Holloway runs up VH-FBA after an engine change.

Checking checking the smoke oil prior to a days spraying.
This happened one mile
south of Forest Hill Aerodrome.



The Agwagon was heavy, as Terry Walsh had just picked up another load. Approaching
Elizabeth Ave and travelling East on the first run, Terry pulled up to clear
wires that ran along the roadway.
The pitch-up was started slightly late, considering the heavy load, and the aircraft was
rolled into the turn prematurely.
A wing tip caught a wire...and she cartwheeled in. Doug Brunskill was under the
aircraft as it caught the wire. He dashed to the wreckage and assisted a badly
knocked about Terry to get free.
B1-RD


ONCE UPON A TIME we flew these. Robertson
STOL B1-RD, powered by a grunty Cuyuna UL2-02 two stroke. Fully equipped with
plastic dirt bike fuel tank plus Skyway plastic BMX wheels (no bearings) and
instrumented with a plastic shield (for looking through) plus a convenient
on/off switch. Veteran local pilot Bob Phillips, once managed to crash this
machine on Elizabeth Ave, at the entrance to the aerodrome.
AMBULANCE FLIGHT Jabiru to the rescue!

We were mustering cattle 100 miles North of Broken Hill, at Border Downs, when one of the blokes was
seriously injured in a motorcycle accident.
After administering morphine, we got our patient into the Jabiru for the run to
Broken Hill.
In this shot, paramedics are assisting him out of the aircraft at the RFDS base. The
ambos were expecting a King Air to deliver their patient, and were most
impressed when a little Jabiru turned up.
LOOK......NO PROP!




Engine seized. Prop disappeared. Lots of smug looks there, boys.