This weekend is the annual Jets over Temora 2009 event conducted by the Jet Flyers Association, and hosted by the Temora Aviation Museum. The Jet Flyers Association has been holding their annual event at Temora Aviation Museum for the past few years, and have enjoyed the clear air space and large open ramp area to present their radio controlled model aircraft to the public.
The event will commence on Friday 18th September and will consist of set-up and pilot registration for the entrants there will also be some flying practice occurring throughout the day. On Saturday and Sunday the event will feature amazing flying, with several competitions being held throughout the day for target speed, best scale model, and best sports model. Visitors will see the model versions of aircraft such as BA Hawks, F-4 Phantom, Eurofighters, MiG 15s, F/A-18’s, F/A-15’s, F-86 Sabre, and a Cougar, among others!
Make sure you don’t miss them! The Museum’s opening hours will be extended for this event and are between 9am and 4pm. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase from the Museum’s Mess Hall. Admission, which includes entry into the Museum as well as watching the model aircraft fly, is Adults: $10, Adults 65+ yrs: $7.50, Children: $5.00 (3-18 yrs).
Click on the link below to see some photos of the model jets:
http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/news/JFA_SeptFW.cfm
SECOND AVON ENGINE BEGINS INSPECTION AND REPAIR PROCESS
A second Rolls Royce Avon Mk 26 engine is currently undergoing an inspection so that it will be available for use in the Sabre when needed. This particular engine was last overhauled, for the RAAF, in 1993 by Qantas.
Aircraft Engineer David Finch is currently disassembling the engine so that he can conduct a corrosion repair on the compressor section. This involves pulling all the compressor stages apart, and replacing damaged compressor blades. The engine will then be put back together and a static balance carried out on each individual stage. This will be followed by a dynamic balance on the compressor assembly.
Once these processes have been completed, the engine will be reassembled and then tested on the mobile engine test truck. After passing all running checks the engine will be subjected to an inhibiting procedure to ensure safe storage until the engine is needed for use.
See some photos of the Rolls Royce Avon Mk 26 in the links below:
http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/news/AvonMk26a.cfm
http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/news/AvonMk26b.cfm
TEMORA AVIATION MUSEUM WAS MENTIONED IN PARLIAMENTARY SPEECH
On our last Flying Weekend (September 5th & 6th) Mrs. Kay Hull MP, Federal Member for Riverina was a VIP Guest for Saturday’s Flying Day. Kay addressed Parliament on Wednesday September 9th and in her speech stated:
“It needs to be said that the museum would not have been a success but for three vital elements, including, first and foremost, the vision, passion, expertise and generosity of Sydney businessman David Lowy, the founder and president of the museum. Over a 10-year period he has contributed countless hours of his time in planning and executing the tasks that go with developing a world-class institution—with aviation safety in mind. In the museum’s first decade of operations he has donated more than $30 million to fund the purchase of the items in the collection, the buildings, the plant and equipment as well as the recurrent costs which provide for the specialist technical skills that are needed to maintain military aircraft. The museum employees 23 full-time staff and has an active apprentice program in order to educate the Australian public and the massive visitation to the museum about the need to respect aviation’s past and make its future safe.
Secondly, the unstinting efforts of the Temora community, including its municipal office bearers, have been critical. On each occasion that there is a flying day—and there are eight flying weekends per year— the staff of the museum swells from 23 full-time members to 70 or 80. The difference in numbers is due to the specially trained community volunteers, who manage to handle a crowd which exceeds the entire population of Temora. The museum attracts more than 40,000 visitors each year. They are given a consistent and complete education experience on aviation history and the need for aviation security now and in the future. The museum is a true community partnership. On flying days the food services are provided by the local volunteer fire brigade, with all of the profits being donated to local area charities. To date, approximately $200,000 has been raised and donated.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the work of the RAAF personnel who have so ably and readily assisted the museum. Take, for example, the most recent flying display. The Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin, was on hand to officiate at the first public flying of the recently restored Sabre jet fighter. I also acknowledge that my colleague in the Senate and senator for the ACT Senator Kate Lundy was in attendance. I welcomed her to the Riverina. The Sabre restoration was a joint RAAF-TAM effort which took more than three years. The RAAF technical experts assisted the TAM crew in the complete rebuilding of this aircraft. In addition, over the years RAAF personnel and others, as part of their recreational flying, have donated their time to pilot the museum’s aircraft and explain to the many aviation enthusiasts and the general public across Australia the critical requirements for aviation safety.”
For a complete transcript of Mrs. Hull’s speech click on the link below. The transcript can be found beneath the photos taken at the September Flying Weekend, 2009:
http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/news/SabreLaunchWeekend.cfm