By Grant (Falcon124), on March 28th, 2010%
The B24 Liberator was the most produced heavy bomber of World War 2 and saw service in all theaters of the war. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flew B24s along side those of the USAAF, based in northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. These aircraft flew long range missions of many hours duration, typically without fighter escort. Providing bombing, maritime patrol and transport services, the advanced & complicated B24 was, perhaps, the unsung hero of heavy bomber operations.
Very few of these aircraft still exist (see the list of remaining B24s) and in Australia, only a single example remains. It is currently being restored by a group of dedicated and passionate individuals, many of whom flew B24s during or immediately after the war.
Based in Werribee, just outside Melbourne, the Australian B24 Restoration project is definitely worth visiting and supporting. We were fortunate to visit the team, admire the aircraft and interview John Temby (President of the association) and Ed Crabtree (ex B24 pilot). Another trip down is currently being planned and we expect to have more great content from the restoration team in a later episode.
By Grant (Falcon124), on March 10th, 2010%
The common theme in this episode is about going around the world, first by bringing Saj Ahmad (Fleetbuzz Editorial) in the UK and Ben Sandilands (Plane Talking) in Australia together to talk about financial reports from QANTAS, Virgin & Tiger plus general discussions about airlines in Australia, past, present & future.
We then chat with Ken Evers & Tim Pryse, a couple of local lads who are going to fly a Gippsland Aeronautics GA-8 Airvan around the world to raise funds to help fight against malaria. You can read more about their epic journey at Millions Against Malaria.
We also give a few shout outs & read some mail:
- Tom for listening to all 25 episodes in less than a week – now *that’s* masochism :)
- Steve Cooke in the UK and his Flying Podcast that gives a great perspective on flying in the UK and Europe.
- Christie Walker who we’ll be chatting to soon and is interested in learning more about Australian airline cadet pilot programs
- Grant’s sorry for being behind on all the emails that have come in
As usual, our theme music track is “YouNameIt5″ by Brian Simpson (aka t3cat5) and our sound effects come from SoundSnap.com.
