ANOTHER DAY AT THE BEECH
by
Nick Sayer
Monday
morning of 16 April 2007 found Cliff Robinson and me together
with "Russell" and a car trailer piggy-backed upon its tray.
We set off, negotiating the usual traffic snarls befalling
Brisbane whilst attempting to cross Brisbane during peak
hour, to the open roads heading south. Ahead after a five
to six hour drive was Coffs Harbour and the object of our
journey, the collection of Beechcraft Bonanza VH-AWC.
This aircraft had come into the possession of QAM courtesy
of the Federal Government's Cultural Gift's Program. The
generosity of its owner, Guy Cahill, to positively consider
a QAM request for donation under that incentive sealed the
deal.
The weather en-route was perfect, the traffic light and
well behaved, the scenery spectacular, especially around
the hills near Byron Bay. As we motored along we passed
places with distinct memories for QAM. First Byron Bay,
from where our weather radar and tower was relocated. Next
was Evan's Head where I had been many years earlier helping
to dismantle the Dove for transport to Caloundra. There
also had been the RAAF base where our Ventura had been decommissioned
at war's end.
This was my first drive of "Russell". What a great truck
it is. With luxuries like air conditioning and synchromesh
gears the driving was very pleasant, much like driving a
big car. And a great view from way up there. The 5th gear
ratio was so good that no shifting was required through
the 60 to 90+kph speed range most used. One thing that gave
me the heebie-jeebies was all the fixed speed-cameras that
abound in NSW. Every time I saw one I instinctively lifted
my foot off the accelerator, only to feel a little foolish
at the fact that I would have to actually speed up by 15-20k
to stand a chance of being "nicked". I never did overcome
this anxiety during the whole journey!
Upon arrival at Coffs we went directly to the airport and
met with John Davidson, the proprietor of the maintenance
outfit caring for the Bonanza. It had been stored there
for about ten years since the unfortunate ground accident
that had ended its flying career. Nose damage is evident
from the collapse of the nose wheel, and one wing shows
damage from what I was told was contact with something solid
and immovable, probably a tree. Essentially externally complete,
apart from the damage already outlined and some degeneration
from its long stint stored in the open, the aircraft appeared
a comparatively straightforward restoration opportunity.
I have witnessed remarkable transformations made by the
dedicated and capable QAM volunteers to airframes some would
[and have] considered only suitable for scrapping. The Sabre
and Gannet are two such examples. I am confident that this
job will result in the same success. And on this occasion
we have an externally complete airframe and its original
Continental engine with a pair of prop blades. All four
seats are provided and in good condition having been stored
in the adjacent hanger along with some other components.
Last task for Monday before finding a place to stay was
to visit the local Air Cadets location where I was told
a Mirage fin was planted in the ground out front. Sure enough
there was the tail fin from Mirage A3-116 complete with
its faded "Grumpy Monkey" 77 Squadron emblem. The last of
the 116 Mirages operated and a dual-seater it had made its
first flight in December 1973 being withdrawn from service
and reduced to parts in 1986.
A place to stay found, a nice feed of Chinese food devoured,
Cliff and I wearily turned in for hopefully a good nights
sleep. I don't even know if Cliff snored at all, my ear
plugs worked so well. Cliff did say he had heard me snore
at least once. That would have to be considered a good result
remembering the barrage of unflattering comments from other
QAM members with whom I had previously shared digs. Perhaps
he was just being nice.
Thankfully Cliff like me is not a morning person so I didn't
feel pressured to spring to life at the first sign of light
upon the horizon. Instead we had a very relaxed entry to
the new day which like the day before was bright blue and
cloudless. We were onsite at the Beech by 7:45am determining
the best way to configure the loading of the airframe on
"Russell". The width of that unusual V-tail of the Bonanza
was going to cause loading problems that we needed to overcome.
Removal of the starboard tailplane would help so we set
about that task. It soon became apparent that as we removed
some bolts and bits, more bolts and bits that would need
to be removed were revealed. Then we were confronted with
no less than eight hard-to-get-to bolts, four of which held
each tailplane in place. We neither had the time nor the
tools to remove them without delaying our return journey
substantially. A more inventive way would need to be found
to reduce the tail's effective width. Here's where that
unusual V-tail came to our assistance. That configuration
allowed us to tilt the fuselage to the left using truck
tyres, thereby reducing the amount of overhang the tail
presented. A more conventional horizontal tailplane configuration
may not have allowed us that option.
The wings, their detached undercarriage legs and the prop
blades easily lay horizontally on the car trailer. Their
low profile on the trailer neatly fitted below the bottom
of the rear fuselage disguising the amount of its overhang
off the truck rear. The Continental engine reposed comfortably
upon a truck tyre on the left side of the truck, steadied
by a shackle to the crane and a strap.
The return journey proved to be no great effort to "Russell"
either. The additional load did not seem to impact performance
any way near as much as I had expected. Of course the unusual
load caused a deal of interest as we proceeded. Aside from
a number of semi-trailers sweeping past in the last few
metres of overtaking lanes and those dratted speed cameras
again, the journey was without incident. Some time after
dark we arrived on the street outside Dave Bussey's house
to end the days travel. The final leg of the journey to
the Museum facility in Caloundra was completed on Thursday
19 April.
Some trivia: It was in a Beechcraft Bonanza that music icons
Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens met their
deaths back in February 1959. Waylon Jennings survived,
having given up his seat for the Big Bopper who was suffering
from 'flu at the time.
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