Following an exhaustive one and a half year interstate restoration effort, the HARS C54 is now ready for its flight to its new home at Illawarra Regional Airport, one hour south of Sydney.

HARS members have invested over 5,000 volunteer man hours and their own personal resources, to travel to Archerfield to prepare this aircraft for its first flight since 2001. The restoration has spanned the globe, from the HARS main base in Albion Park (NSW) to the deserts of Tucson, Arizona, where the team sourced and recovered an essential replacement outer wing.

The overhaul of equipment and instrumentation was performed locally by both HARS members and Australian aviation businesses.

The C54 (DC4) flight crew will travel to Archerfield next Monday (21st December 2009) on board the HARS C47 (DC3).  Both aircraft are expected to arrive back to the HARS Albion Park (NSW) base at 15:10 local and in doing so will create a unique moment with both the DC4 and DC3 in the air together – something not seen in Australia since the 1950′s.

The recovery/restoration project has enjoyed great support and assistance by many commercial businesses, including the Archerfield Airport Corporation.  HARS and the restoration team wish to thank all our sponsors for their continued support and we look forward to having this aircraft as part of our historical flying museum.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING FLIGHT TIMES

Visitors are welcome to attend both the departure and arrival, however, it is advised that due to weather and other unforeseen operational circumstances, the aircraft may not arrive at the scheduled time.

The return flight is subject to suitable weather conditions and operational safety concerns.

Please feel free to contact the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society receiption, should you wish to confirm the aircraft’s arrival on (02) 4257 4333.

Flight Itinerary

Departing Archerfield (Brisbane) 13:00 (Brisbane Local Time)

Arriving (Albion Park YWOL) 17:00 (Sydney Local Time)

Media Contacts

Brisbane Media – Mr Mike De La Hunty – Mobile: 0418 473 175

Sydney/Illawarra Media – Mr Benjamin Morgan – Mobile: 0415 577 724

The aircraft was then delivered to 38 Squadron of the RAAF at Archerfield Base on 8 May 1945 as A65-95, with a domestic registration of VH-RFL. The Squadron moved to Schofields NSW on 15 August 1946 and the aircraft was transferred to 37 Squadron on 10 October 1946 where she had her wartime camouflage removed and was employed on courier flights to Japan in support of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces.

After a short period with 86 Wing at Richmond, where she flew with 36 Squadron and 1 Communications Unit on general support tasks, A65-95 was transferred to the Central Flying School at East Sale. While at East Sale, A65-95 was engaged in support of the RAAF School of Radio Ballarat and training of GCA operators as well as aircrew training and general transport support tasks.

A65-95 was transferred to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) at Laverton Victoria on 14 March 1961 and stayed with that unit when it moved to Edinburgh South Australia in February 1977. While at ARDU, A65-95 was engaged primarily on the calibration of radio navigation aids, although there were many occasions when she was used to transport university Air Cadets to camps at Edinburgh, Amberley, Wagga and Fairbairn. Other tasks A65-95 was engaged in were RAAF Signaller training, search and rescue, aerial photography and trials support.

A65-95 served in ARDU until 1997 and was decommissioned in 2000. At this time she had flown a total of 14,900 hours and was 55 years old.

She was acquired by HARS in July 2000 and had been the victim of spare parts requirements for a few years. As a result she required many parts to get her back in the air again. This was achieved by begging, borrowing and ‘acquiring’ parts until she was ready to fly again. She was then flown from Edinburgh in Adelaide to Bankstown in Sydney, where she went through restoration and registration onto the domestic register as VH-EAE. It took a further 2 years to replace the borrowed parts and complete the 100 hourly service and become airworthy again.

Thanks to the RAAF the aircraft was essentially left in RAAF livery. The only changes to the livery were that the words ‘Royal Australian Air Force’ on both sides of the fuselage were changed to ‘Historical Aircraft Restoration Society’ and the ARDU insignias on the tail were changed to the HARS insignias.

VH-EAE was nearing the completion of restoration work when on 8 January 2003 a severe thunderstorm hit Bankstown and the strong winds dislodged the rudder chock resulting in the rubber being free to flap in the breeze. Significant damage was caused to the rudder and control systems and nullified any plans of transferring the aircraft to Albion Park until repairs were done. After completing the necessary repair work, A65-95 was flown to Albion Park, her new home, on 20 February 2003.

The first HARS mission for A65-95 was a visit to Temora on 22 March 2003. On the 5 July 2003, A65-95 headed for Temora once again. This sortie was a busy one making two trips to Temora in the one day.  On board for the first trip were several VIP’s including Nancy Bird Walton who thoroughly enjoyed the flight and keenly observed on the flight deck as A65-95 purred along magnificently through the crisp calm morning air.

Douglas C-47 Dakota A65-95 VH-EAE

Aircraft Specifications

Douglas C-47B Dakota

Length 19.66 m  |  64 ft 6 in

Wing Span 28.96 m  |  95 ft

Height 5.10 m  |  16 ft 6 in

Maximum Take Off Weight 12,700 kg  |  28,000 lbs

Empty Weight 8,160 kg  |  18,000 lbs

Maximum Speed 346 km/h  |  215 mph (187 kt)

Cruise Speed 273 km/h  |  170 mph (147 kt)

Maximum Range 1650 kms  |  1025 miles (890 nm)

Engines

Power Plant Two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 14-cylinder, air-cooled, twin row radial engines

Power Plant Weight 665 kg  |  1467 lbs

Displacement 30 ltr  |  1830 cu in

Maximum Power 895 kW  |  1200 hp

Maximum RPM 2400

Propellors Three bladed variable pitch