Skip to content
  • Home
  • AHSA
    • AHSA Inc. Meetings
    • AHSA Inc
      • AGM 2022
    • AHSA (NSW) Inc.
    • AHSA (QLD) Inc.
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
  • Publications
    • Aviation Heritage
    • Aviation Heritage Web Archive
    • AHSA Newsletter Archive
  • Members
    • Members Only
  • Books
  • Join
  • Links
  • Store
  • Log In
    • My Membership Account
Aviation Historical Society of Australia
  • Home
  • AHSA
    • AHSA Inc. Meetings
    • AHSA Inc
      • AGM 2022
    • AHSA (NSW) Inc.
    • AHSA (QLD) Inc.
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
  • Publications
    • Aviation Heritage
    • Aviation Heritage Web Archive
    • AHSA Newsletter Archive
  • Members
    • Members Only
  • Books
  • Join
  • Links
  • Store
  • Log In
    • My Membership Account

Author: DerekB

I'm a mechanical engineer by training, and I've spent most of my career in materials - engineering plastics first, then composites (fibreglass and carbon fibre materials). My aviation interests are centred on the CAC Wirraway, Boomerang and Ceres. I've published a book about the Ceres and I'm working on a manuscript for a Wirraway book.
DerekB21/10/202006/12/2021

AHSA Monthly Meeting 21 October 2020 (Tony Wheeler: The Great Airline Bazaar / London to Melbourne In 22 Hops)

Tony Wheeler (co-founder of Lonely Planet guides) gave a presentation "The Great Airline Bazaar" covering his extraordinary 22-flight journey from London to Melbourne. The...
DerekB29/09/202027/12/2022

Australian-built Aircraft and the Industry (Vol 2) by Keith Meggs

The latest book released by author Keith Meggs Volume 2 of this encyclopaedic work (containing only one chapter, being chapter 15, spread across two...
DerekB16/09/202027/12/2022

AHSA Monthly Meeting 16 Sep 2020 (Derek Buckmaster: The Wirraway “Newspaper War”)

Derek Buckmaster gave a presentation on The Wirraway "Newspaper War". The AHSA September monthly meeting was held online via Zoom. A recording of the...
Cover image: Aviation Heritage Vol 51 No 3
DerekB01/09/202026/04/2021

Aviation Heritage Volume 51 Number 3 contents listing

The latest quarterly edition (September 2020) of the AHSA journal - Aviation Heritage - has recently been hosted to members. Full contents listing: Aviation...
DerekB19/08/202006/12/2021

AHSA Monthly Meeting 19 August 2020 (Phil Vabre: The Empire Air Mail Scheme In Operation 1938-39)

Phil Vabre gave a presentation on The Empire Air Mail Scheme In Operation 1938-39. The August 2020 monthly meeting of the AHSA was held...
DerekB15/07/202014/07/2022

AHSA Monthly Meeting 15 July 2020 (Roger McKay: Jet Fighter Evolution)

Squadron Leader Roger McKay gave a presentation on the evolution of jet fighter design, explaining the development from "first generation" to "fifth generation" designs....
DerekB30/06/202021/12/2021

Aviation Heritage Volume 51 Number 2 contents listing

The latest quarterly edition (June 2020) of the AHSA journal - Aviation Heritage - has been posted to members. Full contents listing: Aviation Heritage...
DerekB11/06/202006/12/2021

AHSA Monthly Meeting 11 June 2020 (Dr Ellen Stoddart: The Record-Setting Flights of the Perlan Glider)

Dr Ellen Stoddart gave a fascinating presentation covering the development and record-setting flights of the Perlan high-altitude glider. Ellen's son Morgan Sandercock is one...
Cover - CAC Ceres by Derek Buckmaster
DerekB08/06/202027/12/2022

CAC Ceres – Australia’s Heavyweight Cropduster by Derek Buckmaster

The Ceres agricultural aircraft was produced by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) in Australia from 1959 to 1963. A total of only 20 airframes were...
DerekB01/03/202021/12/2021

Aviation Heritage Volume 51 Number 1 contents listing

The latest quarterly edition (March 2020) of the AHSA journal - Aviation Heritage - has recently been posted to members. Full contents listing: Aviation...

Posts pagination

Page 1 … Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 … Page 10

Welcome to the website of the Aviation Historical Society of Australia Inc.
The AHSA is dedicated to recording and promoting Australian aviation history. We find and tell the stories of how aviation (both civil and military) has contributed to the development of Australia and the experiences of Australian people.
To navigate around the site, select from the menu bar above, click on one of the updates below or choose one of the categories below.

On this day in Australian aviation history:

1961 Auster J/1B Aiglet VH-ABP operated by Farmair Pty LTD crashed at Marilla Station near Giralia Station Homestead, Western Australia on 16 December 1961. According to an eyewitness report: "On the day that I last saw this aircraft I was driving my open Jeep back from point Samson to Roebourne when I saw this aircraft take off and head out of my sight in a south-westerly direction. I knew the well because of the colour and its very distinctive very large registration letters. Next morning about 7am I was woken by people of authority asking me the relevant questions. I could not convince anyone that the plane had left in a S/W direction as I was told then it was due in Port Hedland later the previous day. I was part of the search team next day, all to the north and west. A total waste of time and resources. The compass in these planes is fitted at maximum height and distance from magnetic influences add has to be read via a mirror; something I found to be very difficult when I was a student pilot. The crash and burn site proved to be about 150 - 200 miles and the time would have been dusk or later in the very S/W direction as I had told the searchers." There were 3 fatalities. Sources: aviation-safety.net website; Auster Heritage Group website
1988 Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 Marquise VH-BBA operated by Broughton Air Services P/L crashed 55 km west north-west of Leonora, WA on 16 December 1988. The aircraft crashed at Sturt Meadows Station, between Leonora and Meekatharra, at approximate co-ordinates Latitude 28°48' S, Longitude 120'43' E. The pilot and nine passengers were killed and the aircraft was destroyed by the impact and a subsequent fire. The ATSB report concluded that the aircraft probably accrued icing on the airframe, which caused the airspeed to decrease to the point where the aircraft stalled and entered a spin; and that the pilot did not become aware of the decreasing airspeed in time to take action to prevent loss of control. The crash of VH-BBA was the worst air accident in Western Australia for 20 years, killing all 10 aboard, and worst MU-2 crash in the world, in terms of number of fatalities. The ATSB report noted that there was a "death threat" made against one of the passengers, but dismissed this as a factor, stating that there was no evidence that the aircraft had been sabotaged or tampered with. The crash of VH-BBA was the first of a spate of accidents - four in all - involving MU-2s that occurred in Australia between 1988 and 1994, all caused by icing on the airframe which caused the airspeed to decrease to the point where each aircraft stalled and entered a spin. Three of the four crashes resulted in fatalities. Sources: ATSB investigation report 198800143; aviation-safety.net website
2009 The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Anthony Albanese released the "Flight Path to the Future" National Aviation Policy White Paper on 16 December 2009. The government claimed this "marked the first time an Australian Government has brought together all aspects of aviation policy into a single, forward-looking statement". The white paper included four sections: aviation and economic development, safety & security - the highest priorities, aviation infrastructure, and aviation and sustainability. The white paper recommended that the 49 per cent foreign ownership restriction on Qantas remain in place and laid the groundwork for increased security measures at ­airports. Source: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, and Local Government white paper INFRA-09124, ISBN: 978-1921095-96-2, https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/department/media/publications/national-aviation-policy-white-paper-2009

Ansett Flying Boat Services Ballarat Beaufighter Bellanca 28/70 Bill Bedford Boeing Brinsmead Bronco CAC CAC Boomerang CAC Ceres CAC Mustang CAC Wackett Trainer CAC Wirraway CAC Woomera Chartair Cyclone Tracy DAP DC-3 DCA DH.50 DH60 Moth Duigan Memorial Lecture Eric Bonar Essington Lewis Eyre Peninsula Airways GAF Guinea Airways Halestorm JC Fitzmaurice Junkers F13 Lawrence Wackett Macchi Meteor Michael Smith Outlook Percival Proctor Qantas RAF 205 Squadron RFD Winged Target Roy Goon Sid Marshall Smithy (movie) Supermarine Southampton Target towing

Site Categories:

  • AHSA Info
  • AHSA Journal
  • AHSA Meetings
  • AHSA Videos
  • Archives
  • Aviation history books
  • CAC
  • Events
  • Newsletter

Privacy Policy

Contact Us

Home

Copyright © 2025 Aviation Historical Society of Australia Inc.