tiabunna

tiabunna club

Posted: 10 Jun 2014


Taken: 09 Aug 2006

27 favorites     19 comments    1 318 visits

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Keywords

film
flying boat
Beachcomber
Ansett
Sandringham
Minolta SR1
Scanned slides
Ansett Flying Boat Services
Lord Howe Island
Aircraft
Short
Australia
slide
scanned
manual focus
kodachrome
damaged
1974
beached
50mm 1.8
VH-BRC


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Photo replaced on 12 Jun 2014
1 318 visits


Castaway by Flying Boat!

Castaway by Flying Boat!
When I visited Lord Howe Island in 1974 an airstrip was being built to enable normal air services, but it was incomplete. The only way to fly to the island was by flying boat. This was the last regular airline service in the world still operated by flying boat, but they had been sold and were being retired. One had been taken out of service to prepare for the trip overseas, by replacing the seats and other fittings with long range tanks, but this one was doing limited service until the airport opened.

Our return trip was to be two days later, but a gale on the second night broke the flying boat’s moorings and washed it aground. These flying boats had been the island’s lifeline for many years, and it was a disconsolate crowd of locals and visitors who gathered around the damaged aircraft on the beach next morning. The good news is that the aircraft was repaired on the spot, flown out, and in September 1974 it became the last flying boat out of Lord Howe. The aircraft is now housed in a special aviation museum in Southampton, England.

As I mentioned though, the other flying boat was out of service being refitted, and the runway was unfinished. We had become castaways on a sub-tropical paradise! Unfortunately it was winter and the weather was poor: you can't win everything. :)

Insets
Another view of the beached aircraft;
The wingtip dug into the sand and damaged;
The damaged float removed from under the wing.

From Kodachrome slides.

Marco F. Delminho, ©UdoSm, Howard Kilgour, HaarFager and 23 other people have particularly liked this photo


19 comments - The latest ones
 beverley
beverley
o0o I am pleased to read that it was repaired and now in a museum for all to see,
I can imagine their concern when this happened ... and its a brilliant picture George oOo

Mmm . . . I like it !
9 years ago.
 William Sutherland
William Sutherland club
Great catch!

Admired in:
www.ipernity.com/group/tolerance
9 years ago.
 Janet Brien
Janet Brien club
What a fantastic, educational, interesting picture and series of inset images! *high five*
Totally fascinating to me, and I am so thankful that you're such a great photographer because I feel as if I was there with you because of the perfect angles and super lighting to see all the details.

You never said how long were were marooned there! Hopefully not too long?

Thanks so much for the story, knowing you has enriched my life with what it's like to live in your part of the world!
9 years ago.
tiabunna club has replied to Janet Brien club
Thanks, Janet. This was unique even at the time because of the flying boats, but the full experience was so totally unexpected it remains a vivid memory. We were there for about a week.
9 years ago.
 Roger (Grisly)
Roger (Grisly) club
Fascinating information and photograph. all captured for posterity
9 years ago.
 Gillian Everett
Gillian Everett club
Great series George. What a job to get this back on the water again.
9 years ago.
tiabunna club has replied to Gillian Everett club
Yes, I was impressed at how well Ansett did with the field repairs to get it out.
9 years ago.
 tiabunna
tiabunna club
Thank you so much for all your kind comments and faves, my friends, and for indulging me in my little excursion: not just into flying boats and Lord Howe, but 40 years into the past.
9 years ago.
 just"jj"
just"jj"
Great photos enhanced by the story-telling.
Thank you.
9 years ago.
tiabunna club has replied to just"jj"
Thank you very much, I think that some images need the background details.
9 years ago.
 Ecobird
Ecobird club
Great shot. Love the stories behind your photos.
9 years ago.
tiabunna club has replied to Ecobird club
Thank you, glad you don't mind me rambling on. :)
9 years ago. Edited 9 years ago.
 Diane Putnam
Diane Putnam club
Uh-oh! Wow, what a series this is!
7 years ago.
 Berny
Berny club
Very interesting story and images!!
5 years ago.
 HaarFager
HaarFager club
That's a great series of photos of this plane!
4 years ago.
tiabunna club has replied to HaarFager club
Thank you very much.
4 years ago.
 ©UdoSm
©UdoSm club
Oh, oooh, that doesn't look good. Thank God, no people have been harmed...
3 years ago.
tiabunna club has replied to ©UdoSm club
Thanks for your comment. Yes, fortunately everything came good. We were OK and the aircraft could be repaired for posterity.
3 years ago.
 Léopold
Léopold club
A unique report signed by none other than George the Adventurer !
3 years ago.

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