Welcome to
The de Havilland
Aircraft
Association of South Africa
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de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth | |||||||||||||
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Fabulous Flo and her Beau’s
This is the story of a Lady named Florence who began
life decades ago with great purpose only to be cast aside later after
sharing the whiles of her ways with many an inexperienced young man. Young
men who one by one all eventually left her for something else that caught
their fancy. No longer fashionable and with diminished appearance, she
became unwanted and forgotten by those who once competed for her
attention. In considerable despair, she found herself confined to dark and
dank places shared with others in a similar plight. Over the following
long years she barely clung to life while many of those around her
succumbed.
Photo courtesy of Yellow Wings, The Story of the Joint Air Training Scheme in World War 2 by Capt Dave Becker)
60 years later in Johannesburg, South Africa, a
shipping container door is wrenched open and for the first time in
decades, sunlight falls on the scrambled remains of a number of forgotten
aircraft. Unwanted discarded Tiger Moths that since the war had become
surplus to needs and long since replaced with the shiny and new. Next to
the container lies another, and beyond it still more. Inside, derelict
fuselages share the restricted space with amputated wings and rusty
engines. Scattered amongst the carnage, ancient instruments that once
guided young aviators to safety now stare blindly in the shadows. To the
casual observer, nothing more than pitiful piles of wood, metal and
fabric, crammed together without thought or consideration. Where had they
been and what stories could they tell? Could one of these be number “31”,
the East London Tiger? (Long forgotten remains - photos by Wouter Gous)
Once there were many now they are few. Of over 8500
Tigers built a scarce number survive today. What was once common is now
the unusual. In this space age what is it that attracts one to the
technology of old? Is it the nostalgia, the sense of freedom in an open
cockpit, the whistle of the wind singing through the wires, the gentle
speed of a gracious bi-plane or maybe the unique pop-pop sound of a
throttled back Gipsy engine when gliding in to land on a warm Sunday
afternoon? Possibly all of these and
more. (Florence takes shape - photos by Wouter Gous)
Slowly the weeks turned into months and in that
time, intimate attention and devotion began to transform the once
forgotten remains into the beginnings of a creation of beauty. The
fuselage began to resemble that of a flying machine and delicate ribs had
been re-united with spars to form the wings. Fabric had been cut, the
skeleton clothed and paint applied, the splash of colour bringing the
bland canvas to life. The old Gipsy Major engine had been torn down and
rebuilt and was once again joined to the firewall. In the cockpits the
shiny instruments appeared bright eyed against a backdrop of polished
timber and the aroma of new leather hung in the air. With the major work
completed, all effort then turned to the finishings and finer
detail. (Florence is reunited with her engine - photo by Mark Andersen)
Finally after more than a year, the hangar doors were
opened and the morning highveld sunlight glinted off the bright yellow
wings adorned with large roundels of red, white and blue. Slowly Florence
was wheeled out into the open where from the smooth grain of her new
wooden propeller, down the fine lines of her flanks to the graceful curves
of her tail, she once again held the eye of all
present.
(Bob Ewing giving Mark a few pointers before getting airborne - photo by Dave Hartmann)
Later Bob Ewing arrived and commenced conversion
training that continued throughout the following day. Those of us who had
previous taildragger experience received their conversions fairly quickly
and reported that Florence was great to fly once you got to grips with her
unique tendencies. Those of us without any taildragger time took the
opportunity to go up just for the experience and would finish our
conversions with “Oom” once we got back home. After a long day local AMO
Mike Spence together with his crew went out of their way working late into
Friday night performing the 10 hour engine service while the rest of us
retired to the pub at the Krugersdorp Flying Club and enjoyed a few
chilled beers while discussing our plans for the following day and the
trip home. At about 8pm we made our way over to Mike’s hangars to find
that they had finished the job and were about to run the engine. Florence
burst into life and with the hangar lights extinguished, we all marvelled
at the sight of the two foot length of blue flame emanating from the
exhaust, dancing against the black night in accompaniment to the throb of
the engine. Reluctantly the mags were eventually cut and the sound of the
engine replaced by the chirping of crickets in the grass. After seeing
Florence safely tucked away in the hangar we all headed off for a most
enjoyable supper with happy smiles on tired
faces. (Finally heading for home across the plains of Africa – photo by Dave Hartmann)
After refueling at Kroonstad James, Chris and
Florence took off for Thaba Nchu. With the support planes being
substantially faster, the rest of us delayed our departure for 30 minutes
and took the opportunity to relax in the welcome shade of some trees while
enjoying lunch and watching local glider pilots hunt for thermals high
above. No sooner had we got airborne when we heard that Florence was down.
James and Chris had experienced the same rough running engine only it had
got progressively worse and throttling back had had no effect. They
decided to head for Allemanskraal Dam where James recalled there was a
grass air strip. We all followed suite, landing one after the other to
join the growing circle standing in silent contemplation around Florence’s
open cowling. Suddenly Chris announced “Well chaps, we have bad news and
good news. The bad news is that there appears to be something wrong with
Florence’s engine. The good news is that there is a spare seat for anyone
wanting it out of here.” A stony silence ensued. With nothing untoward
discovered, James suggested that we start the engine and run her up
against the chocks. After a flick of the prop Florence burst into life
once more and the throttle was eased forward. Developing full power and
showing no signs of rough running it was decided to push on with James and
Chris taking their seats once more, Chris muttering in a Churchill type
accent about the sacrifices one has to make for one’s country. About
fifteen minutes after again getting airborne the problem resurfaced. The
decision whether to turn back or push on was debated over the airwaves.
Running out of options James finally decided to lean out the mixture as a
last resort. We had previously been warned by Bob Ewing to always fly on
full rich. Within a few minutes the engine was running smoothly again to
everyone’s relief. The problem must have been caused by the intense heat
and a high density altitude. The remainder of the leg passed uneventfully
except for having to dodge old car tyres strewn across the runway at Thaba
Nchu on landing. The seldom used runway is apparently now more in demand
as a drag racing strip. (Florence nearing Queenstown – photo by Dave Hartmann)
After refuelling Mark and I were afforded the
privilege of flying the last leg into East London. Knowing that a fair
crowd of family, friends, aviation enthusiasts and reporters from the
local newspaper were anticipating our arrival at exactly 12 noon we had
some time to spare and took the opportunity to enjoy some ridge flying
near Cathcart, surfing the updrafts and gaining height in the process.
Soon we passed over the little town of Stutterheim surrounded by its lush
forestland followed later by the outskirts of East London drifting into
view. Nearing the airport and with clearance approved for a low level
runway inspection, Florence nosed down and gained speed, possibly sensing
that we were nearly home. Passing by the gathered crowd waving at us we
pulled up into a steep climb and obtained clearance to do one more of the
same. This pass was lower and slower for the benefit of photographers
before we reluctantly turned away to line up for the landing. After
touching down gently we taxied to the hangars and were soon surrounded by
everyone wearing huge smiles. It was a welcome befitting our Lady. East
London’s Tiger had finally come home. (Dave, James, Niels, Rob, Franco, Chris and Mark on arriving in East London with Florence – photo by Sharon Hartmann)
A journey that began in 1942 had ended. Number
“31”, Florence, was back home where she belonged but this time she was
here to stay. ____________________________________________
(Florence at What’s Landing Airfield, Kwelegha, East London - photo by James Wardle)
Florence or “Fabulous Flo” as she is also
known, has since accumulated well over 200 hours and resides happily in
her new home at What’s Landing Airfield, Kwelegha, on the outskirts of
East London where she is somewhat of a celebrity and takes part in Young
Eagles days and annual Battle of Britain and Remembrance Day flypasts. She
is also the flagship of the ‘Great African Time Machine Flying Company”
that includes a Piper J3 Cub, a Piper PA12 Super Cruiser, DHC-1 Chipmunk
and Cessna 170. An ex RAF/SAAF Auster AOP MkV that saw service in support
of the guns in Italy during World War II is presently undergoing complete
restoration. ____________________________________________
(1 x 130hp DH Gipsy Major 1
engine) ____________________________________________ | |||||||||||||
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