Start-Up Day Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre

START-UP DAY AT THE NHILL AVIATION HERITAGE CENTRE
After 11 years of restoration work on the Avro Anson the two engines are now ready for action.
They will both be fired up at the ‘Start-Up Day’ on Saturday April 10 th out at the aerodrome. This
will be a major milestone for the Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre.

Rob Lynch, president of the NAHC said: “This will be a memorable day. When some of us saw the Avro Anson pieces behind Graham Drage’s shed at Lah back in 2009 we thought they looked like useless junk. Mike Kingwill, Wimpey Reichelt and Len Creek have done an amazing job to get theplane to this stage.”

Engines of all shapes and sizes are being greased and oiled in preparation for the day. Two other aircraft on display at the NAHC, the Wirraway and Tiger Moth will also be started up, along with a range of unique engines supplied by the Nhill Vintage Machinery Club. Engines that need blowtorches, crank handles and cartridges to start them are sure to impress onlookers. The line-up includes a ‘Southern Cross’ mobile generator similar to the one used for floodlighting at the aerodrome during WW2, and other vintage tractors, trucks, a weapons carrier and model aircraft.

Beginning at 10.00am with the Tiger Moth , the Wirraway will follow at 10.30am. Vintage Club
engines will be featured for the next hour before the Avro Anson is fired up at 12 noon.
If you miss the morning, the 2 ½ hour program will be repeated from 1.30pm, finishing up with the second Avro Anson start up at 3.30pm.

Back in the Ahrens Hangar , visitors will have free admission to see the large collection of photos and memorabilia from the Nhill RAAF Base days, or try their hand at flying in the Link Trainer, a prototype of flight simulators. Nhill’s first locally owned aircraft, a de Soutter is on display, along with the propeller from ‘Silver Wings’, the second aeroplane ever built in Australia. The story of this aircraft, built in a straw shed by a young farmer from Pella, near Rainbow, during the 1920s is one of brilliant craftsmanship and resilience.

An added bonus will be the opportunity for visitors to book a scenic flight with AKube Aviation for a birdseye view of the surrounding district .

Profits from the day will go to the Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre ‘Finish the Wing’ project.
Gates open from 9.00am. Entry fee is $15 (eftpos or cash) with children and students free. Food and drinks will be available.

More information from John Deckert 0437 351 753 or Rob Lynch 0428 911 387