| In the six years
since the first post restoration flight on 06SEP91, Ansertes
has flown 300 hours. During this period she has returned to Darwin (19FEB92)
as an official participant in the 50th anniversary commemorations of
the first bombing. Ansertes operated 10 evacuation flights
out of Darwin during FEB/MAR42. She has also returned to Townsville
and Cairns, the scene of three years of her wartime service (Sydney-Townsville-Sydney
daily). She also participated in the 70th and 75th anniversaries of
the RAAF. Ansertes flew as the official aircraft (carrying
Nancy Bird Walton as crew) in the 1996 re-enactment of the 1936 Brisbane-Adelaide
Air Race. The aeroplane attended the "Save Essendon Air Show" in 1996
and participated in numerous other smaller airshows and charity events
- always a crowd pleaser. To date, in excess of 600,000 spectators have
viewed Ansertes during airshow performances. The aircraft
performs and operates perfectly despite her now 60 year age. She has
no flying vices and could still operate commercially, in competition
with modern feeder airliners. As the saying goes - "They don't build
them like they used to." Ansertes has been the subject
of many aviation magazine articles, both local and international. She
has also featured in television documentaries and even made a four-page
centrefold in a national women's fashion magazine. Some aircraft! Some restoration! Laurie
Ogle
19SEP97 |
