The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland, New Zealand has on display a Wright J-5-A-B Whirlwind engine (s/n 8273) said to have been fitted to the Southern Cross at one time. While this is not disputed, we do know that it was not fitted to the aircraft when it was retired. For the Pacific flight, the aeroplane was fitted with three new engines with the consecutive serial numbers 7416, 7417 and 7418. When the Southern Cross was withdrawn from service it was fitted with the following engines:

That the aeroplane should retain two of its original engines after seven years of hard service is quite remarkable. It is reported that Smithy had access to six Wright Whirlwind engines so it is reasonable to imagine that the MOTAT engine is one of these.

The following press cutting from 23 December 1958 indicates that the New Zealand engine came from Orange, NSW.

Notwithstanding several spelling mistakes (Afflick should be Affleck, Oranga should be Orange and Quantas should be Qantas) this article suggests that the engine had been fitted to the Southern Cross when it flew the Tasman for the first time on 10 September 1928. If true, this information could only have come from the engine log book which is presumably in the possession of MOTAT who have not responded to correspondence at the time of writing. This flight took place just two weeks after the Pacific flight and while photographs confirm that the aeroplane was still fitted with three Micarta two-bladed propellers, there is no way of knowing if an engine had been changed in Sydney. Would Smithy have had access to a spare engine so soon after the Pacific flight? It wasn't until the second flight to New Zealand on 11 January 1933 that the aeroplane had a three-bladed propeller fitted to the centre engine.

The article states that the engine was to be fitted to a Travelair aircraft but the installation had not gone ahead. There was indeed a Travelair VH-UGY registered to a Mr. T.A. Barrett in Orange NSW. Originally built as a Travelair 2000 with a Curtiss OX-5 V-8 engine, this aircraft was converted to a Travelair 4000 with a Wright J-5 Whirlwind in 1934 before Mr. Barrett acquired the aircraft. So it is possible that Mr. Barrett had acquired another Wright J-5 as a spare but there had been no requirement to fit it to the aircraft. Alternatively, it is possible that the press report is incorrect and that there was only one J-5 engine and this was the one installed in VH-UGY. Travelair VH-UGY was removed from the Register in 1944 and its burnt remains were sighted at Orange in 1966. Presumably its engine was removed before the aeroplane was burnt.

The following 1965 article, coincidentally also on 23 December, states that the engine was being restored for display at MOTAT. It states that the engine was located "about four years ago" (i.e. 1961) whereas the earlier report has the engine arriving in Auckland in 1958. Although not stated in the report, the clear implication is that the engine was flown to Auckland by Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL). At that time, TEAL was operating the Douglas DC-6 which would not have been able to accommodate the engine in its assembled state. This would explain the reference in the following article to the engine being "broken down" for the flight to NZ.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS