Bristol Boxkite celebrates RAAF centenary

The Royal Australian Air Force has celebrated its centenary by flying a reproduction Bristol Boxkite exactly 100 years after a Bristol Boxkite made the first military flight in Australia. The event took place during at air show over the weekend of 1st and 2nd of March at Point Cook in Victoria, the same location where original flight took place. The flight was the culmination of several years of work to build the Boxkite, to the original design using authentic materials. The Boxkite is fitted with a locally-built 110 h.p. Rotec R2800 radial engine, instead of a Gnome rotary engine, and visually fits in with the period. When the project started in 2006, working rotary engines were extremely rare, and the Rotec is much more reliable.

To mark the occasion, the project has produced a book covering the conception, design and construction of the Boxkite, along with original news accounts and photographs, and is a must for all Boxkite-lovers. The book can be shipped worldwide, and more details are available on the project website. The project also has its own Facebook page.

Bristol Aircraft in 2013

The biggest news item of the year has been the go-ahead for a new museum and learning centre at Filton, the spiritual home of Bristol aircraft. Named the Bristol Aerospace Centre, it will tell the story of the history of aviation and aerospace on the site. Centrepiece will of course be Concorde 216, which made the last Concorde flight when it flew into Filton in 2003. In addition to Concorde, the centre will house the contents of the former Bristol Aero Collection museum at Kemble, which went into storage in 2012 and is now housed in the Brabazon Hall at Filton. New additions to the Collection this year have been the reproduction Bristol Fighter built by employees of Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN in 2010, and the (unofficial) last aircraft to be built at Filton: the Whitakker MW4 microlight.

Some of the Bristol Aero Collection exhibits in store at Filton.

2013 has also been a significant year for a number of individual Bristol aircraft. The world's last airworthy Sycamore helicopter made it's first flight after several years of storage and a major overhaul. Now registered OE-SXY, the Flying Bulls team at Salsburg in Austria have done a great job bringing it back to flight. The Sycamore made its return to flight in July, flown by top aerobatic helicopter pilot Sigi 'Blacky' Schwarz.

Bristol Sycamore OE-XSY in flight at Salsburg

Another significant first this year was made on 11 September at Point Cook in Australia, when reproduction Bristol Boxkite VH-XKT took to the air for the first time. This doubles the number of airworthy Boxkites, the other being the Shuttleworths reproduction built in 1965. The Australian Boxkite has a number of differences from the Shuttleworth example, the most obvious being the upper wing extensions that became standard on most Boxkites from 1911. It also does not have the central vertical tail surface the was added to the Shuttleworth Boxkite during filming of Those Magnificent Men... More details of the build and flight can be found on the Boxkite 2014 website.

Bristol Boxkite VH-XKT on its first flight at Point Cook

The rebuild of the sole airworthy Bristol Blenheim (actually a Canadian-built Bolingbroke) achieved a visual landmark moment when it was rolled out in camouflage at Duxford in August. The restored Bristol Mercury engines had not yet been fitted, but the airframe itself now is very close to completion. The long-nose Blenheim Mk.IV (G-BPIV) suffered damage from a landing accident in August 2003, and the opportunity has been taken to rebuild the aircraft as a Mk.I, replacing the 'long nose' with a 'short nose' which had been converted to a car in the 1940s. More details on the Blenheim Society website.


Also worthy of mention is the Bristol Scout project currently underway by Rick and David Bremner in the Shropshire. Regular updates can be found on their blog. Great progress has been made in 2013, with the airframe itself complete and just the fitting of equipment and fabric covering to go.

Australian Boxkite replica for 2014 centenary

A small dedicated team in Australia have embarked on a project to build an airworthy Bristol Boxkite replica, in time for the centenary of the first military flight in Australia. On the morning of March 1st, 1914, Lieutenant Eric Harrison, an aviator instructor, took Bristol Military Biplane CFS-3 into the air at the newly acquired Army flying field at Point Cook, Victoria. This was the home of the Central Flying School (CFS). That historic flight is now recognised as the starting point of all military flying in Australia.

This Australian replica Boxkite will be built over a period of four to five years. This will ensure that the aeroplane is available in sufficient time to take part in celebrations that will occur in March 2014. With Project 2014 having started in 2006, ample time is available to allow for the resolution of unforeseen problems that may arise during the building of this machine, and the subsequent test flying.

The first wing ribs under construction. Courtesy of Project 2014

The Project Manager, Ron Gretton AM, was the driving force behind the RAAF Museum’s Supermarine Walrus (HD874) restoration. Assistant Project Manager Geoff Matthews joined Ron on the Walrus restoration, and they are both highly experienced ex-RAAF engineering officers with a wealth of the skills required in this project. They are already well into the organisational phase and have already started to cut wood and form shapes for the ribs, booms and undercarriage. Many of the metal fittings have been cut, welded and plated.

The engine will be an Australian seven cylinder 110hp (82kw) radial Rotec R2800, designed and manufactured by Rotec Engineering Pty Ltd at Moorabbin, Victoria. Rosebank Engineering has kindly supplied the engine and all the timber for the project. Mobile Network has supplied the wheels and structural metal, and Aerostructures, and Macdonald Technologies International have also provided significant support. The project is, of course, supported by both the RAAF Museum and the Air Force itself.

http://www.boxkite2014.org

Oakey Boxkite undergoes refurbishment

The Museum of Australian Army Flying at Oakey, QLD, has recently moved its Boxkite replica to Toowoomba for refurbishment. The aircraft was dismantled and transported to the Aerotec Queensland Pty. facility for a complete overhaul, including re-finishing the wood, and stripping and repainting the metal parts. When complete it will be returned to Oakey and reassembled, but not before the museums new exhibition hall is complete.