AUG 27, 2003
Pilot breathes new life into ex-RSAF warbird
The 33-year-old Hawker Hunter, restored by a team led by SIA pilot
as a labour of love, will now take tourists in Australia up for fun
flights
By David Boey
ONE of Singapore's first jet fighters, a two-seater Hawker Hunter,
has found a new lease of life after undergoing extensive
restoration in Australia.
Captain David Currie, 59, an Australian who is a Singapore Airlines
pilot, spearheaded the eight-year restoration project, together
with seven aeronautical engineers and three former Hunter pilots -
all of whom offered their services for free.
With their efforts, the Hunter, tail number 528, took off from
Archerfield Airport in Brisbane, Australia on July 26 this year for
a short flight to its new home on the Gold Coast.
The 'new' plane will now be used to give tourists some thrills, at
the rate of A$4,500 (S$5,136) for a 30-minute flight.
Recalling how Hunter 528 took to the skies, Capt Currie said
yesterday: 'It was the most exhilarating day of my life. The whole
thing has been a fantastic dream.
'There were stages when we thought we'd never finish, but the
takeoff was just wonderful.'
The warplane took off in front of thousands of spectators who
crammed the airport's fence-line to watch it make its first flight
after more than 10 years.
The event attracted a lot of media attention, and was even
broadcast on radio in Brisbane.
For his day job, Capt Currie flies Boeing 747-400 Megatops. But the
former fighter pilot, who has clocked more than 24,000 hours in 43
years of flying, wanted an aircraft with more panache.
He has flown two kinds of British-made fighters - Hunters and
Vampires - as well as Boeing 707 and 747 airliners.
He found exactly what he was looking for when the Republic of
Singapore Air Force (RSAF) sold its 21 surviving Hunters in
1995.
The warplanes were delivered in 1970, and were decommissioned by
the RSAF in 1992 - making them the force's longest-serving
fighters.
Capt Currie paid US$30,000 for his Hunter and another US$10,000 to
have it shipped to Australia.
'I don't have any children, so this is a substitute,' he
said.
Only three former RSAF Hunters have been restored to flying
condition. Although all of the RSAF's 21 Hunter jets were sold, the
rest are either in museums or are looking for new owners.
The pilot's experience flying Hunters on ground attack missions for
the Royal Rhodesian Air Force helped him immensely when Hunter 528
was stripped apart and rebuilt.
His restoration team is made up of former pilots and engineers who
fought in the former Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.
The team estimates that Hunter 528 can fly for another 20 years if
it goes on short, 30-minute flights regularly.
Capt Currie's next challenge is to get his wife to join him in his
new toy.
'She has yet to agree, but I'm working on it,' he said.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,206768,00.html?
