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WING
SPAN
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Themuseumwas set up in Alice
Springs in 1978 on the old town site
Aerodrome which was the original Alice
Springs Airport, and home to Connellan
Airways from1939 to 1968 when it
moved to the current Alice Springs
Airport site.
The old Connellan hangar was
renovated and turned into amuseum
by locals keen to honour thememory
of those who lost their lives in a
tragic air crash at the site. In 1987 the
Bellman Hangar was erected next to it
to continue to display and preserve the
history of aviation in Central Australia.
Connellan stopped flying in 1980 but
its story is kept alive at themuseum
thanks to a host of dedicated
volunteers like Bob Vigar, secretary of
the local aeromodellers club the Alice
Fun Flyers, who keep the doors open
to local, national and international
visitors seven days a week.
This year themuseumset up an
‘Aeromodelling is Fun’ exhibition
of aeromodelling over the years. It
has been an exciting project for the
museumand features a display of
photos and stories of aeromodelling
fromaround Australia as well as
showcasing a 25% scalemodel spitfire.
The exhibition has been a great way to
encourage young locals to take up the
sport of aeromodelling and it’s Bob’s
hope that aviationmuseums around
the country establish similar displays
so young people can “experience
the wonderful gobsmacking thrill of
building and flying an aircraft they
have built”.
Bob’s own contribution to themuseum
includes a 12% scalemodel of Sir
Charles Kingsford Smith’s famous
Fokker Tri-motor ‘Southern Cross’,
affectionately known as the ‘Ole Bus’.
Among the popular tributes to
Australian aviation is the Douglas DC-3
in the Bellman Hangar which has been
converted into a theatrette that plays
the Eddie Connellan Story, about the
founder of Connellan Airways.
Future plans for displays include the
reassembly, preservation and display
of the DE Havilland Heron flown by
Connellan that was also lost in a crash
in 1975.
The Central Australian Aviation
Museum is located at the Memorial
Avenue entrance to the Alice Springs
Cultural Precinct, just off Larapinta
drive, in Alice Springs, Northern
Territory.
For information email
caaminc@gmail.com.
THE CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN AVIATION MUSEUM IS HOME TO A TREASURE TROVE OF FULL-
SIZED AND SCALE REPLICA AIRCRAFT INCLUDING A FULL SIZED REPLICA TIGER MOTH
VH-BAA THAT WAS USED BY THE ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE FROM 1946 TO 1949 AND
COULD CARRY A STRETCHER.
CELEBRATING AUSTRALIAN
AVIATION
IN THE RED CENTRE