14-21 Course News
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2/11/07 Patrick McCormack. Since leaving the RAAF in 1994 I have worked for a Aviation Maintenance company called Airflite and my current position is their Eastern States Manager.My office is located at Moorabbin Airport. My long suffering wife is name Patricia but everyone calls her Trish to avoid the obvious confusion.We have been married for 26 years and have two children (Julie 24 and Michael 22) and our great joy is our grandson Chase who is 14 months and is a little tornado! I like many Frugal veterans repeated a year so I belong to both 18 and 19 Courses. My wife has never been to a Frognall reunion and I am glad that we have all aged and can only remember how much we can drink.Looking forward to catching up with some very dear friends.  cheers Patrick
6/08/07  Bob Weight
To             frognall@gmail.com        
date         Aug 6, 2007 1:48 PM        
subject     Reunion 07        
        
All,  I think our course (17) must be almost the worst re keeping in touch and reunions but come on chaps lets make the effort this year.  Hope to see you all there.
 
Bob
Business Manager Weapons & Aerospace
Saab Systems Pty Ltd
Ph +61 2 62670200
Mob: 0412 427 346
Email: bob.weight@saabsystems.com.au
17 Course
August 17 2007 Peter Farrell Sorry guys, at this stage it looks very unlikely that I will be able to attend the Froggers reunion. Maybe next time. I'll wait until Dennis CAN attend because he owes me a few beers and not the other way around Cheers Peter & Margaret Farrell - Sammamish, Washington, USA
20/08/07 John Rae Unfortunately I will not be able to make it to the reunion.  I trust it will be a great success and wish you all well.
August 27 2007 Phil Green - Dennis, I will be unable to make it to Melbourne at this time, but hope there is a good turn out and everyone enjoys themselves. I will be taking up a new position in early November. Could you please use my home Email address. I will let you know the new work details later. Keep up the correspondence Regards, Phil
 
PAUL FALCONER-WEST - Restoring a Tiger Moth  
"Aerotec in Toowoomba is a warbirds restoration and maintenance organisation(Google Aerotec for their details) Barry Linard had started with Peter and I at Diploma Cadet Squadron in 1969. He was posted to Singapore at RAAF Support Unit Tengah whilst I was at 3SQN in Butterworth. The UK,NZ,Australia, Malaysia & Singapore Air Defence agreement required six RAAF Mirage fighters to be stationed at Singapore's RSAF Base Tengah. They were the only supersonic fighters in the region(1960s and 1970s).

I did 8 detachments to Singapore to manage the technical team of 30 personnel. I met up with Barry at Tengah. He bought the wreck(and spares) of the Tiger Moth from the Singapore Flying Club and took it back to Australia with him. He restored it after completing a RAAF pilot's course and flew Dakotas. He then flew his Tiger Moth from RAAF Wagga Wagga to Darwin for his posting as Senior Engineering Officer at RAAF Darwin. On the civilian side Guido Zuccoli had his warbird hangar. Barry had gained his civilian LAME qualification during the Tiger Moth restoration. They met, Barry worked on Guido's warbirds which included a conversion onto Guido's Hawker Sea Fury. When Barry was posted to Canberra he had to sell his Tiger Moth so that his first wife could have a house in Canberra. Barry flew the Tiger Moth from Darwin to Alice Springs to its new owner. On his arrival in Canberra. I introduced Barry to the local vintage aircraft owners who used Barry as their resident LAME. I was Barry's Bombardier when we flew some "Lolly Bomb" drops for school fetes in Canberra using Dennis Sargent's Tiger Moth VH-IHU. Barry resigned from the RAAF to work as the Chief Inspector at the Burea of Air Safety Investigation. Unfortunately a brain tumour in 1996 ended Barry's life.

Lynette appreciated my visit and the discussions on Barry Linard's relationships in our respective lives.

This is the Zuccoli Harvard which Barry ferried from Bendigo via Canberra to Toowoomba in March  1986. He had a magneto problem near Canberra and landed after declaring a PAN. Once 34SQN had fixed the problem Barry took me up in the Harvard on 12 & 14 Mar86. He then displayed it at the Canberra Air Show. We were both in the Chief of Air Force Technical Services organisation in C Block at that time."

Once I had flown the Super Cub it was the first opportunity to get a picture of the "West Twins" in a contempory age.

On 10SEP78 I met Robyn Falconer at the Darling Downs Aero Club when I drove from RAAF Amberley to fly the Tiger Moth VH-BXF. After 20 dates and 35 phone calls I proposed to Robyn on 5Nov78 after the Officers Mess BBQ at RAAF Amberley. I became a widower on 26Feb98.

We had had two flights in that Tiger Moth. First was on 7Oct78 to be the target for a Darling Downs Aero Club Cessna photographing BXF for a DDAC promotion campaign which required, at that time, the only female club member to be in the Tiger Moth. The second was observing an F111 orbiting over 7SD. That flight saw me pass 40 hrs on Tiger Moths.

I flew 12 times in BXF, logging 10.2 hrs between 10Sep and 12Dec78.

Please pass on my apologies to the reunion attendees.

Regards,

P. FALCONER-WEST
SQNLDR
AFLO-7WGAAFC

Tel: 08 9571 7673
Fax: 08 95717575
Mob: 0419962868
Paul Falconer-West & Peter West beside DDAC Piper Super Cub.JPG
Aerotec Harvard VH-SNJ
 Paul Falconer-West & Lynette Zuccoli
We need some
photos here....