Volunteers Set Jan., 2013 Goal For Airworthiness

A replica of the Southern Cross, a Fokker tri-motor which made the first Pacific crossing from the US mainland to Australia in 1928, is being brought back to help acquaint Australian schoolchildren with their aviation heritage. The replica was damaged in a crash in 2002. A dedicated group of Australian volunteers has made its restoration a new year's resolution.

The original plane still exists, preserved under glass near the International Terminal at Brisbane Airport in Queensland. But the volunteer team at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Museum at Illawarra Regional Airport want kids to be able to see and touch the plane, which is only possible with the replica flying. That will require repairs to the plane's damaged wing, undercarriage and two of its three propellers. The goal is to have the plane airworthy in time for the 80th anniversary of Charles Kingsford Smith's flight from Seven Mile Beach, Gerroa, to New Plymouth in New Zealand in 1933. That puts the deadline at January 11, 2013.

The replica was built to celebrate Australia's bicentennial in 1988. It is thought to be the largest reproduction aircraft in the world.

FMI: http://www.hars.org.au