Now that South Australia has COVID pretty much under control we are starting to come out of lock-down and public spaces are opening up again. This meant that I could finally make a trip into the Adelaide Public Library to see the 'Heroes of the Skies' exhibition.
The exhibition was a fascinating collection of memorabilia from the life of Ross & Keith Smith and, of course, their epic flight from England to Australia.
But for me, the hero piece was the large scale (1/12) model of the Vimy itself:
The model is usually housed behind glass in a display area on the side of the hangar where the full sized aircraft is displayed at the Adelaide Airport.
Now, my trip back in time: The last time I stood this close to the model was when my father (Max Starick) was putting the finishing touches to this gigantic model which he and a fellow aeromodeller, Bob Howie, had been commissioned to build for the fund raising committee back in 1956. I was born in 1948 - I'll leave you do do the maths!!
I can still remember him hand carving the two four bladed propellers - he was a real craftsman and a meticulous builder, so much so that after he died my brother and I fielded many requests from modellers Who wanted to buy the radio controlled aircraft that were still in his hobby room!
The base of the model is an aerial view of the suburb that was once the open fields where the Smith brothers touched down all of those years ago.
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