Not the Lockheed in our story but nevertheless 'Silver City' was one of the best known corporate aircraft in Australia's history being at one stage the personal transport for Sir Robert Menzies. (Jim Thorn)

Air Safety

It’s Amazing What a Bounce Can Do I

There was no way I could tell this story at the time; I would have done in my job and my career- as well as ruining the (probably undeserved) reputation of my captain.

But they say confession is good for the soul. So having finally hung up my hat after half a lifetime of poling everything from DC-3s to 727s around the country, here goes!

Longer ago than I care to remember, I was a proud new ‘first officer’ on a corporate Lockheed 12, still quite a ‘hot’ aeroplane in the early 1950s. Quite a rare bird too- there were only three of them on the Australian register. In those days of course any sort of corporate aeroplanes were few and far between, and I considered myself highly privileged.

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