Eric Allen
Writer, photographer and aviation enthusiast
I have been an aviation enthusiast from a very early age.
Born in Brisbane, I attended my first air show at Archerfield while at primary school. It was a stimulating experience when a Mosquito took off, cut one engine, and immediately performed a roll. Not a recommended manoeuvre they say, but the fearless RAAF pilot was undaunted.
After the display I entered a hangar full of pristine Mosquitoes and their fate has been the subject of urban myth. Sadly, they were most likely bulldozed into a pit and burnt.
Parked opposite the Mossie's hangar were three B-24s. I wonder what happened to them? My introduction to aircraft photography was at that time with my trusty Kodak Box Brownie camera.
The following year I attended an Air Force Week display at Amberley where several Lincolns participated, flying low and banking steeply in front of the crowd. The brilliant September afternoon sun shone through their canopies, clearly revealing the crew in their yellow lifejackets. The air reverberated with the sound of so many Merlins. It was intoxicating to say the least.
I paid the princely sum of one penny to travel by tram from Coorparoo to Eagle Farm whenever possible, to gaze at airliners: a TAA Lodestar, Viscounts, a Dragon, Ansett Convairs, ANA DC-6s and sundry DC-3s and DC-4s.
Eric Allen
