S/N 458 — The New Ryan

Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of S/N 154

History

Built in 1940, under the order of the Netherlands Navy, Marine Luchtvaart Dienst. Shipped to the Netherlands East Indies, from Los Angeles on the MV Hoegh, Silver Dawn, and arrived Surabaya 3,1,1941. Given the MLD serial S-22.Equipped with EDO 47-1965 Floats. Prepared for shipment to Australia ahead of the Japanese advance through NEI, February, 1942. Shipped to Australia from Surabaya February 16th, 1942 aboard the MS Tjinegara.

Re assembled by Qantas Empire Airways, in Sydney.

Given the Australian serial A50-17, and taken on charge with the Royal Australian Air Force, used for training and courier service.

Via a survey report 15,9,1944 the aircraft had 548.50 hours, noted with corroded support wires, and held at Evans Head for storage.

Sold by the Commonwealth Disposals Commission with a total time noted of 558.50 hours to Brown & Dureau, PTY Ltd. Melbourne, Vic.

On 7,4,1945 minor damage was noted when a cyclone at RAAF Evans head caused a hangar housing 9 Ryans to Collapse.

Struck of RAAF charge, April 19th, 1945 and on April 26, 1945 registered VH AGV.

After a rebuild by Brown and Dureau a civil C of A was issued on February 12th, 1946. From 1946 to 1961 the aircraft had another 6 owners.

The C of A expired in January, 1957, and on March 3rd, 1960 the aircraft was struck off the Australian Register, located in Darwin.

In December 1961 the aircraft was acquired in poor condition by R.W. Walton, D. Fuss and R.H Lansbury of Melbourne, Vic. They were all employees of Trans Australian Airlines, based at Essendon Airport, Melbourne.

In December 1961 the aircraft was air freighted from Darwin to Melbourne on a TAA DC-4, VH-TAB.

The syndicate of owners commenced a restoration in a gliding club building at Merylstone, Vic.

Purchased by Ian B. Baille in 1962. He had to collect sections of the aircraft from various Melbourne suburbs, the fuselage in Oakleigh, and wings in Coburg. Baille rebuilt the airplane while stationed at RAAF Point Cook Vic. And completed the restoration May 1966. The aircraft was ferried on May 24th, 1966 to Moorabin for final inspection, with a polished fuselage, no registration painted on the aircraft and no radio. The pilot was Flt LT Les Morris, with Baille as a passenger. On May 27th, 1966 the aircraft was again test flown by pilots Morris and Flt LT Mark Webster, Baille watched from the ground as he only had a restricted PPL. He was only 23 years old. The C of A was issued in May 1966, and the aircraft returned to the register on January 7th, 1966.

In 1969 Baille sold the aircraft to Jack A. Tillery Jr. Of Beaumarie, Victoria, Australia. Tillery was actually a U.S. Citizen.

In the summer of 1969 American Rowland K.”King” Egger made a trip to Australia, and purchased the airplane, and it left there on October 16th, 1969 crated aboard the ship “African Neptune”. After arrival in Houston, Texas it was put in temporary storage. It is believed the price at the time was about $7750.00 plus crating of spare parts at a cost of $1688.37

In August of 1978 Egger sold the airplane to Donald Sharp. Sharp applied to the FAA for a license and was able to obtain the former S/N 143 NC 17343 papers and applied them to this airplane. The aircraft then became known as an STA-Special, as per the papers. Sharp did a lot of work on the plane and finished it in May 1979.

On January 17th, 1982 it was purchased by Bill Rose, of Barrington Illinois. Rose reserved the registration N50WR for the Ryan but never applied it. Rose flew it for about 2 years, and then dismantled it completely to rebuild it. The aircraft visited the EAA convention many times during this period.

Purchased by Harold E. Ross, Palm Desert, California on January 1, 2003, the aircraft was placed on display in the Palm Springs Air Museum, in California.

The aircraft was noted for sale by the museum in 2006 at an asking price of 75,000 USD. The total time was noted as 3374 hours, and the Menasco C4-S pirate listed as 225 hours since OH. It was noted that the last annual was in November 2004, and the last flight was in 2005. The aircraft was described as “ferry-able”.

Purchased by James L Morris of Murrieta California on March 3rd, 2006.

Ownership changed again on May 3rd, 2010 when the aircraft was purchased by Dr Brent Hisey, (who also owns the P51 Mustang “Miss America”, and displayed at his Museum of Flying, at the Wiley Post airport, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

On December 2nd, 2010 the aircraft as involved in an incident at Wiley Post Airport, when being flown by Scotty Butler, with a passenger, the LH and RH landing gear partially collapsed and the aircraft left the runway at a low speed. Damage was contained to the Landing gear legs, the wheel pants, and the Left hand wingtip. No one was injured. The aircraft was repaired with new landing gear legs built with parts and drawings supplied by noted Ryan restorer Fred Barber.

The aircraft was listed for sale with Platinum Fighter Sales in 2013 at an asking price of $125,000.00 USD and sold to Efrem Cockett, of Guernsey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom at a sale price of $110,000.00 USD.

In September 2013 the aircraft was crated and shipped to the UK. Where it underwent paint stripping, rebuild and reassembly in Oaksey, UK. The aircraft has now been polished. The aircraft is now once again flying, and based in Oaksey, UK.