Teaching an old bird new tricks
Some call it unreliable, others call it character. PTE John Wellfare talks to vintage warplane owner Jeff Trappett about his P-51 Mustang.

Jeff Trappett performs a low flypast in his Mustang as part of an aerial display at the Australian International Air Show.

Jeff Trappett

Photos by PTE John Wellfare

YOU can learn a lot about people from the type of hobbies they put their time into. Without reverting to stereotypes, there are certain kinds of people who collect stamps, build furniture or climb mountains, and each of them is different.

Former Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran Jeff Trappett is a vintage warplane owner. He’s spent years and thousands of dollars meticulously refurbishing his P-51 Mustang, the classic World War II fighter and ground attack aircraft, which he now displays regularly at air shows throughout Australia.

Mr Trappett has an air of routine about him as he places wooden chocks under the wheels and runs an old cloth over the cockpit canopy of his classic warbird, just returned to the flightline after an aerobatics display at the Australian International Air Show.

“They’re a classic fighter for anyone who enjoys World War II vintage piston fighter aircraft,” he says, running his hand along the Mustang’s shiny surface. “I wasn’t born when WWII was on, but it was something that I always aspired to [be part of] as a kid.

“As I got a bit older and spent my time in the Air Force, this [aircraft] came up for sale, so I bought it and rebuilt it, myself and a bunch of Air Force guys.”

When Mr Trappett purchased the airplane in 1978, it hadn’t been flown for 20 years. He spent about 3000 hours during the early ’80s, while posted to RAAF Base East Sale, stripping the aircraft down and rebuilding it. The bottom line – owning a vintage aircraft, even more so than a vintage car, takes patience, meticulous attention to detail and a lot of money.

“You can get any parts for the aeroplanes in America because they’re remanufacturing them,” he says. “It’s extremely expensive and engine parts are harder to find – they’re there, but huge money. That’s why we take so much care of them.”

Looking after the 60-year-old aircraft is a more time-consuming part of the hobby than flying it.

“At the end of the air show it’s covered in dust, so it’s a huge clean up, both inside and out. I’ll get all the engine cowls off, get all the dust out of it, and a lot of areas have to be repolished. At the end of a major show like [Avalon], there’s probably a couple of days’ work.

“We don’t really fly them enough. All mechanical things like to be operated regularly and unfortunately one has to make a living as well, which interferes with the hobbies.”

Throughout his 21-year Air Force career, Mr Trappett piloted a number of Australia’s major air platforms, from F-111s to DC3s. He was also a member of the Roulettes on three different occasions.

That part of his history is actually quite usual among vintage warplane aerobatic pilots. A significant portion of the pilots flying in displays at Australia’s major air shows – in fact, three of the four pilots in Mr Trappett’s formation display at Avalon – are ex-Roulettes. There’s a professional familiarity between them that’s important in the high-risk world of formation aerobatics, and they’re all used to performing in front of crowds.

“You don’t worry about [the crowd]; you’re too busy watching what you’re doing,” he says.

“The prime object is to keep it safe and keep your whole display centred on the centre line, so by the time you do that and watch where the other guys are, you only really see the people when you’re taxiing back in.

“It’s good fun. If it wasn’t fun, we wouldn’t do it.”

Mr Trappett now flies 747s for Qantas. He’s been a pilot for his entire working life, both in his profession and his hobby. But, he says, it never gets tedious.

“Flying’s one of those things – if you don’t really enjoy it, you should give it away.

“It’s been 15 years since I was in the Air Force, but I miss it every day. I see the boys in the F-111s or the F-15s flying and I just think, ‘Oh, gee, lucky guys’.

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