The Australian Vintage Aircraft Society museum
To be human means to dream. And one of the most compelling dreams is of flight.
This museum features aeroplanes from the early 1900’s and tells the fascinating story of powered flight.
Who invented powered flight is a contraversial topic. Many people from different countries were working on the problem around the same time. In this museum, you’ll discover it might not have been the Wright brothers.
The museum also covers the history of Austraian military aviation during World War I.
Fokker DR. 1 Triplane
Most early planes were biplanes. But there were various experimental designs with more than two wings—in some cases many more. But the most famous was the Fokker DR. 1 with three wings.
This is a replica. Only 320 original Fokker DR. 1 planes were built between 1917 and 1918, and none of the originals exist anymore.
360°x180° Spherical Panorama
To the right of the triplane is a silver Nieuport 24: a French fighter plane.
Behind the triplane is a Henri Farman No. III: a replica which can fly.
Above the triplane is a British Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a from 1917. These were used by the Australian Flying Corps during World War I on the Western front.
To the left of the triplane is a yellow DH. 82A Tiger Moth. It is a British design, but many of them were built in Australia from 1941 for wartime training. This was the 82nd design by Geoffrey de Havilland, hence the name.
Beyond the Tiger Moth is a green Bristol F.2B. And above the Bristol Fighter is a Johnson Monoplane.
Johnson Monoplane
The Johnson brothers had built a plane, before they became famous for marine outboard motors with the company that is named after them. The plane was built in 1909 in Indiana, USA, and it first flew in 1911.
It was an advanced design for its time. The brothers never saw a plane before and taught themselves to fly with it.
The TAVAS museum has the only reproduction of the Johnson Monoplane in the world.
360°x180° Spherical Panorama
Underneath the Johnson Monoplane is a Sopwith Camel: used by the allies in the first World War.
To the left of the Sopwith Camel is a Fokker E. III Eindeker.
Fokker E. III Eindeker.
The Fokker E. III Eindeker was built between 1915 and 1916. It was a sophicated fighter aircraft for its time.
This is a highly authentic replicate of the Fokker E. III Eindeker.
360°x180° Spherical Panorama
Above the Fokker E. III Eindeker’s right wing is a Condor No. 6.
Condor No. 6
There appears to be evidence that the credit for the first powered flight should go to Gustav Whitehead, who flew this aircraft in Connecticut, USA. That was in 1901–two years before the Wright brothers claimed they flew their aircraft in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Born in Germany as Gustav Weisskopf, he moved to the USA when he was 18 years old, where he was a mechanic for the Boston Aeronautical Society.
This replica was built for the documentary, “Who flew first”. As the name suggests, Gustav Whitehead built several aircrafts during his life.
360°x180° Spherical Panorama
Most of the aircrafts on the floor of the museum can fly, and the society sometimes has flying displays.
The museum has some unique items that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. It is worth visiting and is located next to the Caboolture Airfield, about an hour drive north of Brisbane, Australia.