General News
26 November, 2023
Friends fly in for special birthday
Three young friends with a passion for flying 64 years ago came together at the Warracknabeal Aerodrome with over 60 others to help celebrate one of those friends, Graham Drage’s, 80th birthday last Sunday. It was a special occasion as a number of...
Three young friends with a passion for flying 64 years ago came together at the Warracknabeal Aerodrome with over 60 others to help celebrate one of those friends, Graham Drage’s, 80th birthday last Sunday.
It was a special occasion as a number of rare aircrafts were flown in from all over the state for the event by friends, including a Tiger Moth from Nhill, which Graham and his mates, Clem Quick and John Thompson, all learned to fly in.
Other aircrafts included a big, radial-engined, post-WII Harvard from Lethbridge, an Auster from Bridgewater, plus about a dozen other aircrafts of all sorts and sizes.
“It was oh so cold learning to fly in the Tiger Moth, an open cockpit bi-plane,” Mr Drage said.
“But we couldn’t complain as our instructor would fly it over from Naracoorte just for us
“In the middle of winter it was so bitterly cold and if our instructor Roger Pitt, (who had no legs, but could still fly quite capably and teach us) could fly over for us, then we just had to live with it.
“We started in the Tiger Moth, then a Chipmunk, and then a Comanche all in a year...it was a pretty steep learning curve.
“Cr Len Graetz was most enthusiastic about our flying and he joined us to airshows during the times of the building of the Warracknabeal aerodrome.
“Money was tight not that many years after the war, so we would take it in turn to fly for 10 minutes each, which is all we could afford,” Mr Drage said.
Mr Drage started to learn to fly before he could even hold a drivers licence and would leave the farm to find work elsewhere, such as shearing and fruit picking, just to make enough money to pay for his flying lessons.
Ironically he asked his Dad to drive him into town so he could learn to fly - his Dad saying this was the only time as he didn’t expect him to continue with his flying.
Once he was able to get his driver’s licence, the first time he was able to drive into the original aerodrome (just a paddock then), he borrowed the car from his Dad, only to return from flying lessons and find it missing - it had been stolen and wrecked.
One of Mr Drage’s favourite sayings is: “there are old pilots and bold pilots, but not both.”
“We fairly quickly converted from our youthful bold pilots to being more careful and became old pilots and still enjoy flying.”
Mr Drage continues to be an RA Aus flying instructor and greatly enjoys the fellowship of aviation.
Clem Quick animatedly spoke on behalf of the guests about Graham and their early days and many decades of their aviation together.
The fledgling trio of aviators participated in two Ansett Air Race events (Brisbane to Adelaide), and the Benson and Hedges Perth to Sydney air race, of which there were many humorous anecdotes shared.
Danny Johnson spoke of their days in Apex, and flying trips away, as well of Mr Drage’s extensive involvement in the community over the years, and his current involvement with the Historical Society today.
Mr Drage is also a life member of the Warracknabeal Aero Club.
The celebration was capably organised by Mr Drage’s wife, Judy, their sons David and Cameron and their wives, Narelle and Stacey, and grandchildren, at the Warracknabeal Aero Club clubrooms.