Three years ago, the front-end of a salvaged aeroplane mysteriously appeared on Peter Road across from the entrance to Maragon School.
The aeroplane, which was branded with advertising for the Tina Cowley Reading Centre at one stage, has since become an iconic landmark on Peter Road.
After tracking down owner Dave Walkley, he explained that it was “part of a Vickers Viscount 806”, salvaged from Lanseria Airport in 1998 by an unknown man who wanted to convert the nose of the aeroplane into a bar, but failed to do so.
Walkley purchased the salvaged front-end of the Vickers Viscount and proudly displayed it in front of his mattress business on Peter Road since 2011. He plans to convert it into a boardroom when he renovates his business premises soon.
The nose of the plane, although vandalised in recent years, still retains some of its authentic equipment.
“The rudders still work,” explained Walkley’s 12-year-old son and avid aviation enthusiast, Rowan.
“That panel behind the right-side pilot is where an engineer used to sit and check that everything was running smoothly,” said an enthusiastic Rowan, when referring to the electrical circuit breaker panel.
Rowan’s little brother, Devon, reminisced how he and his brother spent countless hours playing in the cockpit, learning what all the knobs, buttons and levers were used for. “We used to pretend we were the pilots flying people all over the world.”
This specific Vickers Viscount 806 was built in 1958 and was in use up until 1998, when all models of the Vickers Viscount fleet were discontinued. Its last landing was at Lanseria Airport where it was taken apart and sold for scrap metal.
