A VINTAGE aircraft from Tyabb has taken to the skies at the Avalon International Airshow, with a young Mornington Peninsula-based pilot showcasing its timeless beauty.
The De Havilland Tiger Moth bi-plane, which is part of Judy Pay’s collection of old warbirds at the Old Aeroplane Company in Tyabb, flew as part of the “Frozen Five” Tiger Moth formation team in front of thousands of aviation enthusiasts on 28 March. Originally designed in the 1930s, Pay’s Tiger Moth was built in 1941 for England’s Royal Air Force, before later being used for “barnstorming” to entertain crowds at airshows and joy flights.
Pilot Heath Wittmer, a 25-year-old passionate aviator since childhood, was at the helm of the biplane at the airshow for the first time in what he described as a privilege and unforgettable experience. “I worked at Avalon when I was younger, every single time it was on, so seeing it from above was just something special,” he said, adding the atmosphere of “seeing all the planes lined up” as he taxied down the runway was electrifying. A plumber by day, the Crib Point resident said the opportunity to perform at Avalon was “pretty exciting – we are very lucky”.
While windy conditions sadly called off the Frozen Five’s chance to fly at the airshow’s weekend display, Wittmer said being able to perform on the Friday before the main show was still a great thrill.
“It was a big step forward for our Tiger Moth group, we were pretty stoked to do it,” he said.
Wittmer first flew solo when he was just 18 before going on to attain his pilot’s licence two years later.
As a kid growing up in Tyabb, he would “run down to Judy’s hangar after school every day,” where he started volunteering at about aged eight – which he said no doubt sparked his dream to fly, and beginning a friendship with Pay. Wittmer said he was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to fly Pay’s Tiger Moth, noting the “whole aspect of the Old Aeroplane Company definitely got me into flying for sure”.
Pay, a respected pilot of more than four decades and renowned restorer of vintage aeroplanes across Australia, said four of the Frozen Five Tiger Moths (which was named after the freezing temperature exposures of an open cockpit) were based at Tyabb with the other based at Moorabbin Airport.
“It’s an interesting old thing,” she said of her dark bottle green coloured Tiger Moth, which has a top cruise speed of about 70-75 knots (just under 140kph). “It doesn’t fly well, but there’s something about it, you come back with a silly grin on your face,” she said. “I guess it’s like an early vintage car; they don’t handle all that well by today’s standards, but they are just a lot of fun.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 8 April 2025
