Last updated 10 March 2021

AUSTRALIAN IMCO CALLAIR A-9 & B-1

A listing compiled by Geoff Goodall

                CallAir A-9A VH-MPR at Tygalgah Qld in September 1976, fitted with an agricultural spreader.                              Photo by Mike Vincent

                25 CallAir A-9As were imported into Australia in the mid-1960s through the distributor South West Pacific Aircraft Co, Bankstown which was an associate company of Aerial Agriculture Pty Ltd. All these aircraft were new production examples, although some had US registrations allocated.

Eight years after the last CallAirs were imported in 1966, a second-hand CallAir A-9B model (originally marketed as the "Super A-9" ) VH-MPT arrived in 1974 for an established WA agricultural operator.  However, because of structural differences with the A-9A, the Department of Transport Airworthiness Branch required costly full new-type certification. After a lengthy stand-off, the compromise was to modify the A-9B to A-9A configuration.

The CallAir story goes back to the 1930s when Reuel Call was flying his Curtiss Junior in the high mountain country of Wyoming. He considered building his own aircraft that would perform well over terrain up to 6,000 feet, and built a workshop at the small town of Afron, Wyoming. With his uncle, engineer Ivan Call, they designed and built a low wing side-by-side aircraft which gained CAA certification as the CallAir A-3 in December 1941. With USA joining the war that same month, all development of the A-3 was shelved and Call Aircraft Company survived financially on military contract work repairing damaged training aircraft.  In the early postwar aviation boom, Call Aircraft began A-3 production but sales were disappointing against the mass production models by Aeronca, Cessna and Piper. In November 1953 Californian aerial agriculture operator Herb Anderson bought into the company: the A-3 was modified for cropdusting and spraying, going into production as the CallAir A-4 and enjoying sales success within USA. Other low-wing utility and agricultural aircraft deisgns followed.

In November 1959 a CallAir distributor from Texas took over the company, sacked the Directors and produced a new type named Texan which was a sales failure. This forced Callair Aircraft into receivership, but the business was reorganised in February 1962 by Herb Anderson and Carl petersen who had been with the original company since 1939, with new name Intermountain Manufacturing Company - IMCO.  Redesign work resulted in the new model CallAir A-9 agricultural aircraft gaining FAA certification that same year on 9 November 1962. The Afton factory had been renovated for full scale building of the A-9 and the first production aircraft came off the line on 18 January 1963 and forty were delivered that first year.

The CallAir was of similar configuration to the Piper PA-25 Pawnee, both using the 235 hp Lycoming O-540 engine. It was of mixed construction of fabric covered steel tube fuselage and spruce wings. The A-9A was marketed in Australia as the lowest priced US agricultural aircraft then in production. Major differences to the Pawnee were the wooden wings designed to shear in an accident, and the fuel tanks in the wings rather than fuselage. Of the many Australian agricultural CallAir accidents, only one resulted in the death of the pilot (VH-APW).

The first CallAir imported to Australia was A-9A VH-FBS which reached Sydney 20 May 1964 as deck cargo on the ship Sierra.  It was the 61st production A-9 series, and was taken to Bankstown for assembly in the Aerial Agriculture hangar. Nine more were assembled before December that year.

Two of the larger scaled-up CallAir B-1 model were imported by the agents in 1966, VH-BEB and VH-BEC. The cockpit seated two side by side, and it was powered by a 425 hp Lycoming IO-720 driving a 3 bladed constant speed propeller. Their arrival coincided with a significant slump in the aerial agriculture business in Australia and their higher operating costs resulted in neither being sold. Both were exported the following year.

Meanwhile IMCO was purchased by Rockwell International in 1967, as part of a plan to buy out smaller manufacturers who were already successful marketing their own products. Rockwell also took over Snow, Volaire, Meyers and Aero Commander during this period. Rockwell soon dropped the bigger models B-1 and B-1A in favour of Leland Snow's S-2 series, which it had acquired by the purchase of Snow Aeronautical Co. The A-9 was renamed the Sparrow Commander and the Afton plant was closed down and production moved to Albany, Georgia. A more powerful A-9 Super with a 290 hp Lycoming was marketed under the name Quail Commander.

A-9 production moved to Mexico in 1971 in a joint venture with Mexican aircraft manufacturer Aeronáutica Agrícola Mexicana SA (AAMSA) where it was renamed A-9B-M Quail. The last A-9s were produced in 1984. 

Australian CallAirs listed in order of Australian registration:

  A-9A                             c/n  1061                                                                                                                                                                                   VH-FBS

                VH-FBS at Parafield November 1966.                                                                                                                                                            Photo by Geoff Goodall

               Moorabbin August 1986.                                                                                                                                                                  Geoff Goodall collection                        

  A-9A                             c/n  1068                                                                                                                                                                VH-MSU

                VH-MSU at Albury NSW September 1964.                                                                                                                                      Photo by Bob Neate

  A-9A                               c/n  1074                                                                                                                                                                          VH-APC

         VH-APC at Bundaberg Qld 1967.                                                                                                                                  Geoff Goodall collection

          Cootamundra NSW, May 1979.                                                                                                                                Photo:  Roger McDonald collection

VH-APC at Benalla Vic in January 1990 as a tug during gliding championships.                                                                             Photo by Geoff Goodall

    
     VH-APC being ferried to its new home at Tocumwal March 2019 by purchaser Lumpy Paterson.                                 Photo: Lumpy Paterson

  A-9A                             c/n 1097                                                                                                                                                              VH-APW

                                         VH-APW at Bankstown October 1964.                                                                                                                        Photo:  Geoff Goodall collection

  A-9A                              c/n 1063                                                                                                                                                        VH-MPA, VH-AZE

Cunderdin WA July 1968, factory yellow.                                                                                                                                       Photo by Geoff Goodall

               Gawler SA, January 1975 with Adelaide Soaring Club as a glider tug.                                                                                        Photo by Mike Madden

  A-9A                               c/n 1067                                                                                                                                                              VH-MPB

                VH-MPB at Parafield in February 1965.                                                                                                                               Photo by Geoff Goodall

               VH-MPB at Northam WA October 1976.                                                                                                                                  Photo by Geoff Goodall

  A-9A                              c/n 1071                                                                                                                                                                     VH-MPC

                Moorabbin February 1965.                                                                                                                                                  Photo by Geoff Goodall

               Working from an agricultural airstrip near Caldwell NSW, July 1967.                                                                                                   Photo by Geoff Goodall

               Berwick Vic in May 1973.                                                                                                                                                         Photo by Roger McDonald

  A-9A                              c/n 1070                                                                                                                                                                              VH-MPD

                VH-MPD at Kellerberrin WA May 1976.                                                                                                                                      Photo by Geoff Goodall

  A-9A                           c/n 1085                                                                                                                                                                   VH-MPE

               VH-MPE at Moorabbin in July 1966.                                                                                                                                               Photo by Geoff Goodall

  A-9A                              c/n  1107                                                                                                                                                                    VH-MPF

                VH-MPF at Griffith NSW in January 1965                                                                                                                   Photo by Bob Neate

         Jandakot WA May 1971.                                                                                                                                                          Photo by Geoff Goodall

               Kununurra WA in February 1975.                                                                                                                                                     Photo by Robert Zweck

  A-9A                            c/n 1113                                                                                                                                                                          VH-TOX

  A-9A                           c/n  1128                                                                                                                                                                   VH-MPG

                      VH-MPG at Jandakot July 1965.                                                                                                                                                                 Photo by Merv Prime

      
     VH-MPG at Jandakot May 1972.                                                                                                                                                        Photo by Geoff Goodall

                       Jandakot March 1974 still with Western Aerial Services.                                                                                                                  Photo by Roger McDonald

                       Cropspraying days over, Jandakot 1986 as a banner tower.                                                                                                            Photo by Geoff Goodall

Mark "Lumpy" Paterson in his WWII B-24 hangar at Tocumwal with two of his five CallAirs

  A-9A                            c/n  1129                                                                                                                                                                       VH-MPH

                 VH-MPH at Horsham Vic in August 1966.                                                                                                                       Photo by Geoff Goodall

  A-9A                             c/n   1171                                                                                                                                                                            VH-MPI

               Parafield SA in September 1966 with Robbys.                                                                                                                                             Photo by Geoff Goodall

              Jandakot 1967 “Wongan Ballidu Aerial Agricultural Specialists”.                                                                                                          Photo by Merv Prime
           

                Bunbury WA September 1971, yellow and green.                                                                                                                          Photo by Geoff Goodall

            Jandakot December 1976, in its new role towing advertising banners.                                                                                           Photo by Geoff Goodall

            Whim Creek in the Pilbara district of niorthern WA in July 1977, in use as a glider tug.                                                                   Photo by Roger McDonald

  A-9A                             c/n  1172                                                                                                                                                                            VH-MPJ

         Parafield August 1966.                                                                                                                                                              Photo by Geoff Goodall

  A-9A                             c/n  1190                                                                                                                                                                       VH-MPK

         Bundaberg Qld in November 1966.                                                                                                                                         Photo by Arthur Perkins.

  A-9A                            c/n 1169                                                                                                                                                                      VH-CYC

               Bankstown October 1965.                                                                                                                                                       Photo by Peter Limon

  A-9A                             c/n 1218                                                                                                                                                                            VH-KKZ

                 The short-lived VH-KKZ at Bankstown December 1965.                                                                                                                 Photo by Ian McDonell

  A-9A                             c/n 1127                                                                                                                                                                     VH-MPN

                   Deniliquin NSW in October 1979 as a sprayer.                                                                                                                          Photo by Robert Zweck

                     Moorabbin in July 1982.                                                                                                                                                              Photo by Russell Legg

  A-9A                             c/n  1207                                                                                                                                                                     VH-MPO

   
                    VH-MPO at Bankstown in August 1966.                                                                                                           Photo: Geoff Goodall collection

    Dumped in the grass at Scone in July 1967.                                                                                                                     Photo by Geoff Goodall

                     Bankstown October 1976, freshly rebuilt                                                                                                                   Photo by Mike Vincent

                          Benalla Vic January 2007, “Gliding Club of Victoria” painted on tail.                                                                          Photo by Lindsay Nothrop

                 VH-MPO now named "Isabella" based at Tocumwal in 2019 still in use as a glider tug.                       Photo: Lumpy Paterson

  A-9A                            c/n 1203                                                                                                                                                                           VH-MPP

          Scone NSW, July 1966.                                                                                                                                                     Geoff Goodall collection

 A-9A                             c/n  1219                                                                                                                                                                          VH-MPQ

              Bankstown January 1966, just after assembly.                                                                                                           Photo by Ron Cuskelly

                   Bankstown February 1968.                                                                                                                                                  Photo by Eric Favelle 

             VH-MPQ’s bare frame and hopper at Kununurra WA, October 1975.                                                                                        Photo by Geoff Goodall

  A-9A                             c/n  1233                                                                                                                                                         VH-MPR, VH-MRP

          Bankstown December 1966, waiting for a buyer.                                                                                                              Photo by Greg Banfield

  A-9A                            c/n  1242                                                                                                                                                                  VH-MPS

                   VH-MPS at Batchelor NT October 1975.                                                                                                                       Photo by Geoff Goodall

                  Cottesloe Beach, Perth in March 1978.                                                                                                                                 Geoff Goodall collection

  A-9A                             c/n 1192                                                                                                                                                                              VH-MPL

Bankstown March 1968 with Aerial Agriculture titles.                                                                         Photo: Geoff Goodall collection

  A-9B, modified to A-9A         c/n  1318                                                                                                                                              (VH-MPT), VH-MPU

          Callair A-9B VH-MPT at Jandakot September 1974.                                                                                                       Photo by Roger McDonald

        The same aircraft: now A-9A VH-MPU, at Ballidu WA, August 1987.                                                                                              Photo by Geoff Goodall

  CallAir B-1                 c/n 10.008                                                                                                                                                           VH-BEB

        Bankstown July 1966 just after assembled.                                                                                                                                 Photo by Eric Favelle

         Demonstrations at Parafield SA September 1966.                                                                                                                 Photo by Geoff Goodall

  CallAir B-1                   c/n  10.014                                                                                                                                                                   VH-BEC

                Bankstown November 1966, just after assembly.                                                                                                                         Photo by Arthur Perkins.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLAIRS

-  This Callair was photographed in Perth WA in October 1988 by reader Trevor Bartlett. Identity unknown but probably VH-MPB.

It was displayed at Bill's Machinery yard, Gnangara Road, Lansdale. Also in the yard were the hulks of two RAAF Vampires, a Beech Baron

and a Piper Aztec.

-  Melvyn Davis reports that two CallAir fuselage frames plus a wing, tailplane and wing struts were stored in a hangar at the gliding strip at Euroa Vic. They were said to be obtained from NSW, no doubt as spare parts for CallAirs used as glider tugs. In 1991 these CallAir components plus sections of a Blanik glider were acquired by David Braham, Burwood, Melbourne who moved them by road from Euroa to Burwood in a series of trips between September-October 1991. They were stored in a shed at his Burwood home until February 1992 when the parts collection was moved by road on a trailer to David's new home at Modbury, Adelaide:

- CallAir 1: reportedly later acquired by the Ferrymead Aeronautical Society, Christchurch NZ for their museum, which has a section featuring aerial agricultural aircraft. Ferrymead had in store some CallAir B-1 wings and wanted a fuselage frame to commence a rebuild for display.

- CallAir 2: frame acquired by Stephen Nitschke, Stonefield SA and stored at his property at Stonefield, with other aircraft restoration projects.

                                                                       
FLYING THE CALLAIR: Recollections of experienced pilot and aviation writer, Dave Prossor

The CallAir. What an aircraft!
I never flew the model in its Ag work role, but flew it as a sailplane tow aircraft. To me it excelled in this role.

I was first introduced to the CallAir in the form of VH-CYC at Bacchus Marsh aerodrome, about 20 nm west of Melbourne, Victoria in 1972. The Geelong Gliding Club urgently needed a CallAir tow plane pilot for the club's annual gliding camp, at Birchip, in northern Victoria. I had just been checked out in the club's PA18A-150 Super Cub and on December 24 1972 I got my CallAir A9A checkout and glider towing endorsement.

My last flight in a CallAir was in 1994. In all, I did some 150 hours of CallAir flying, most of it towing and the occasional cross country ferry.

I liked the type. It had a roomy cockpit. American Ag aircraft typically have spacious cockpits and the CallAir was no exception. The undercarriage was wide and made for easy landings and ground handling. I never saw an owner's manual until 2014 although I had chased around for one. It did not tell me much that I did not already know.

There were some 25 IMCO CallAir A9 aircraft imported into Australia (as well as an A9B and two B1s). I never could get a clear definition of what was an A9 and what was an A9A. It would seem that the type was commonly called an A9 but its actual FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet referred to it as an A9A. Maybe the prototype was just an A9? The TCDS notes that A9A c/n 1061 to 1125 were flapless and that 1126 and on had flaps. An after market windscreen supplier talked of the A9 being c/n 1000 thru 1615 and the A9A as being 1048, 1061 thru 1615.

I flew four of them and found that each one was different in subtle ways. Over the years I wrote details about some of the various aircraft that

I had flown into the back of my logbook. The CallAir notes below are some of those.

VH-FBS c/n 1061 was built on March 27 1964. When I flew it, it had a 260 hp Lycoming 0-540-A2DS engine driving a McCauley toothpick fixed pitch prop. It was flapless and there was no step below the cockpit to help the pilot get aboard.

VH-APC c/n 1074. No maker's plate but it was c/n 1074. Built in 1964. It had a 250 hp Lycoming 0-540-A1D5 engine. No flaps. No step. When

I flew it in late 1994 it had flown some 5,400 hours. It had a fixed pitch McCauley prop.

VH-MPG c/n 1128, built 1965. It had a fixed pitch prop and flaps. The engine was a 250 hp Lycoming -540-A1D5. Photographs show that it has the step

VH-CYC c/n 1169 was built on May 12 1965. It had flaps and flaperons, ailerons that drooped when the flaps went down. CYC had a McCauley two positions prop. Fine pitch or high RPM for take off and coarse for descent or cross-country flight. The engine was a stock Lycoming 0-540-B2B5 engine of 235 hp. It had a step below the cockpit. The CallAir A9 Parts Catalog did not show steps on the fuselage sides.

Tech Stuff

The CallAir A9A had a total of 34.0 US gallons useable fuel (128 litres). The max. flap extension speed was 78 kts. It would stall, flap up and
no power, 3000 lb @ 44 kts. The stall warning was buffeting and a warning horn. Max. cross-wind speed was 15 kts. Flight Plan, no glider, 80 kts & 10 imp. gph. There was not much difference in the cross-country glider towing speed but you had to allow for 12 imp. gph. There were two tanks, one in each wing. If you ran dry on one tank and had no fuel pressure a bell rang and a panel light shone telling you that you had 30 seconds to change to the other tank. Glide speed was 60-65 kts and beware of the high rate of sink, probably due to the drag of the airframe.

The throttle quadrant, trim lever and flap handle were all on the left side of the cockpit. The fuel selector was adjacent to the throttle. The flaps had three settings, up, half or full (24 degrees).

The empty weight of VH-CYC was 1604 lbs. It had a max. take-off weight of 3000 lb. On take off you had the two position prop in forward or high rpm position. Cross-country pull it back to low rpm position. Normal glider tow climb was 60 kts/26" mp to glider release. Then 15" with

prop in low rpm and descend at 80-90 kts. The CallAir did not seem to have the cylinder head issues that the Piper PA25 Pawnee had when used for glider towing. Same engine. Approach was 55 kts/15" with flaps. No flaps, 60 kts.

The CallAir A9A had a good survivability rate. There was only one fatal Ag accident in Australia that I am aware of. It was a rugged bird. A

steel tube fuselage and wooden wings helped. My favourite, VH-CYC, was written off at Bacchus Marsh, Vic. on September 14 1980 when the pilot tried to land the aircraft in very gusty conditions. The machine was blown off the strip and had the engine torn out. No injury. The pilot did not have a lot of flight time. It was an insurance write-off. One of the design features of the CallAir A9A was the wing. It had a deep section

that gave a lot of lift. When I flew CYC it would literally jump into the air with no glider in tow (and no Ag gear). On one occasion, with a stiff wind, I was able to take-off across the runway, on a slight angle!

Following Ag work most CallAirs in Australia gravitated to become glider tugs. Some did work as banner tow aircraft. None were modified to two-seaters like the Pawnee. My 150 hours in a CallAir included a tad of night flying. I had been asked to ferry VH-CYC south to Geelong for a 100 hourly. My departure was delayed when the tug master made an out-landing retrieve and by the time I got to Geelong it was dark. I flew the 25 nm back to Bacchus Marsh and landed on the 09 runway using the white crushed gravel for reference in the dark. There were no landing lights on the aircraft or either airfield. After landing, while I was still shaking, one of the club elders was hammering on the cockpit door telling me that I would never fly a club aircraft again (I did). A few weeks later he did a heavy landing in a wood sailplane and got out to find that only the control cables connected the front and back halves. I chuckled! I do recall one time that a certain CallAir went to a fly-in. It was towing two gliders. In the cockpit was the pilot plus his wife and two kids in the space where the hopper had been. I am sure that other CallAir pilots could relate similar tales. CallAir A9A. I love 'em.

Glider tow pilots got approvals from CASA in two forms. A restricted glider tow ticket allowed the pilot to tow from a home base. The unrestricted ticket allowed for the towing of two gliders at the same time and also allowed to do out-landing retrieves (from paddocks). I ended up with an unrestricted approval. Somewhere along the way I found an owners manual, a parts manual, a control column, a CallAir baseball cap and a couple of chrome plated CallAir A9 cowl fixtures. Maybe with a bit more parts chasing I can find the rest for a rebuild job!

Page 10 of the CallAir A9 owners manual (such as it is) has this advice: "NEVER EXCEED THE LIMITATIONS OF THE AIRCRAFT AND

THE PILOT. FLY SAFELY, ENJOY YOUR WORK, LIVE LONG, AND MAKE MONEY"

I agree. . . . . .
Dave Prossor, February 2014

TAILPIECE 1 ...

 VH-APC reflected during a spraying run.                                                                       Photo by Gordon Israel, via Civil Aviation Historical Society

TAILPIECE 2 ...

CallAir B-1s live on - August 2018 advertisement in a US trade journal.

(Dave Prossor)

References:

- Australian Civil Aircraft Register: Department of Civil Aviation and its successors

- Accidents to Australian Civil Aircraft, DCA annual publication 1965-1969

- DCA WA Region aircraft files, National Archives of Australia, Perth WA

- CallAir production listing, Air Britain Archive, quarterly, 2008-2009

- Aerial Agriculture in Australia, Derrick Rolland, Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia 1996

- South Australian Air Journal, monthly journal, Jan 1964-December 1964

- Southern Aeronotes, monthly journal, Jan-November 1964

- NSW Air Log, monthly journal: June-Dec 1964

- Australian Air Log, monthly journal: 1965-1968

- Aviation Historical Society of Australia Journal, monthly, various issues 1964-1970

- Callairs in Retrospect, Al Cleave, Ag-Pilot International magazine, July 1992
- DCA Air Safety Investigation Branch accident reports, courtesy David Prossor

- US Civil Aircraft Registers: printed editions 1964-1972 held by compiler, and FAA Register search website

- David Prossor: detailed notebook entries on CallAir sightings and events 1965 to date

- Melvyn Davis, Adelaide: correspondence on CallaIr sightings and events 1964 to date