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Post by obiwan27 on Sept 15, 2010 14:21:51 GMT 12
aviationnews.co.nz/downloads/archive/2010/sep_frontcoverlrg.jpgIn September's issue of NZ Aviation News, no doubt timed to coincide with the 'sale' of the Skyhawks is an interview with Jim Jennings, the only RNZAF A4 driver to fire his guns in anger during the Korean fishing boat incident of 1976. It includes a photo of his A4 banking away from an Orion revealing the centreline fuel tank and two pods of 'zuni' rockets on the underwing stores of his aircraft. His most telling comment imho was that the incident "...helped to keep the fishing fleets honest for years afterwards..." Without that capability these days how honest are the fishing fleets now, how honest will they be in future? Recommended reading, a 2 page article including photos.
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Post by skyhawkdon on Sept 15, 2010 20:19:29 GMT 12
Yes a great tribute to the A-4 and Jim.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 15, 2010 20:52:10 GMT 12
As an aside since the journalistic title intrigues me, out of interest did any New Zealanders ever get invited to train at the actual Top Gun school at Mirimar to earn that title?
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Post by skyhawkdon on Sept 15, 2010 21:29:01 GMT 12
The closest any of our Skyhawk pilots would have come to the place would have been those who completed exchanges with the USN/USAF, but because of the breakdown of the ANZUS Alliance in 1984 that was the end of those!
Interestingly I recently found out that Frank Sharp was offered a position on the Red Arrows when he was on exchange in the UK flying Hawks in the mid 80s. He wasn't allowed to take up the offer because it would have extended his exchange over there beyond 3 years and the powers that be in NZ didn't think that was on. However he did fly with them for some "experience" and learnt a lot about jet formation aerobatics, which he then came back to NZ and applied to the subsequent Kiwi Red team.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 15, 2010 23:03:54 GMT 12
Frank talks about that a little on my website Don. And in my article on the Red Checkers too from memory.
More astoundingly, I was in the Cambridge Museum a few weeks ago looking for something in the files, and I found a 1980's article form the local paper about him flying Hawks in the RAF, and the fact that he was from Cambridge. I had no idea he hailed form here. Another top pilot from the town of trees. I have been meaning to email him and ask him.
I guess it's possible some of the US Navy pilots who have exchanged this way to NZ may have gone through the Top Gun School too.
I get a little annoyed that when newspaper journalists write anything about a WWII airmen he's an "ace" and anything about a jet pilot he's a "Top Gun"... I wonder how the Top Gun instructors feel about their prestigious school's name being so bandied about in the media these days, thanks to Tom Cruise.
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Post by obiwan27 on Sept 16, 2010 16:38:40 GMT 12
I gather that Frank Sharp also went over to RAF Germany during his exchange Dave, so if you're emailing him you might want to ask him about his recollection of that experience too (if it did in fact happen).
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