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Post by phil on Mar 25, 2011 8:37:36 GMT 12
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Post by aileronroll on Mar 25, 2011 8:53:24 GMT 12
Anyone remember the excellent film "Eagle High", about 75 Squadron?, i think this formed a TV add also.
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Post by skyhawkdon on Mar 25, 2011 9:04:59 GMT 12
We played a copy of Eagle High at the 75 Squadron Association reunion at Ohakea last year. A number of people featured in it were present. It was a great doco for its day and all filmed in-house by a Squadron Leader who's name escapes me at the moment.
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Post by nige on Mar 25, 2011 18:39:11 GMT 12
I recall seeing part of Eagle High whilst in basic flight, ATC, in 1981 (something happened with the next reel or projector so we only saw part of it). It was as good as a TV documentary (I thought anyway) such was the professional work of the then RNZAF photographic unit - has the RNZAF ever thought of releasing such works to make some money eg for the museum?
If not interested in that, would they consider putting it on YouTube?
It seems such a pity that such a good production, but more so, an insight into the actual workings of the RNZAF when on a major allied exercise, just doesn't get to be seen and appreciated by the public.
(Now I'm "grown up", I'd love to sit down with a few beers and watch 75 Squadron "in the metal" and "dishing it out"). ;D
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Post by mumbles on Mar 25, 2011 18:50:22 GMT 12
While we are in the early 80's I'm wondering if anyone remembers the RNZAF TV ad with the 'Hey look at me I can fly' song. The last time I heard it was when it was being played in another part of the hangar during the Wings and Wheels at Ohakea in 1984, but it hadn't screened on TV for a few years prior to that. I was only 4 or 5 at the time, and only remember the song and light blue skies in the ad. It isn't around on the web anywhere I can tell, but it looks like the same song was used in an RAAF ad at the same time.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 25, 2011 19:56:07 GMT 12
I don't recall that one Sam but the one that I liked, and was on while I was going through my recruitment in 1987-1988 was 'Have You Got The Right Stuff', a real classic. It even had a Top Gun style volleyball scene. ;D
I corresponded with the lady who ran the Air Force Museum's website two years or so back abd suggested that some of the old recruting films and adverts from through the ages would be great on their site. She thought it was a cracking idea and was going to look into it. I wonder why it didn't happen?
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Post by nige on Mar 25, 2011 20:35:37 GMT 12
Mumbles - someone will correct me if what I say is wrong as it's been nearly 3 decades - but that is the EH theme (or maybe a variant of it).
Edit: I could be wrong, from memory there were two RNZAF recruiting ads from the very early 80's and I may be mixing them up. Eg there was one along the lines of 'fly in the sky like an eagle high" and?? "to be airborne" (sorry, something like that), a bit faster and poppier etc.
The one you mention mumbles was a lot slower and "gentle" in the way the theme/lyrics went and may have been the latter one.
Edit 2: hey now I remember, the phrase eagle high was used in both(?) ads. Mumbles ad starts off something like "On the wings of an eagle high" ..... something something alot of something ... to "hey look at me I can fly" chorus.
I suppose for oldies like me, it's kind of interesting that the ads were good enough that they are kind of remembered (mostly).
A bit like the RNZAF slogan of the time (and earlier from memory) - "Kiwi's Fly - RNZAF" and I recall the Navy had a good slogan too at the time, although it escapes me at the moment.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 25, 2011 21:41:25 GMT 12
The slogan when I was being recruited and while I in was "Kiwis Do Fly". I have the sticker on my toolbox that I made at 4TTS.
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Post by luke6745 on Mar 25, 2011 21:56:02 GMT 12
Is the commentator the Leighton Smith that's on NewstalkZB? Wow, pronunciation standards have dropped since then! Great video!
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Post by skyhawkdon on Mar 26, 2011 7:14:27 GMT 12
The Air Force Museum will burn you a copy of all these for a fee but they are for private use only and can't be posted anywhere on the net. I have copies of most of them, although not the one that is the subject of this thread which I had never seen before. There are also some great archive docos/footage available from TVNZ for a fee.
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Post by nige on Mar 26, 2011 8:31:09 GMT 12
Thanks for the correction Dave (I must stop drinking too many whiskey's on a Fri night)! And cheers for that info Don!
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Post by chewy on Mar 27, 2011 12:09:17 GMT 12
Great piece of film. I recognise a couple of GSI's and some of the recruits. I had one of those Tee shirts and stubbies.
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Post by aileronroll on Mar 28, 2011 10:34:32 GMT 12
whilst on this subject.......................
I would love to get a copy of the Red Checkers doco, I think this was broadcast in about 1984, iv got nearly 3000 hours on CT4, not that im too proud of that!, and would love to see this show again.
Would appreciate if anyone could direct me to a copy!
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Post by machpants on Mar 28, 2011 11:54:59 GMT 12
3000 hours, man that must be a fair few sorties!
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Post by aileronroll on Mar 28, 2011 18:04:22 GMT 12
Yip, too many! Some of the guys here(ADF Basic Flying Training School) have 6000 plus on type! Generally we fly 2 or 3 times per day. I find a 2 hour sortie gets towards the end of the comfort zone, have done a few 3 hour trips and really ready for a beer after that!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 28, 2011 18:26:40 GMT 12
I have just had a chance to view the film. Very interesting to see.
A few points and queries:
Note the officer inspecting the barracks is not correctly wearing his tie! It's halfway up his guts!
I see the stretcher training back then was done on a cliff (at Dip Flat?). We did our training on the training tower which must have been built subsequent to this. Then a week later my team had to use that training for real to stretcher Sue Connolly off the scree slope and down a mountain and out of the bush during our bush camp, when she cut her leg open really badly. Bloody good training, we did everything right in the end thankfully.
Was that a tennis court the recruits were doing exercises on? I don't recall seeing a tennis court at Woodbourne.
The blue overalls, white charge belts and floppy hat ensemble looked completely dicky. Thank goodness we had proper DPM's and bush shirts.
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Post by phil on Mar 28, 2011 19:52:52 GMT 12
I thought that lowering a dodgy improvised stretcher down a cliff was a bit shady actually, since even NATO stretchers aren't suitable for rescue from heights (and haven't been considered so for at least 20 years - it's not just modern PCness).
There are tennis courts at WB, they are across the road from the CRTS parade ground, next to what was the clothing store when I was there but which is now Avionics I think.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 28, 2011 20:41:19 GMT 12
Ah yeah, now I recall the tennis courts. Thanks Phil. Amazing how the mind loses little chunks of the jigsaw after 20 years. I was thinking maybe the place in the film that looked to be a tennis or netball court might have been over the gymnasium side of base. I couldn't get a bearing on it.
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Post by chewy on Mar 30, 2011 19:24:15 GMT 12
One piece in the film shows the recruits running down the road to the gym. There was a power pole in the foot path. The trick was to jump aside at the last second and find out if the person behind was awake. One guy whose knick name was Bonk didn't see the pole coming. The dangers of double marching in three ranks.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 31, 2011 14:37:30 GMT 12
Crikey yes I had forgotten that powerpole in the footpath.
The film actually reminded me of a lot of things that I'd forgotten over the years. The scene of the camp kitchen at Dip Flat looked rather calm compared with when we were there as it was constantly surrounded by swarms of wasps when we were there, millions of them. they were all through the beech forest too, and we were told they expected the wasps to kill the forest with a few decades. They turned the trees to paper.
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