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Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 14, 2014 13:11:08 GMT 12
I just remembered a conversation I had way back in 1996. I made a visit to the Cambridge RSA in the hope of finding any members who may have been in the Cambridge Home Guard, which I was researching at the time. I got chatting to some old veterans and one in particular, who's name I never got and I never later found out, had been a mechanic in the RNZAF during WWII, and I have a feeling he actually said also before the war.
He told me he worked on the Vildebeests in the early period of the war, and during the conversation he mentioned that often they'd fly away from the station to other airfields and they often took a few groundcrew with them on these excursions. He said there was often too much of a squeeze to get everyone into the plane for these trips, so they'd back all the tool boxes into the back cockpit, and as many as could fit would squeeze in there, but often a couple of ground staff had to ride on the wings. He said he did it several times, standing on the lower wing strapped onto the struts.
The guy seemed pretty genuine, and he was a very short guy, and given some of the things that happened in the RNZAF back then I find it hard to doubt his word.
Has anyone ever heard of this practice before? He said they were always fairly short trips, nothing long distance.
The Vildes cruised at only about 85mph so it's not impossible by any means. I assume they wore helmets and goggles.
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Post by baz62 on Dec 14, 2014 13:16:49 GMT 12
What a great story! Hope it can be confirmed, make a great diorama!
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merv
Flying Officer
Posts: 60
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Post by merv on Dec 14, 2014 15:13:28 GMT 12
I have a cobber who sat on the wing of a Cessna Agwagon with his feet hanging over the leading edge with the strut in front of him do a circuit. I still see this fellow most days and often talk about it.
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Post by baronbeeza on Dec 14, 2014 16:00:55 GMT 12
And Maurie rode around on the tail of the 172 at Stewart Island. Perhaps I should start a thread on that one as I have the pic here somewhere as well. Well taken 4 days after the event... but you will see !
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Post by shorty on Dec 15, 2014 15:32:25 GMT 12
Smacks a bit of the "walking thru the prop" story with Vildies . Where, when and who depending on who is telling the story.
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Post by Ian Warren on Jan 9, 2015 10:24:30 GMT 12
I am working on a artwork/drawing of the 'Beest' actually have two now, It would be one hell off a great theme +
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Post by turboNZ on Jan 9, 2015 10:44:04 GMT 12
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Post by komata on Jan 9, 2015 10:48:15 GMT 12
An interersting possibility; hopefully someone will be able to confirm it.
In respect of 'people on struts' it is perhaps not as unusual as it may seem; the RAF certainly had a record for doing so during its parachute 'Experiments' with Vickers Vimy's during the 1920's. The 'Parachutist' would stand on a small platform on the trailing edge of the outer and rearmost inter-plane strut and, on a command. literally fall backwards off the strut and deploy his parachute.
As well, (and unfortunately I can't recall where I heard of it ; perhaps even on this forum) wasn't it a frequent practice on the RNZAF Singapore III's for a crew member to be standing on the lower mainplanes at the start of a take-off run to monitor engine temperatures and add coolant should this be required, the 'lucky' individuals assigned to this task returning back 'inside' before the 'boat rose on the step? Not exactly 'strut hanging' as described above but no doubt holding-on to whatever strut was nearby to make sure that the rear prop didn't get too close.
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Post by Ian Warren on Jan 9, 2015 10:51:54 GMT 12
Yip seen that documentary along whiles back, she was one cool lady ..least .. she would have been after getting off that tail, surely a bit of a tail story
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Post by Ian Warren on Jan 9, 2015 10:59:41 GMT 12
An interersting possibility; hopefully someone will be able to confirm it. Another story with the Grumman Avenger and a rugby team on board off to a match, not sure the details, inside the bomb-bay, some off the stories sound almost believable but really would not surprise me at all
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Post by baronbeeza on Jan 9, 2015 11:12:50 GMT 12
And Maurie rode around on the tail of the 172 at Stewart Island. Perhaps I should start a thread on that one as I have the pic here somewhere as well. Well taken 4 days after the event... but you will see !
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 9, 2015 11:36:11 GMT 12
Smacks a bit of the "walking thru the prop" story with Vildies . Where, when and who depending on who is telling the story. This did happen, and I know who it was too. Not the nonsense that was written up in James Sanders' book A Long Patrol. It also happened with a Harvard that Bryan Cox was starting, a mechanic fell into the prop arc, was hit by the blade but survived with a nasty bump on the head. frequent practice on the RNZAF Singapore III's for a crew member to be standing on the lower mainplanes at the start of a take-off run to monitor engine temperatures and add coolant should this be required I have never heard of this and somehow doubt it as the engines are a fair way up from the lower mainplanes. Still, anything is possible in those crazy olden days, Another story with the Grumman Avenger and a rugby team on board off to a match, not sure the details, inside the bomb-bay Not in the bomb-bay, that is just silly. However it definitely happened. There's a lot of space inside the Avenger rear fuselage below the turret area, and although it would be a squeeze, it did happen. On an earlier occasion a sports team was also carried to another station in a Vildebeest or Vincent. I don't recall if it was as big as a rugby team but it was a lot of people.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 9, 2015 12:32:18 GMT 12
Errol Martyn just sent this cutting through and asked me to post it. Thanks Errol.
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Post by fwx on Jan 9, 2015 14:09:32 GMT 12
Not really on-topic, but Cyrus Kay, in his book "The Restless Sky", talks about Vilde's being used pre-War for the urgent relocation of politicians. He relates a story told by Walter Nash, who as a recently appointed Government minister, had to make a hurried trip from Dunedin back to Wellington. It was Nash's first ever flight, and there he was, sat in the draughty rear cockpit on top of a couple of sacks of sharp, smelly Bluff oysters, on their way to Auckland!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 9, 2015 16:13:33 GMT 12
Yes. The Vildebeest was very much a multi-role aircraft. Advanced pilot trainer, gunnery trainer, wireless trainer, medium bomber, photo-reconnaissance and survey platform, and VIP transport. Maybe we should get a squadron of them built for the modern RNZAF?
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Post by delticman on Jan 9, 2015 16:54:42 GMT 12
They build those aircraft at Hamilton.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 9, 2015 17:24:37 GMT 12
Do you mean the PAC750XL Submarine?
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Post by Ian Warren on Jan 9, 2015 18:35:40 GMT 12
We definitely change the tour guides at the Wigram Museum or hang on, that was a story told to me twenty plus years back ... might take another tour get inside that Avenger for a few photo's
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jan 9, 2015 18:41:21 GMT 12
Errol Martyn just sent this cutting through and asked me to post it. Cessna 172P Skyhawk II ZK-EXD.
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Post by haughtney1 on Jan 9, 2015 18:44:24 GMT 12
Speaking of beasts being ridden.......
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