Air-to-Air with ZK-PBY

[spitfire14]

Hi all,

Yesterda, I had the great pleasure to photograph the newly refurbished Catalina ZK-PBY from a Yak-52 at New Plymouth Airport- thanks to Brett Emeny and John Street for the opportunity!

Was so much fun and to see this stunning Catalina flying again in New Zealand is fantastic!

I will be sending the rest of my photos to New Zealand Aviation News this afternoon, so keep a look out for the next issue.

[nuuumannn]

Nice. Looking forward to seeing the pics. There's a guy taking a photo from the bubble of you taking a photo. The view from those blisters is pretty great.

[spitfire14]

Agreed! Before the photo flight, I went up in the Cat as a passenger, and the views from the blisters is sensational!

Hehe, yes, the Cat had a full load of pax while I was photographing it...am hoping one of them will send me a pic of me in the Yak, as I left my email address with them.

A good day!

[ZacYates]

Top photos Nick! I went out to try and see the Cat yesterday and just so happened to arrive as both aircraft were doing their run-ups. A real treat to watch you all take off and then, driving back into town, see you doing the photo sessions over the city. Awesome stuff! I can't wait to see the article and photos.

[spitfire14]

Thanks Zac!

[spitfire14]

Three more photos from my flight with ZK-PBY over New Plymouth on 16 April. It is so great to have this beautiful aeroplane flying again. Congratulations and again, thank you to the New Zealand Catalina Preservation Society.

Grab your copy of New Zealand Aviation News today, as I have interviewed Brett Emeny and Sqn Ldr Jim Rankin on flying two significant RNZAF types from the Pacific War- the Catalina and the Avenger. There is plenty of other cool stuff in there too, including coverage of Warbirds Over Wanaka, the Tyabb Airshow, and coverage of the re-formed 14 Sqn RNZAF and their T-6C Texan II aircraft, and much, much more!

Cheers,

Nick.

[Dave Homewood]

Very cool Nick!

[nuuumannn]

Yep, good stuff Nick; got my copy in the post when I got back from Auckland. I dropped by the office to say hi to John King and he said you'd done a good thing on the Catalina.

Grab your copy of New Zealand Aviation News today, as I have interviewed Brett Emeny and Sqn Ldr Jim Rankin on flying two significant RNZAF types from the Pacific War- the Catalina and the Avenger. There is plenty of other cool stuff in there too, including coverage of Warbirds Over Wanaka, the Tyabb Airshow, and coverage of the re-formed 14 Sqn RNZAF and their T-6C Texan II aircraft, and much, much more!

That should be placed on a banner!

[spitfire14]

Thanks so much for the kind words Dave and Grant!

John does such a great job with New Zealand Aviation News- you've done a great job yourself Grant, reporting on the Wanaka show! Was disappointed to have missed Wanaka this year, as I would have loved to have seen the Buchon fly. However, count myself lucky to have attended every Wanaka since 1996 (bar 2006, 2012 and this year), and privileged to have seen the late great Mark Hanna flying Bf 109G-10 'Black 2' in a dogfight against his father, the late great Ray Hanna, in TB863 at Warbirds Over Wanaka 1996

Thanks to your excellent report, I don't feel so left out, and hopefully I make it to Duxford one of these days!

Cheers,

Nick.

[nuuumannn]

Cheers Nick, for the kind words. John is certainly one of the good guys; a real gentleman and I do enjoy talking with him. You'll love DX; I used to get there at least once a year when I lived in the UK to see if there was anything I hadn't seen before. Much to recommend over there - if you are interested in German stuff, the RAF Museum (at Hendon and Cosford) are the places to go.

[spitfire14]

Thanks Grant and I 100% concur with your comments on John- a heck of a nice guy with a wealth of knowledge and stories to tell!

A short time after Warbirds Over Wanaka 2004, Jerry Mead and his wife came through my work. I introduced myself, and he gave me his contact email and phone number and said if I was ever in the UK, he would be more than happy to give me a personal guided tour of Duxford! To my great regret, I have not managed to save enough money to get over there in the 12 years since, and with Jerry now retired from air show commentary, that opportunity has probably gone! But the Flying Legends Air Show is on my bucket list and I wil get there!

Spitfires are my personal favourite, however, I just love that whole Battle of Britain period and the idea of the classic duel: Spitfire vs 109, even though I know that a 'dogfight' as most think of wasn't always a reality as if you concentrated on one enemy plane for too long, you became a sitting duck for another!

But there is something about the 109- menacing, but with a beauty all of its own!

Thanks for the tip regarding Hendon and Cosford- I'll add those to my list, as well as Old Warden, and the BBMF:)