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Post by Kereru on Jan 4, 2007 20:54:54 GMT 12
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Post by ARU on Jan 4, 2007 21:03:33 GMT 12
you dont need a scanner to know the shuttle is near just listen for the double sonic boom ;D
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Post by flyjoe180 on Jan 4, 2007 21:31:12 GMT 12
Found some more of Ray Massey's WP photos on www.myaviation.net including pics of a Comet and a DC6, and another of that Viscount.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 4, 2007 22:24:50 GMT 12
Wow, that Viscount was shiny. Great photo.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 4, 2007 22:26:59 GMT 12
I note ifyou click on the word More next to Ray Massey's name you'll see his other photos on Airliners.net, and there are a load of coloured shots taken at Mangere's opening. Great stuff.
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Post by Bruce on Jan 4, 2007 22:47:04 GMT 12
Just behind the Viscount in that first link is a BOAC Comet 4 - at least you can see the wing and fuel tank pod! Lovely picture.
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Post by Kereru on Jan 5, 2007 9:06:59 GMT 12
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Post by corsair67 on Jan 5, 2007 9:34:25 GMT 12
Colin, there are some wonderful shots there of some wonderful aircraft.
Thank you for posting the link.
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Post by phil82 on Jan 5, 2007 9:53:51 GMT 12
I was at the Mangere opening in 1965. Ohakea was the base for many of the visiting aircraft, and many of the crews and ground crews were accommodated there. There were some riotous nights in the Aimens Club I can tell you, with people there from the RNZAF, RAAF, RAF, USAF.
There was a shuttle run between Ohakea and Mangere; I went up one day on a USAF Boeing KC135, and came back on a C97 Globemaster [yes, the original one!].
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Post by steve on Jan 5, 2007 14:41:49 GMT 12
As a kid i never made it to the opening of AIA i had to play a bloody tennis match ...i was really peved and gave away the game after i saw 2 starlifters flying over close and low. A friend of the family and ex ww2 RNZAF reakons he got a joy ride in the back seat of a USAF phamtom two of which attended the air show. What do you think BS or possible ...i have always thought BS?
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Post by chrisnpl on Jan 9, 2007 16:55:33 GMT 12
There's a great photo in the SPANZ book of the Whenuapai Apron, showing a SPANZ DC-3, A NAC DC-3, a NAC Viscount, 2 TEAL Electras, with part of a QANTAS Electra just visible behind them. It looked like there were about seven gates to try and get everyone in and out.
Thanks everyone for all your help. I am working through another seven books I found in the town library - then it's off to Auckland February 13th for research on the ground!
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Post by John L on Jan 18, 2007 16:32:17 GMT 12
Will have to dig around in the box and find a few photos I took out there as a kid. Definitely a Comet 4 somewhere. We lived on a farm in Albany just off the approach path so saw most of what flew in. The Stratocruisers and Super Constellations where my favourites.
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Post by chrisnpl on Jan 19, 2007 21:05:55 GMT 12
That sounds really good The more photos the merrier!
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Post by Peter Lewis on Feb 18, 2007 20:56:31 GMT 12
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Post by Bruce on Feb 19, 2007 7:30:53 GMT 12
Have to say that Comet 4s were classy looking machines. Modern airliners cant compare looks wise.
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Post by kb on Mar 1, 2007 15:02:01 GMT 12
I have just found the goup and have been very interested in the comments. I lived at Beach Haven as a kid and was directly in the flight path for Whenuapai. One of my earliest aviation memories was seeing an incredibly bright PAA DC-4 droppping it's undercarriage while over my home and my uncle commenting that it was the first commercial flight after the war.
From memory the following airliners flew international services into Whenuapai:
BCPA - The airline that has not previously been mentioned. Ownership was shared between Australia, GB and us. The idea was that BCPA would fly the Pacific to Vancouver via L.A. thus linking with flights to the UK and Qantas the old prewar route to the UK through the East. Aircraft were DC-4 and DC-6. (The same DC-6's flown by TEAL and RNZAF.) The aircraft were registered in Australia.
TEAL. When TEAL was taken over by NZ BCPA was disbanded and it's DC-6s taken over by TEAL. I think Qantas started flying to NZ at that stage. TEAL's aircraft were DC-6 and L-188 Electra. At least one Electra carried combined Qantas/TEAL/Air New Zealand? titles.
Pan Am. Aircraft were DC-4, Stratocruiser and DC-7C.
CPA. Aircraft were DC-4M (DC-4 with Merlin engines and some DC-6 type upgrades. Very noisy! DC-6B and Brittannia. (Sp?) CPA were on the verge of flying Comet 1's into Whenuapai when crashes including one of theirs put a stop to it.
Qantas. I think Qantas only flew Super Constellations into Whenuapai although as mentioned elsewhere they flew DC-4's from Ak International.
BOAC I think they only flew Comet 4's.
The NZ Herald published the arrival and departures on a daily basis so I would be on the lookout for those flights arriving after school.
As an aside I remeber very clearly an Air India Constellation flying over about mid 1950's. Does anyone have information on this?
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Post by Bruce on Mar 1, 2007 17:11:58 GMT 12
BOAC brought Britannias out to Whenuapai on immigrant flights in the 1960s - My dad was one of the passengers on the first one.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 1, 2007 20:15:44 GMT 12
Welcome to the forum kb, very interesting memories there. I'll bet you saw some interesting military stuff back then too.
Were you living there during the war?
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Post by Peter Lewis on Mar 1, 2007 20:33:22 GMT 12
Thanks for your additional info kb. I had forgotton about BCPA, they were the first attempt at a 'pool' on the pacific routes, and came unstuck after their 4th DC6 crashed in the USA - the other three were sold to TEAL as you say. The DC4s operated by them were leased from Australian National Airways. There were a number of flights to NZ by non-scheduled (in the NZ sense) operators who were chartered to bring in immigrants during the post-war sponsored immigration boom. Sabena and KLM were two airlines who's aircraft arrived in this manner, but I don't know if Air India were involved in this. I can't imagine many plane-loads of Indian immigrants arriving in that era!
When Chrisnpl was in Auckland a few days ago, I flew him around the Whenuapai circuit and did a couple of low passes so he could get some photographs of the airfield as it is now. Could make an interesting comparison with any historic photographs that are available. Any results from that yet Chris?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 1, 2007 21:27:21 GMT 12
Could the Indian aircraft possibly have been connected with a Prime Ministerial visit from there, perhaps chartered for Indian reporters or something? Just a stab in the dark.
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