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Post by sniff on Sept 1, 2008 21:40:32 GMT 12
For me there is nothing more excitning than watching and listening to a radial engined aircraft starting up. The noise! The smoke! The sheer nostalgia! This Dakota is NZ 3551 and retired from the RNZAF in 1977. She was part of the Queens Flight and unlike her sisters has a VIP interior and polished aluminium undersides from mid fuselage and wings top and bottom. The other Dakota's had light grey in the same place.[ NZ3553 (semi-vip Dak) also had polished skin. I polished them (51 and 53) regularly. All but '51 ended up in SA, and eventually with turbo-props. I think, from my reading, that one or two ended up back in the USA.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 1, 2008 21:46:33 GMT 12
Where are they all now I wonder.
Something of interest is '46, which ZK-DAK is painted as, in fact had a different door from most of our postwar Dakotas, with the larger cargo door.
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Post by baz62 on Sept 2, 2008 18:17:25 GMT 12
Those are great photos Baz62, I never knew the Dakota was run too in those days. Did they ever have any thoughts of getting these bigger aircraft back into the air? I know that the RNZAF Historic Flight began as a museum initiative rather than CFS where it was later attached to. Well there were plans to fly the Dakota again for, I think. the Ohakea 75th Anniversary airshow. I remember arriving one Sunday to find her missing from 7 hangar. I asked where she was and was told she was going through a Check 2 or 3 (I think it was) to prepare her for flight. But apparently word came down that she was NOT to be flown and she ended back in the hangar the following week.
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Post by baz62 on Sept 2, 2008 18:20:56 GMT 12
Where are they all now I wonder. Something of interest is '46, which ZK-DAK is painted as, in fact had a different door from most of our postwar Dakotas, with the larger cargo door. I think they all did but the other half of the door was closed? I'm pretty sure if you look at 3551 in the museum you can see where the other half (or third) opens up? I'm not 100% certain I'll need to look at pics of the real 3546. My wife's stepdad was in the parachute team and recalls jumping out of '46 maybe I should ask him!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 2, 2008 18:30:56 GMT 12
I think. the Ohakea 75th Anniversary airshow. I think not, Ohakea is less than 70 years old. It's construction began in 1938 and it didn't open till late 1939. The 50th perhaps?
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Post by sniff on Sept 2, 2008 18:45:48 GMT 12
I think they all did but the other half of the door was closed? I'm pretty sure if you look at 3551 in the museum you can see where the other half (or third) opens up? I'm not 100% certain I'll need to look at pics of the real 3546. My wife's stepdad was in the parachute team and recalls jumping out of '46 maybe I should ask him! 3546 was optimised for pax and used to do the SATS, she also did drogue towing for the navy. 38 and 47 were the paradaks - just like jeeps down the back, rotating through Whenuapai at PTSU. 42 was the other pax configured dak, but had long range tanks in the galley, which reduced seating. 53 was VIP, and 51 V VIP. I will have to drag out my pilots notes to give you the exact configurations/seats, etc.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 2, 2008 19:04:15 GMT 12
There was some dicussion in Wings about the time they went to SAAF that '46 had a larger door than the rest. I'll try to dig it out.
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Post by baz62 on Sept 3, 2008 15:49:21 GMT 12
I think. the Ohakea 75th Anniversary airshow. I think not, Ohakea is less than 70 years old. It's construction began in 1938 and it didn't open till late 1939. The 50th perhaps? Ah yes that would be right maybe it was that show then.
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Post by sniff on Sept 4, 2008 9:18:11 GMT 12
Note the Dak door(s). In the forward door, if you look carefully you can see an insert that can be removed internally (during flight) for para/airdrop ops. it was held in place by about six 'dogs' - to keep the naval connection alive...
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Post by FlyNavy on Sept 4, 2008 13:31:42 GMT 12
Sniff, Yep you are dogged... ;D I recall the Nowra Daks back in 1969 being just a bunch of fun to have a ride in. Sadly they were gone a few years later. FAAM has one suspended from the ceiling. Pic follows: (this is the 'needle-nose' Dak with a Sea Venom radar in the nose used for training Observers in the black arts, with a drop down radar from the Gannet underneath at rear - not seen here)
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Post by baz62 on Sept 6, 2008 14:08:33 GMT 12
I think. the Ohakea 75th Anniversary airshow. I think not, Ohakea is less than 70 years old. It's construction began in 1938 and it didn't open till late 1939. The 50th perhaps? It was Airforce Day at Ohakea Feb 1981. God this forum is good, I found this out on here!!
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