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Post by corsair5517 on Mar 19, 2016 10:38:12 GMT 12
I dunno, but I've found by living in various countries over the years, that NZers tend to be very introspective and not anywhere near as open and friendly on first meeting as the Aussies, for example. Could this be because Kiwis have pretty big numbers on themselves which, for more the most part, are unwarranted which can lead to a national sense of insecurity which manifests itself by a sense of off-handedness and wariness of others?
I've found, too, that people who live in major cities are inclined to be far more standoffish and less friendly that those in, let's say, a far less urban situation; small towns and villages I've lived in world wide have, without fail, been wecoming and interested in who/what/why I am.
Now, I've lived in Dunedin, Christchurch, Gisborne, Auckland and various small towns in NZ and I'm afraid I found Christchurch the absolute pits with regards to people; a less welcoming, unfriendly and downright snobbish place I've yet to come across.... and I've lived in southern England! If your ancestors weren't on the first four ships in Chch, then you got treated like something you scraped off the bottom of your shoe - just ignorant! This was some time ago - and mine is not a lone voice; I've spoken to plenty of bods who found Chch the same! - and I'm hoping that things have changed a bit since the 80s....
I found Aucklanders, well those around where I lived, anyway - no different to any other city inhabitants; for the most part friendly but a little reticent on first meeting....
This is one man's world view, mind you; YMMV!! :-)
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 18, 2015 21:46:17 GMT 12
There was a Sea Fury flying at the Jersey gig in 2010, and I'm sure I saw one at the FAA museum at Yeovilton?? I'm sorry to say I took very little notice of it as the Vulcan and the Red Arrows were always going to be the big drawcards in Jersey, and I kept going back to the Corsair and especially the Wyvern in Yeovil....
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Post by corsair5517 on Oct 30, 2015 9:32:30 GMT 12
I was lucky enough to see the Vulcan at the Jersey Airshow in 2010 when it did its full routine; absolutely unforgettable! To see and hear that bird come in over St Aubins Bay and then go vertical under full power had to be experienced to be believed - the power that those engines have is astonishing; you could actually feel that power on the ground a thousand yards away as well as hear the deepest roar I have ever heard in my life!!
Has there ever been a more beautiful aircraft take to the air as a weapon of war?!
Simply outrageous and sorry to it grounded!!
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 19, 2015 21:03:09 GMT 12
Thanks fellas! I'd like to get a couple of decals of the AIF hat badge to finish my latest guitar project; I can do the regiment insignia on my printer, and at a pinch, could do the hat badge as well, but metallic inks would really make it pop!!
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 19, 2015 20:34:39 GMT 12
Gilmour has called it quits for PF, and rightly so; with only Mason and him involved as PF, it was really all over when Wright died, eh! Their legacy, however, is unsurpassed, and quite possibly unsurpassable.....
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 18, 2015 0:13:20 GMT 12
you can but blank decal paper online for ink jet printers and make your own I have yet to do so Yep; waterslide decal paper bought online and a reasonably good printer and away you go; I've done a few for various guitar builds and you've got to remember to seal the decal with acrylic varnish before putting them anywhere near water!!
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 18, 2015 0:04:35 GMT 12
Wow!! Thanks ever so much for that, Marty!!
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 15, 2015 8:34:37 GMT 12
You blokes rock!! Thank you! hey... here's a guitar I've just finished as a tribute to the Aussie troops who kept the old boy safe, with the inspiration for both this one and the Corsair Avenger, Des Stokes, ex-15 Sqn RNZAF. 92 and still touring the world!
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 14, 2015 21:04:16 GMT 12
A little bit left of centre, and very likely in the wrong place, but does anyone know of a decal printing service in Aust/NZ that does one-off orders? In metallic ink?
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 14, 2015 20:53:16 GMT 12
Thank you, Errol!! Gives us somewhere to start, eh!
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 14, 2015 19:34:32 GMT 12
Hi troops.... my father who is visiting is trying to locate a school mate of his who flew Spitfires in 485; the chap in question is Alan Thomas Condon. Can anyone shed any light, please??
When I picked him up in Mooloolaba, we visited his 5Sqn (RAAF) mate who is in a nursing home now, suffering from dementia but when Dad greeted him with a hearty "Hi, there, Smoky Joe!!" you could see the synapses starting to fire and we spent a very pleasant hour or two with him. Obviously, he is never going to be the man he was - few of us are!! - but, please, if you know a veteran, spend an hour or two with them; they are very precious indeed!!
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Post by corsair5517 on May 4, 2015 21:47:46 GMT 12
The first wreath here was laid by a 100 yr old NZer in a wheelchair wearing a lemon squeezer at the new ANZAC Memorial. As usual, huge support for those who paid the price for our freedom and those who served under the colours; the sheer number of medal wearing veterans in civvies fair takes your breath away!
The usual flyover by an F/A 18 at low level and high speed completed the service.
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Post by corsair5517 on Jan 2, 2015 8:54:46 GMT 12
For crying out loud, Dave; did someone pinch your ice cream?? Personally, I care not for tbe pyjama game - I am a traditionalist - but many people do and regardless of alleged malfeasance by an infinitisimally small number of players, cricket IS enjoyed by many, many people both players and spectators alike, especially at levels where match fixing is unknown!
To lump all players - and I refer here to international players- into tbe same boat and then characterise the entire game as corrupt is a little like throwing out the baby with the bathwater; yes, there is, or was, a problem with some Indian bookmakers and yes, there was a problem with some players taking money for information or for taking a dive but from what what I can see the cricketing authorities are trying their best to eradicate sucj behaviour, and kudos to them for the transparent approach taken. You are correct when you say that when money is introduced into the game, there will be problems.
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Post by corsair5517 on Oct 30, 2014 9:24:27 GMT 12
It's a movie, lads; let's get a grip here, eh?! :-)
I'll be going to look at it simply because I've seen Tiger '131' both static and moving around at Bovington, and I can assure you, it is a mighty vehicle ; you don't realise just how immense the thing is until you're stood beside it! You used to walk into the display hall at Bovington under the rather menacing gun of the Henschel turreted Tiger II which - to this kiwis eyes - was just a little more i pressive than the Challenger outside the building!
Fury, hopefully, will be a good story, well told and that is pretty much all I expect of a Hollyweird produced movie. I like Michael Pēna and Brad Pitt as actors so we're off to a good start!!
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Post by corsair5517 on Oct 28, 2014 7:23:58 GMT 12
I walked to this site as well, and about 30 years ago - how time flies! - and if it weren't for a friend having very good information about precisely where the aircraft impacted, I'm quite sure we wouldn't have found it, and even then, we had to search for quite a while before finding debris. I still have a small piece of molten aluminium which was, in fact, just lying on top of the ground; perhaps the pigs had been through and rooted it up?
The walk up there was good fun, though, and the view from up there is well worth the effort! Good luck in the search!
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Post by corsair5517 on Oct 9, 2014 8:59:47 GMT 12
Got an excellent view here in Hervey Bay until the clouds came over during full umbra! Even manged to get a photo or two playing around with the manual settings on the camera!
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Post by corsair5517 on Oct 1, 2014 7:02:00 GMT 12
Late on this, but that is beyond appalling; over NZ$1,000,000 for a book on one unit that has already been pretty well researched and documented?! Good to see political correctness alive and well in NZ...
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 21, 2014 12:06:07 GMT 12
Some of the pictures I took of the photocopies I have; sorry, but this is as good as it gets... Someone with way more smarts than me had made an enlargement of the overhead shot of the airstrip inthe last photo, and you can see individual a/c there; Corsairs, Venturas etc...
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 18, 2014 21:56:00 GMT 12
Oh... whilst delivering the old boy to the airport, the Caboolture Air Museum hove into view - sort of!! - so we hied us forth to have a look. In less than perfect conditions it had to be said - the rain was so loud on the roof that we had to bellow at each other!! - we wandered about looking at the exhibits... all of which are airworthy!!
I apologise now for the lack of pictures but you've all seen aircraft of the like before, and I hadn't a camera handy anyway - the only pic taken was of Dad beside the Wirraway - but whilst very small, it's well worth a visit if you're passing close by, eh!
There is the Wirraway, a Mustang - genuine CAC build - , Winjeel, MIG 17(?) and they had just had an Iroquois delivered. Loads of static displays and an outstanding displays of scale models complete the experience; the thing is, you aren't kept away from the machines; we wandered about them well within touching distance and did so on occasion!
I stood and looked at the Wirraway for an inordinately long time... some very brave men took those into action against the Japs with quite predictable results; Cec Downes was a Wirraway instructor and had about 1000 hours on them.
The lady on the desk said that the Beaufort project a few hangars down had slowed right up and there certainly wasn't anyone about when we had a sticky-beak...
Great way to kill an hour or two....
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Post by corsair5517 on Aug 18, 2014 14:45:49 GMT 12
I can certainly empathise with that, Luther; my mother died 5 years ago and was suffering dementia to such an extent that she recognized no-one from the family at all. I suppose it wasn't that hard on her as such, but it certainly was an awful thing for all of us but for Dad especially to go through...
I hesitate to say it but sometimes death is a sweet release...
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