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Post by fwx on Sept 17, 2010 14:58:24 GMT 12
Fantastic Marcus, thanks again! Almost like being there (even though I was once!). The aerial shots also remind me of the day, as a kid, we lined up with the crowds along the roadside outside the airport , to watch the Queen Mum drive past ... Cheers, Chris
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Post by fwx on Sept 15, 2010 13:54:26 GMT 12
I know I'm supposed to be working (don't tell the boss) but can't resist playing around with these ....
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Post by fwx on Sept 14, 2010 21:12:57 GMT 12
Thanks Marcus, these photos are fantastic, and its great seeing so many together in one place - appreciate your efforts! It's amazing that someone took so much trouble to photograph individual aircraft back at a time when the general opinion was obviously that it was just a paddock full of scrapmetal. Even more amazing that so many photos have survived! I was living just down the road from this (in Matangi) as a kid, and can remember seeing them on at least one occasion. My Dad was interested in planes as well, but he's gone now, so I will never know why we didn't made the effort to go and have a proper look. If only, if only .... P.S. Corsairs, yes please!!
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Post by fwx on Sept 13, 2010 17:42:51 GMT 12
Damn you beat me to it Dave! Great photos, and just kills me every time I see this sight ...
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Post by fwx on Jul 25, 2010 15:14:38 GMT 12
Dave, these photos of Bob Lawn's are fantastic, especially the Walsh Bros family and friends pic - 100 years old and looks like it was taken yesterday. The Hawker Osprey shots are beautiful too. I also enjoyed these Hobsonville and city aerial pics, knowing that my Mum and Dad were down there somewhere at the timethey were taken! Couldn't quite 'get' the Devonport naval base shot however (it's at the end of my street) and then realised it is reversed - this is the right way round: Photo no. 3 appears to have been taken around the same time, above Devonport looking back across the Naval Base towards the city, you can see the same ships at the wharves and in the dry dock. Thanks very much for putting these up - a real treasure trove, and really appreciated. Cheers, Chris
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Post by fwx on Jul 16, 2010 15:57:43 GMT 12
I was coming over the new flyover from Blenheim Rd into Moorhouse Ave last weekend and happened to look over the edge and see this amazing red-starred, silver apparition sitting out in the open - nearly drove off the road ...!
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Post by fwx on Jul 12, 2010 17:49:35 GMT 12
Sorry, I was so busy ogling the P40 that the group I was with had to leave for the next hangar and I missed taking a photo of the Oxford ... duh!
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Post by fwx on Jul 12, 2010 17:14:14 GMT 12
It looked just the same except with the wheels removed (I think), the crap cleaned off and leaned (or hung) up against a wall behind the (ex-Hobsonville?) RNZAF launch
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Post by fwx on Jul 12, 2010 15:46:13 GMT 12
You might be right. He did mention the model no's (I remember the Kiwi version being the '12), but they didn't mean anything to me ... I suppose there is still the issue of it being RAF service and not RNZAF?
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Post by fwx on Jul 12, 2010 14:27:15 GMT 12
In my conversation with Simon (curator? - hope he doesn't mind me quoting him) he mentioned the issue of aircraft provenance, and that ideally they would like to be displaying NZ airframes. The Mustang (Indonesian) and Canberras (RAAF and RAF) were given as examples. Even their beautiful Skyhawk is not a local. The RAF Canberra (the one in storage) was also mentioned as being a different model to those that served with the RNZAF, and as being a major restoration vs. some of the other older, less complex, more relevant projects (such as the Catalina). So sounds to me like that second Canberra may be a candidate for a swap in future?? He said they own several Vampires ("almost a Squadron"!) so I guess some of those could also represent trading currency if more appropriate types come on the market. He did express the hope that they might one day have examples of Orion and Hercules ... would require some extreme generosity on the part of the govt of the day, but wouldn't that be great! The storage hangar already contains several items (Andover, Bristol Freighter, Strikemaster, Seasprite, Airtrainer, not to mention the very impressive collection of engines, some quite historic) that appear to be in good enough condition to go on display immediately, if space were available. There are plans for a new, tall display hall/hangar to expand into, alongside the existing cafe (the caf' would go upstairs), but he didn't mention dates. Don't know how much publicity it has received, but relevant to discussions on another thread, Ngai Tahu has committed to donating a sum of money from each house sale on the new Wigram development to the museum - likely to total around $1 million. (Simon didn't tell me that - I have my own source at Ngai Tahu!!) So there will be at least one very positive consequence of the airbase redevelopment. Sopwith Pup
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Post by fwx on Jul 12, 2010 12:33:40 GMT 12
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Post by fwx on Apr 26, 2010 16:29:58 GMT 12
I saw this place as a kid in the latefifties/early 60's, and it was incredibly exciting even back then, a treasure trove of real, old ghostly warplanes, sitting in the corner of an airfield not far from where we lived. Probably that slightly spooky memory is one of the reasons I'm now so hooked on old planes ...
My memory is of approaching them by car, which if correct, would have to have been from top left in the old photo no. 1, as the planes were lined up behind a long straight fence, to our right, with noses pointing towards us. However the track or road showing in the photo appears to go behind the planes, so I don't know whether we drove across the grass, or if there was a track around the front of them at some time.
The other possibility of course is that my memory is wrong. Happens a lot.
The three photos appear to have been taken at different times, as the layout and number of planes is slightly different in each one - at first I thought photo no. 3 was taken first, since more aircraft visible, then on further squinting, maybe no. 1? But no. 3 doesn't have the smelting hut, so that must be the oldest?
Never fails to grab me though, talk of the Rukuhia graveyard!
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Post by fwx on Apr 19, 2010 20:05:45 GMT 12
Thanks Dave, there is just something so "right" about the shape of the DC-3. Maybe its because I've been looking at them for 50-odd years (!) but they look (and sound) good to me from every angle. I have a vivid memory of lying on my back in the long grass as a kid on the farm, watching one fly over from Rukuhia ... ah, memories ...
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Post by fwx on Apr 19, 2010 13:55:13 GMT 12
Yes, WOW is the only word to use - thank you to all who have posted photos - such a fantastic selection, and just magic for those of us who couldn't make it. NEVER too many!
Not easy to do, but did anyone get shots of the live firing?
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Post by fwx on Apr 19, 2010 11:34:49 GMT 12
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Post by fwx on Mar 26, 2010 10:15:33 GMT 12
"An Auckland Airport spokesman said the jets are scheduled to take-off at around 8.30 am tomorrow."
So where the bloody hell are they??
Just spent an hour up a hill with my camera and all I spotted was a couple of wind-swept seagulls (not sure if they were Australian).
Anybody see them go up?
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Post by fwx on Mar 12, 2010 14:05:43 GMT 12
... is this the wazzo??
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Post by fwx on Dec 21, 2009 16:35:33 GMT 12
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Post by fwx on Dec 3, 2009 13:13:41 GMT 12
Photo on Stuff: Ruined my day - poor Doug
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Post by fwx on Nov 26, 2009 8:35:05 GMT 12
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