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Post by phil on Sept 12, 2009 18:43:30 GMT 12
Just starting the wind down of the fleet, as far as I know.
I haven't heard what the ultimate fate of the Iroquois is to be.
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Post by phil on Sept 12, 2009 18:11:43 GMT 12
Iroquois 3812 had it's last flight yesterday. Flown by ACC and CO3, Steve Moore and Wax Mardon.
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Post by phil on Sept 12, 2009 16:01:01 GMT 12
What, the paddling pool? Or the five star accommodation?
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Post by phil on Sept 11, 2009 11:55:01 GMT 12
No one said either the FRS1 or FA2 was a crap fighter.
They were both extremely capable fighters, especially the FA2 with it's look down shoot down Blue Vixen radar and BVR AMRAAMs.
Comments were made by someone about it's poor payload when taking off vertically, and you can't argue the toss on that point.
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Post by phil on Sept 11, 2009 6:48:36 GMT 12
Umm.. no it wasn't, that was the Sea Harrier FA2.
The FA2 was an evolution of the British FRS1, and not of the BAe/MDD GR5/AV8B collaboration.
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Post by phil on Sept 10, 2009 9:59:51 GMT 12
Well someone mentioned Sea Harriers, and who do you think would end up maintaining them? Me. So from the point of view of a current serving person who would end up working on whatever type could be purchased, I'd say it is a bit relevent. Of course I know you realise my post was firmly tongue in cheek.
FWIW, I love british aircraft, from a distance.
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Post by phil on Sept 10, 2009 7:05:05 GMT 12
Whilst I don't fully agree with the remark about British manufacture, Well given the choice between working on a 40 year old british design and even a relatively old (F16/F18 era) American design, I know which is significantly better designed from a maintenance perspective. The british seem to start with an obscure component in the middle and then build an airframe around it, bolting things on with odd sized fastners (like penny slot). To complicate matters, many older british airframes seem to be hand built by 150 year old craftsman in flat caps, who make each one slightly differently, hand forming components and making small changes not shown in drawings and IPBs. Americans on the other hand seem to have leant something from Henry Ford, and mass produce identical airframes designed to be maintained by the lowest common denominator.
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Post by phil on Sept 9, 2009 22:08:42 GMT 12
New build FA2s were, almost all the FRS1s were converted to FA2. I have exact numbers somewhere, but many were far from 'new'.
Anyway, who would want what is essentially a 40 year old airframe design? Remember the FA2 was a stretched FRS1, which in turn was basically a GR3 with a new nose. They bore very little structural resemblence to the GR7/9 or AV8B, since even the FA2 was still a first generation harrier.
Very expensive to maintain, and being british, very difficult to maintain, especially the complex reaction system.
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Post by phil on Sept 8, 2009 21:54:53 GMT 12
I think a Devon is coming to Ohakea
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Post by phil on Sept 6, 2009 22:10:30 GMT 12
They are a new set, I saw a review of them in a British modelling magazine that I was reading in a shop one day (but didn't buy...so I can't remember who makes them).
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Post by phil on Sept 6, 2009 8:43:10 GMT 12
One of the nicest little models on display at the show was a group of 54mm figures from the Dad's Army TV show. There was Captain Mainwaring, CPL Jones, SGT Wilson and PTE Godfrey. I'm not sure who the manufacturer was though, but they looked very good.
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Post by phil on Sept 6, 2009 8:36:56 GMT 12
I was very tempted to buy the Bristol fighter... but $139 was out of my price range, even for such a fantastic looking kit.
Especially when I got home, did the maths on the price on the wingnuts website (even adding GST and using paypal's poor exchange rate) and found the price came to $132! I thought there might have even been a show special, but to charge more than the US to NZ$ price on the website made me quite glad I didn't fall for the 'shiny, must have ' syndrome.
I was heartened by the photo etched rigging that was on display for upcoming release though. One of the things putting me off building one of these WW1 aircraft is the rigging, but I'm pretty comfortable with PE so that takes away another excuse for not buying one.
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Post by phil on Sept 3, 2009 22:42:06 GMT 12
I must remember to take my camera to work.
Whenever it flies, it flies right past my office window... (which is the closest building to 09 at Ohakea).
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Post by phil on Sept 3, 2009 17:43:37 GMT 12
They've got RWS?
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Post by phil on Sept 3, 2009 11:53:13 GMT 12
We have the FPDA now.
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Post by phil on Aug 31, 2009 21:29:44 GMT 12
The earth mounds were one of the first things to go up.
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Post by phil on Aug 26, 2009 19:27:20 GMT 12
Well they already base their 155mm artillery here.
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Post by phil on Aug 20, 2009 17:31:42 GMT 12
Yes but the Aussies have quite different foreign policy than we do - they deployed a lot of troops to Iraq, something NZ didn't.
What happens next time the Aussies want to send troops somewhere the Kiwi's don't? How binding will this joint thing be, and if it isn't, how genuine and useful is it?
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Post by phil on Aug 19, 2009 21:53:28 GMT 12
To Chch Jul45, offered to Christchurch Museum, offer declined. Cut up for scrap early 1948. Doh!
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Post by phil on Aug 16, 2009 11:39:11 GMT 12
No wonder, I doubt the Queen would have given permission for that particular foreign award to be worn!
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