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Post by oj on Aug 2, 2010 21:10:28 GMT 12
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Post by oj on Jul 27, 2010 22:29:46 GMT 12
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Post by oj on Jul 27, 2010 21:12:03 GMT 12
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Post by oj on Jul 27, 2010 21:09:34 GMT 12
A brief but fascinating summary of another brilliant design torpedoed by politicians.
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Post by oj on Jul 25, 2010 22:22:32 GMT 12
Oh dear, two boo boo's in one night. you are of course correct, Dave. I rushed it and didn't notice the slimmer cowl. My own photos are not dated or captioned, so I do take a punt sometimes when I chuck stuff into the mix. Very glad to have plenty of expert historians to put me back on track.
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Post by oj on Jul 25, 2010 22:13:43 GMT 12
Sorry about that spelling Dave, I fell into the writers trap of not doing enough research. I am forever humbled .........
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Post by oj on Jul 25, 2010 22:09:46 GMT 12
Some of you may have wondered what the trumpet-like object was inside the PAC hangar door. It is of course a Strikemaster Vuvuzela. You clip this onto your Strikemaster tail-pipe during engine ground-run tests. It was to deflect the sound up to the clouds so it could bounce back and annoy the residents of Cambridge!
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Post by oj on Jul 25, 2010 21:29:12 GMT 12
Notice I spell Chequers whereas I now see the RNZAF have it spelled as you do, Checkers (on the engine-cowl).
Is this another modern bastardisation of the original to help our flagging standards of public comprehension?
Don't kids get taught how to play chequers any more? Grrrr!
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Post by oj on Jul 25, 2010 21:18:07 GMT 12
ZK-FXJ on its way to becoming VH-YCA The old JAL hangar doors are an eyesore here; were for many years an embarrassment to those that worked there. Such a high-profile public view from the road. Yuk!
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Post by oj on Jul 25, 2010 21:05:18 GMT 12
And here is the first CT4E prototype, ZK-FXM
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Post by oj on Jul 25, 2010 20:58:19 GMT 12
Red Chequers overnighted at PAC (probably for the 1991 Hamilton Air Show). Here they crammed in their 6 CT4's in front of the Strikemaster servicing line. And here on the PAC hangar frontage: And here is Tony Lea's hand-built LEA A1 driving past the Red Chequers.
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Post by oj on Jul 2, 2010 22:14:58 GMT 12
I am amazed than NZ1009 came up with all this history on NZ 1025 so rapidly for us to enjoy. Much appreciated.
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Post by oj on Jul 2, 2010 22:11:29 GMT 12
This is circa 1960, scanned from a faded wall print, so the yellow is not too flash.
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Post by oj on Jul 2, 2010 21:30:16 GMT 12
NZ 1025 A friend of mine had a picture of NZ 1025 in 1950's garb. As soon as I can get back into photobucket I will post it. Thus far I have not seen 1025 mentioned anywhere in this thread. Anybody know the history of that one?
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Post by oj on Jun 27, 2010 12:16:47 GMT 12
I was at AESL and worked on CRC a few times. I remember one day when it broke an undercarriage leg on take-off (not sure where) and they elected to fly it direct to the repair facility at AESL in Hamilton. We all went down the JAL taxiway to watch pilot Ashley Shrimpton do a one-wheel landing on the grass vector (close to the rear of the old JAL superphosphate shed) and hold it up one one leg forever, then it just gently settled on the port wing and slid to a stop in a slight arc.
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Post by oj on Jun 27, 2010 11:57:19 GMT 12
I haven't researched the various Marks, but I understand the Vildebeest and Vincent to both have two-bladed wooden props of thirteen foot six-inch diameter. We had one wall-mounted in the RNZAF Association Clubrooms in Hamilton for many years.
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Post by oj on Apr 21, 2010 22:27:45 GMT 12
Great to have aircrew input on Rangataiki Barry. I do recall there was one flight incident when someone lost a turbine blade or two on take-off in a Mk5 and did a successful 180 turn-back and dead-stick landing. Not sure who; might have been Goldsworthy? OJ
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Post by oj on Apr 14, 2010 22:17:36 GMT 12
Correct Shamus; no reverse thrust, but very good brakes. Some of the lack-of-reverse-thrust weight saving had to be compromised a bit by the beefier braking and each vented brake unit also had an electric cooling fan than cooled the brakes when on the ground. This was necessary so that they would be cool enough to be available for full efficiency again in case of an aborted take-off. So on a short field, as it was explained to me, you must allow a certain minimum of ground time to cool the brakes before you can take off again. OJ
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Post by oj on Apr 14, 2010 21:56:47 GMT 12
Don't knock the T6-24 Electric Flap Motor. This English-Electric AE259 Actuator was indeed used on the Canberra, in two places; as rudder trim actuator and aileron-bias actuator, hence it's ready availability at the time we developed the electric flap on the Airtourer. The RNZAF actually supplied the first few actuators for the T6-24's from their surplus Canberra spares. For subsequent T6-24's AESL purchased the actuators from UK suppliers. They are very good for the application, being extremely low-geared, making very precise flap movements possible. They also had the built-in Desyn position indicators to operate the flap position indicator, also a Canberra instrument which we re-calibrated and changed the dial markings to suit the T6 application. Of course they always were expensive, being a precision, high-altitude-rated, military-engineered item. Not your Cessna 150 flap-grinder here! I recall the cost price to AESL in about 1974 as being about $1,500 per unit, so they are probably worth their weight in silver these days. OJ
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Post by oj on Mar 25, 2010 18:58:17 GMT 12
The ski-caps were introduced some time between 1954 and 1958 and were phased out in 1964 (at Ohakea anyway).
No Canberra operations at Rangitaiki, not even a "roller" to my recall. I don't recall seeing the DC6's overhead, but I was not there the full length of the exercise. They would not have landed and there is no mention of them in the list of 100 odd photos provided by the Air Force Museum.
The Auster was probably looking for George Wilder. Rumour has it that some of the SAS of the day were "keeping in touch" with George in the bush.
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