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Post by skyhawkdon on Sept 8, 2010 11:58:34 GMT 12
The "Chook" you mentioned Don is Steve Morrissey - the Air New Zealand pilot who died while hiking in HKG last month. RIP. Bugger, I never made the connection. He was a really nice guy I remember that. That's the trouble with Air Force nick names - quite often you have no idea what their real name is!
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Post by skyhawkdon on Sept 8, 2010 14:52:24 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 8, 2010 15:18:07 GMT 12
Holy hell. That is incredible. A miracle he got out of it. Thanks for posting the photos Don.
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Post by Chris F on Sept 8, 2010 15:45:40 GMT 12
Thats blown me away.He was a very lucky man and by all accounts went onto have a very successful flying career with Air New Zealand. Many thanks Don for posting these pics.
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Post by skyhawkdon on Sept 8, 2010 17:05:51 GMT 12
The strongest part of the Sioux is the bulkhead behind the pilot. It acts like a roll bar. The rest of the airframe is very fragile! It is a miracle no one has been killed in a Sioux accident in the RNZAF. There have been some really bad ones...
The one that had the wire strike at the Falcon's Roost had the wire come through the bubble, it hit the instrument panel centre console which fortunately cut the wire, otherwise it would have decapitated the pilots! From memory the rotor disk also cut the drive shaft to the tail rotor causing it to stop as well!
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Post by beagle on Sept 8, 2010 18:53:47 GMT 12
From memory the rotor disk also cut the drive shaft to the tail rotor causing it to stop as well! They don't fly too well when that happens
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Post by davekiwi on Sept 8, 2010 20:25:08 GMT 12
As a young avmech, was part of a party looking for odds & sods (ie bits of wreckage) of a Sioux that crashed in mid 1984 at Kaipara (??). What I saw of the remains also defies belief that no one was killed. Apparently though the worse place to sit though was in the middle, ie 3 people, as this is where cockpit tended to buckle - leading to abdominal injuries. Still cannot believe how any one got out in one piece.
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Post by corsair67 on Sept 8, 2010 23:34:01 GMT 12
The "Chook" you mentioned Don is Steve Morrissey - the Air New Zealand pilot who died while hiking in HKG last month. RIP. Wow, he survived an accident like that - and then ends up passing away while out bushwalking. Life really deals some odd cards. Would it be correct to say that every current and past RNZAF helicopter pilot would have trained on the Sioux? Even though they've suffered a high attrition rate, you can't say that the RNZAF and NZ Govt haven't well and truly gotten their moneys worth out of these helicopters. The Sioux thoroughly deserves to be preserved in the Air Force Museum, and also as a living, breathing example in the Historic Flight.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 9, 2010 0:59:00 GMT 12
Would it be correct to say that every current and past RNZAF helicopter pilot would have trained on the Sioux? I guess so unless they trained as a civilian and then joined up, or in another Air Force and transferred to ours but then it's likely they would have still been checked out in the Sioux I guess. Also, probably a heck of a lot of New Zealand Army and Royal New Zealand Navy pilots hve also trained in them. And possibly NZ Police pilots? That's for sure. The number of pilots who must have trained on these, and used them operationally too, over 45 years must be staggering. The Sioux has the highest loss rate for any RNZAF aircraft in peacetime Eight of the fleet of thirteen have been written off, whilst of the remaining five some of them have crashed and been rebuilt too. Yet you look at the surviving five and they look stunningly gorgeous, like new. They are certainly well cared for. I used to watch the students flying them at CFS, Wigramand they always looked fun. They sounded like tractors when they tried to start in the could though. Chug, chug, chug. I wonder if the Woodbourne example will go to Wigram? Seems pointless keeping it at Woodbourne when they retire. Wigram could build a great simulator ride around it maybe.
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Post by Chris F on Sept 9, 2010 9:51:50 GMT 12
Great stuff guys and many thanks. I recall reading about a Sioux that literally flew into a shed at Waiouru Army Base.I beleive the shed is still today called Jamison shed (named after the pilot). Can any one shed any light on this pilots career path after this? Also can anyone tell us about the role the Sioux played in the 1981 Springbok tour? I remember one hovering above Rugby Park in New Plymouth for the mid week game vs Taranaki. Love to hear your comments and pictures if any one has some.
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Post by skyhawkdon on Sept 9, 2010 10:14:17 GMT 12
Yes "Jamieson shed" at Waiouru is unofficially named after the pilot who flew into it! One Air Marshal Sir Ewan Jamieson KBE. CB. no less! It is a standing joke in the RNZAF that to become CAS/CAF one has to have written off an aircraft during ones career
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Post by Chris F on Sept 9, 2010 10:30:52 GMT 12
Oh my! Thanks Don. I tried several times without luck to get Ohakea Musuems Sioux tail number plate they had. Wonder where that has gone now?
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Post by Chris F on Sept 9, 2010 11:27:16 GMT 12
Oh here is a website www.bell47.net some great pics and information on here well worth a look.
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Post by 30sqnatc on Sept 9, 2010 18:51:09 GMT 12
Yes "Jamieson shed" at Waiouru is unofficially named after the pilot who flew into it! One Air Marshal Sir Ewan Jamieson KBE. CB. no less! It is a standing joke in the RNZAF that to become CAS/CAF one has to have written off an aircraft during ones career Hmmm. How many Jameson Shed storys are there? The story I'm aware of is that it is named after Brigadier (retired) Stu Jameson, who as an AAC pilot (then a Capt I think) hit the shed with a Sioux as he hovered into one of the low blast pens made from ammo boxes that used to be located in front of the shed. The joke was that he was a field engineer officer who were surposed to build things not destroy them (unless of course explosives are employed). Accident occured with NZ3711 on 15 Nov 1971. Wonder if it was marked as an NZ Army or RNZAF Sioux at the time of the accident? Paul
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 9, 2010 19:18:04 GMT 12
Hmm, well Air Marshal Sir Ewan Jamieson was certainly CO of No. 3 (Battlefield Support) Squadron from November 1966-November 1967 but I don't know if he'd have been flying a Sioux in 1971.
He was involved in the loss of an aircraft though, a Vampire FB55, while head of FOCU at Ohakea when his pupil was doing a slow roll and inadvertantly put the Vampire into a spin that neither pilot could recover it from. Eventually Jamieson ordered the pupil to bail out but the student found he couldn't due to the G-forces holding him in the aircraft. Jamieson helped the pupil out and then bailed himself. He was awarded a Green Endorsement for his logbook, and was made a member of the Caterpillar Club.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 9, 2010 19:31:27 GMT 12
Does anyone have any older photos showing when the squadron had loads of Sioux? I'm sure they must have had around nine at hobsonville at one time (when I was based there in 1990-91 they had none that i recall, they were all at Wigram).
I wonder how many the record was for RNZAF/Army Sioux they ever got in the air at once. Did they ever do any massed flypasts at airshows or big formations for exercises, etc?
Don't forget one appeared in the kiwi classic Dear John BASF advert. Some of the youngsters here may never have seen it (I assume it was an RNZAF one?)
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Post by shorty on Sept 9, 2010 20:17:15 GMT 12
The Vampire was NZ 5706, a T55 (no such animal as a FB55) and the date was 16-12-57
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Post by skyhawkdon on Sept 9, 2010 20:18:32 GMT 12
Apologies to Sir Ewan if I have got the wrong Jameson! That was how it was recounted to me when I was on 3 Squadron in 1985. I think Sir Ewan was CAS around the time I was on 3 Sqn.
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Post by Peter Lewis on Sept 9, 2010 20:26:22 GMT 12
Sioux NZ3711 had a very short operational life - October 1970 to November 1971. I have never seen a photo of it.
However, parts of it live on as some were used to rebuild NZ3707 into INST221 for Woodbourne.
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Post by 30sqnatc on Sept 9, 2010 20:28:19 GMT 12
Apologies to Sir Ewan if I have got the wrong Jameson! That was how it was recounted to me when I was on 3 Squadron in 1985. I think Sir Ewan was CAS around the time I was on 3 Sqn. Whoever let facts get in the way of a good yarn
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