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Post by corsair67 on May 27, 2012 0:03:10 GMT 12
Some classic footage here:
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Post by Dave Homewood on May 27, 2012 21:21:19 GMT 12
That's a great clip, lovely footage, and I love the music.
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Post by flyjoe180 on Jun 1, 2012 11:34:51 GMT 12
Very nice.
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Post by silentflyer on Nov 29, 2013 19:38:18 GMT 12
There is a very interesting story of how the Weihe was got out of Germany after the war. This is the ex-Philip Wills Weihe in which he set an altitude record in. Of course Ian Dunkley imported a new Weihe into NZ just a few years ago. Pity there was not more older gliders being returned to the air down in NZ. There's at least 1perfectly good Olympia sitting idle down there.
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Post by Damon on Nov 29, 2013 19:57:37 GMT 12
The Weihe has been restored and live in the Ashburton Aviation Museum. Unfortunately only the fuselage survives as the rest had rotten away. Is the new Weihe imported flying these days? Any ideas on the plans for the Olympia, is it up for sale or flying?
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Post by silentflyer on Nov 29, 2013 21:50:12 GMT 12
Hi Damon. I'm an ex-pat based in the UK. There's at least 2 Olympia's in NZ. I did a few articles a while back on NZ gliding history, and it is interesting that gliding, although it did exist before the war, only really began to get a little more popular after the war. The real first break through was after Arthur Hardinge took his Yellow Witch (Australian homebuilt Olympia) to NZ and displayed it all over the country, that people began to wake up to the potential of modern gliders, especially in such a great country built for gliding! (another great yarn, and transported around in the back of an RNZAF DC 3). As I am no longer in NZ, I am not sure exactly where the Olympia's are, but no doubt you can track them down easily via your register there? Another nice old glider that was imported recently was an Austrian MG19. I own a lovely Slingsby Gull 3 of 1939 Vintage, and although I fly for my supper, find gliding so much more fun and a damn sight less expensive than power, thus being more achievable on an average wage. Anyone wanting to get into cheap vintage aviation, you cannot do better than the Olympia, which was designed by one of the greatest glider designers of all time, Hans Jacobs in 1938, and of course later went onto win the Olympic sailplane design contest as the new single class glider for the 1940 Olmpic Games. The Weihe I believe has some glue issues, but it is intended that it will again fly in NZ. (I would imagine the dramatic changes from the damp air of England to a dry arid air if Canterbury didn't do much for the old girl in the short term!)
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