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Post by beagle on Nov 16, 2006 21:55:20 GMT 12
3 Sqn had it's own paintshop?
Yep sure did, if fact when I was sgt of the main paintshop at whenuapai it got condemmed, s we moved things to Hobby.
Do you mean the GDF one on the Hobby apron?
No, but worked there as a Cpl with Colonel Billings at the control.
That shop was completely crap and would never complied to H&S
In the winter it would never get over 2 degrees unless ya lit afire in it, hell the hell we ever painted in there.
The floor was about 2" thick of paint from the years and years it was there. Lance Holmberg tipped a drum of paintstripper onto it to try and soften it up to try and scrape up but all it did was to burn out the underfloor heating elements.
Despite being based at Hobby for 7 months and Whenuapai about 6 months, I somehow never ever went into No. 3 Squadron's Iroquois hangar,
Apparantely it was built to hold a blackhawk if and when ever were to get them.
The extraction fans were across the end wall so when it came time to move all painting there it was utterly hopeless as if you had a lot to do, as we did, ya had to keep moving things around to be in front of the fans.
The breathing air was bad too. they replaced the old compresser with a second hand one, lasted 2 weeks.
typical RNZAF works flight.
and amazingly I don't think I ever met Ross Mackenzie.
He was a warbird buff.
After he got out he worked for somebody at Dairy Flat doing upholstery etc and painting of course.
What did he look like?
probably got aphoto here somewhere.
a lot of them are actual photos and I have not got a scanner.
Was he short?
dark hair, glasses, moustache
terry gnome Austin lives about 100 yeards away form me in a straight line. he works at the prison here.
I recall a short Corporal in 1990 ho I saw occasioanlly and never got to know.
I did a week at GDF as U/T in 1990 and working there then were Bill Billings and Leon Coy and possibly someone else who was away in the Fabric Bay, and Rich Harding and Gavin Norrington at the Paint Shop.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 16, 2006 22:21:53 GMT 12
Well off topic now, sorry guys, but...hey... it's my forum and Beagle can help me fill in some memory blanks
There's lots of names you're mentioning there Beagle that all ring a bell but I don't think I knew any of them. I only heard of them through the crewroom conversation, etc. I guess the the trade was bigger than I thought.
I actually did a list of the S&S people I worked with who I can still recall, but probably missed many names. from my auckland days there were:
W/O Peter Gardner
F/Sgt Derek ‘Dak’ Meyer
F/Sgt ‘Cam’ Cameron
Parachute Bay
Sgt Beau Matchett (now in Matamata)
Sgt Mark Jones (“Jonesie”)
Cpl John Loader ("Alby")
LAC ‘Willy’ Patterson (Willy was nickname, real name Brian?)
LAC Jason Johannes Joachim Stewart “J’s cubed”, Became a cop.
LAC Paul Love (Smiley) (died June/July 1990)
Liferaft Bay
Sgt Steve Shervell
Cpl Jackie Alder (died Nov 2005)
LAC Rehi ‘Red’ ?? (last name?)
Cargo Chute Bay
Sgt Derek “Coops” Cooper
Cpl Mel Chambers
LAC Leon Coy
LAC Ashley Cooper (known as "Little Coops" and “Two-stroke”)
LAC Dave Sherriff (crippled in motorcycle accident 1992ish)
Paint Shop
Sgt “Beagle” Smart
Cpl Pete “Junior” Moller
Cpl Sid Wakelin
Cpl Kevin Hopkins
GDF Hobsonville
Sgt Bill Billings (Fabric Section)
Cpl Richard Harding [Old Friends] No W/O
LAC Gavin Norrington
40 Squadron
Cpl Mark Thompson (Smiley)
Sgt Lloyd Puriri (let an MS26 off inside a Boeing!)
No. 1TTS Instructors
Flight Sergeant Paul “Fungi” Miller
Sergeant Dave Paul
Sgt Richard Harding
My 1TTS Coursemates
LAC Vaughn McAllister
LAC Lee Cattle
LAC Gavin Norrington
LAC Mark “Frankie” Taylor
LAC Barry “Brewery” Bryan
LAC Shane “Rimmer” Glassey (now Air NZ, Chch)
LAC Jason JJ Stewart
AC Dave Homewood
AC Greg “Esty” Marinan
AC Dave “Wibble” Whibley
AC Warwick “Edge” Rule
AC Hamish Durno
AC Ewen ‘Bic’ Bichan
I don't recall who was S&S on 3, 42 or 5 Sqns at that time (1989-1991). I don't think I had the chance to mix with them.
Now... back to the aeroplanes. Maybe
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Post by paddy on Nov 17, 2006 6:34:37 GMT 12
The best I ever saw was in April? 1973 at Ohakea.
There was an open day with the RAF's Vulcans.
One came overhead and stood on it's tail. For 30 seconds all you could hear was the Thunder and feel the earth shake.
After that was the wailing of every baby in the crowd.
That was the day I decided to join the RNZAF (Back in the days when it was an Air FORCE)
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Post by beagle on Nov 17, 2006 13:28:27 GMT 12
Nowadays if he did that, you would still hear and feel the rumble but after the 30 seconds all that would be heard would be car alarms going off in the car parks. Pretty sure not many car alarms back then.
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Post by phil on Nov 17, 2006 16:35:36 GMT 12
Quite a few of those names are still around Dave,
Cam got out as a W/O, and is now a civy at OH.
Coops is a W/O working at Ops sqn, in the tower.
Mel is a F/SGT at Ohakea
Hoppy is a SGT at Ohakea, paint shop at the moment I think.
Junior is around at OH as well, last I heard he was on 3sqn.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 17, 2006 17:27:52 GMT 12
Cheers Phil. Good to hear some of them are still around. Cam was good value as a F/Sgt, as was Dak before him. Dak was full of stories, both his own experiences and his Dad's who'd been in the wartime RNZAF at Whenuapai.
I wonder how many of my Wigram mates and colleagues are still around. Not many I'd guess. Here's the list covering my time there 1991-93:
Flight Sgt Keith D. Scott
Sgt “Barty” “Barf” Bartlett
Sgt Dennis Gibbons (now W/O at Museum - unless he's just got out)
Sgt Bill Nicol (out 1990's)
Cpl Brendan “Paddy” Flanagan
Cpl Steve Leach
Cpl Andrew Maxwell
LAC Simon Williamson
LAC Vaughn McAllistar (became a cop)
LAC Bob Stenson (“Scorch”)
LAC Aaron Lyttle
AC Max Cawley (now a Helicopter crewman I think)
AC ?? Parry (u/t)
Is Paddy Flanagan still in at all? He was a great mate at Wigram but sadly we haven't been in touch for some years. If Max Cawley's still at OH, tell him I said hello - you work with the crewmen I think don't you Phil?
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Post by phil on Nov 17, 2006 17:41:11 GMT 12
Don't know Max, perhaps he's off doing whatever crewies do when they aren't on sqn.
Simon Williamson is still around I think, and I know the name Paddy Flanagan, so he's either still in or not long out.
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Post by tibor on Nov 17, 2006 17:49:18 GMT 12
Max is at Base Ops in Auckland, now a F/S.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 17, 2006 18:00:27 GMT 12
Cheers. If you see Paddy, Max or Simon in your travels, please say hello from me. Here's a photo from April 1992 when we painted ZK-TAF for the Singaporean Tiger Beer commercial made at Wigram and Queenstown. Not all were on the paint team, some just jumped in the shot. Left to right are Simon Williamson, Keith Scott, Vaughn McAllistar, Bob Stenson, myself, Steve Leach, Aaron Lyttle and Dennis Gibbons  I might change the name of this thread to Low Planes and Safety and Surface... |
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Post by xr6turbo1 on Nov 17, 2006 18:55:07 GMT 12
The Mustang looked awesome in those colours, I remember seeing it at the nelson airshow and back then the P51 was pushed harder than now days.
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Post by beagle on Nov 17, 2006 18:58:19 GMT 12
All these memories are flooding back and it is sad.
sad because I have had 4 trips to the dentist in the last 4 months costing me hundreds where when I was in, it was all free.
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Post by mumbles on Nov 20, 2006 23:18:34 GMT 12
Hate to drag this back to topic ;D but for a civilian I think I've been fairly fortunate to see many great flybys. The standouts: The last A-4K passes I saw, Easthope's entry pass at the disbandment display, and the last last pass as '05 left Ohakea for the final time. I've been told that during the demonstration period a number of great A-4 displays were to be seen. Ray Hanna closing the 1994 Wanaka Show in the MkXVI Spitfire. After the formal display concluded he did his bit for crowd control by putting on the best spitfire display I have ever seen for the departing crowd, including some very low runs and pullouts. At the Ohakea open day in 1989 two Hornets arrived from behind the 14 Squadron Hangar at about 200ft and 0.9 Mach, catching everyone by surprise. Plus the usual commentators trick of getting the crowd to look in one direction while the A-4 smoked in at 100 feet and 450+ knots from the other direction. Never fails  . |
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Post by hairy on Nov 21, 2006 9:14:57 GMT 12
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Post by turboNZ on Nov 21, 2006 9:30:19 GMT 12
Great pics !!!!!!!  |
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Post by beagle on Nov 21, 2006 19:29:19 GMT 12
Plus the usual commentators trick of getting the crowd to look in one direction while the A-4 smoked in at 100 feet and 450+ knots from the other direction. Never fails
Yes remember that at WOW 1994 when they were telling people to look up towards the lake at a stealth fighter that was doing a flying visit over NZ after being at an exercise in australia, or to that effect . I knew something was up a sno stealth fighter was anywhere the southern hemisphere and sure enough while looking at everybody else looking past me , here it comes, and pretty low as well.
a lady scream, the kids start to cry, ":what the hell was that" said one guy.
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Post by flyjoe180 on Nov 22, 2006 8:43:20 GMT 12
Was that Mirage photo taken at Whenuapai '81 or '83?
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Post by hairy on Nov 22, 2006 8:50:55 GMT 12
Was that Mirage photo taken at Whenuapai '81 or '83? Whenuapai - yes date - '86 or '87 I think.  |
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Post by flyjoe180 on Nov 22, 2006 8:57:54 GMT 12
Ah, ok. Few years out then, mustve been the RNZAF Golden Jubilee show, '87.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 22, 2006 9:25:21 GMT 12
I am putting my uncle's home video of the 1987 Whenuapai airshow onto the next circular video tape. Looking at it, I really wish I'd gone, looked like a great show.
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Post by Craig Sargent on Nov 22, 2006 19:43:27 GMT 12
Had to vote Macchi, because it's the only one I've actually BEEN IN at an airshow - and it doesn't get ANY more exciting than that (apart from an Iroquois which isn't listed and doesn't really count anyway).
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