High-speed low-altitude flyby

[flyjoe180]

I remember the Whenuapai 80's airshows well, was a youngster and just about soiled myself a few times with some of the fantastically noisy aircraft on display. The A4 was always an airshow star, as was the Macchi, and they have done some of the most memorable passes. I remember a B727 at Whenuapai at one of the 80's shows doing a fantastic display with low turns after takeoff etc. Havent seen the 757 in display mode yet; people tell me it's great to see. But for me personally you cant beat the rumble and smoke from a low and fast P3 or C130. Sheer size, the noise from four Allisons and the low turns make them the stars for me. So, to be different, I've voted for the Herc. Well, someone had to!

[beagle]

Dave , were you at Ohakea in the mid 80's when this mirage took off after an exercise there.
From what i have been told , he must have been still quite a bit hung over as they helped him into the cockpit and secured everything etcc.
he took off ok but came back and between 2 hangars there is a low slung wire. The words told to me were that the wire was very nearly severed.
He was also given a desk job back in aussie.

[mumbles]

beagle said:

Dave , were you at Ohakea in the mid 80's when this mirage took off after an exercise there.
From what i have been told , he must have been still quite a bit hung over as they helped him into the cockpit and secured everything etcc.
he took off ok but came back and between 2 hangars there is a low slung wire. The words told to me were that the wire was very nearly severed.
He was also given a desk job back in aussie.

I have it on fairly reliable authority that someone tried something similar in a Macchi not so long ago, in his final flight in the type before moving on to someone else's airforce after the ACW disbandment.

[mumbles]

hairy said:

This was quite neat.................

"Oh my god its a mirage. I'm telling all of y'all its sabotage!"

Sorry, was listening to some Beastie Boys earlier today ;D.

Definitely from the Jubilee shows in 1987, I have a picture of the same Hornet/Mirage break from the Ohakea Show. I think that was the first time a Hornet had been seen in NZ. Sadly I don't remember much of the Mirage display, apart from the fantastic roll rate.

Anyone know how the OH museum acquired its Mirage tailfin?

[mumbles]

For noise a Hunter low and fast takes some beating.

[Dave Homewood]

beagle said:

Dave , were you at Ohakea in the mid 80's when this mirage took off after an exercise there.

Sorry beagle, I was just starting High School about then. I have never seen a Mirage, nor a Hornet, not even in museums. That flight sounds good though.

[mumbles]

mumbles said:

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 .

Looks something like this.....


99% of the crowd looking the other way and about to get a noisy surprise.

[flyjoe180]

Quickly followed by dropped ice creams, crying kids, barking dogs, and stunned adults... ;D

[beagle]

the one I saw was coming from the right hand side of the picture, right to left down the centre line of the runway and from memory he was less that 1/2 that height

[Barnsey]

The Ohakea Museum got the Mirage tailfin from the 75 Sqn pilot's crewroom - which was "gifted" by the RAAF, I think. It used to be wired up with working anti-col lights, as did the pre-Kahu hump strapped to the ceiling surrounded by a Skyhawk silhouette. That was BJ's big project as OIC Officer's Fund!

[skyhawkdon]

beagle said:

Dave , were you at Ohakea in the mid 80's when this mirage took off after an exercise there.
From what i have been told , he must have been still quite a bit hung over as they helped him into the cockpit and secured everything etc.
he took off ok but came back and between 2 hangars there is a low slung wire. The words told to me were that the wire was very nearly severed.
He was also given a desk job back in aussie.

I have a photo of this on my home computer - I scanned it from the 75 Sqn unit history... the Mirage is pulling up as it flies BETWEEN Numbers 3 and 4 hangars (75 Sqn and AMS). Fortunately at that time there WASN'T a wire between the hangars, but one was subsequently strung which I think is still there? Unfortunately my computer is in storage at the moment after moving to Christchurch, so I can't post the photo, but I'll get onto it once I get it all set up again after Christmas.

[Dave Homewood]

There are some nice low flying shots of RNZAF aircraft on youtube at the moment

www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rnzaf

[ARU]

i'll have to agree with mumbles, the hunter is one of the best at low altitude

[Dave Homewood]

I'll third that aru

[beagle]

Did you see when that b52 went in while practising for that air show about 10 years ago.
Following that incident, they showed a program related to that pilot and some very low level flying around the country from him. There was some brilliant pieces of video of him flying around valleys etc that must have put heaps of stress on the airframe, let alone a stomach full of flight rations.
Pretty sure, there were other aircrew that would not fly with him.

As for her ein NZ, just before I got out , me and and a young fella went to OH with PTSU to do some parachuting for a kids tv program.
The flight back was the best ever.
Talking to my young fella later who was in the cockpit all the way back, he said the altimeter did not make get to 4 figures.
I believe him as I was sranding looking out the rh side para door looking up at cars going down the wanganui gorge.

Also on tv about 10 years ago I remember watching an article on the RAAF and their low level skills. They were all about flying in the Nomad and other similar types and we are talking fence and hedge heights. I remember them actually having to pull up to go over trees.

[mumbles]

beagle said:

Pretty sure, there were other aircrew that would not fly with him.

I heard the same thing, the B-52 captain in question had a reputation for borderline or dangerous flying and a number of aircrew on his squadron would not fly with him. Not sure if this is a myth or not.

[phil82]

Having spent a substantial amount of my life on airfields around the world, from Africa, to Singapore , the UK and of course NZ, there are some low-flying acts which are hard to follow.Yes, I've gone to the occasional smoking hole in the ground, and have witnessed some remarkable examples of genuine flying ability, but which would be stupid had it not come off. The air force, all air forces are tough on unauthorised low flying, and I know at least two RNZAF pilots who were pilots one minute and history the moment they landed. One of them was Best Man at my wedding! Another was a Harvard pilot at Ohakea in the days when every base had one, who decided one day to put on an unauthorised low-flying display along Himitangi Beach and actually clipped a truck cab with starboard wing tip, dislodging the aileron He recovered, amazingly, and flew back to Ohakea, but made a second mistake in not declaring an emergency. The first anyone knew of his activities was when he taxied in and the lineys noted the right wing tip and aileron hanging by a thread.

The pilot was a civilian within 24 hours.

[Dave Homewood]

That reminds me of an incident in Bryan Young's book "Beckoning Skies". When he was at 2SFTS at Woodbourne learning to fly the Harvard in WWII, two students took their Harvards on some unauthorised low flying in a valley. One of them sadly misjudged and hit a cliff face. He was killed. The other pilot on returning was in deep water. They got the entire base on parade, and gave the poor sod the Rogue's March, an old Naval tradtion where every bit of dignity and uniform braid was stipped. Then he was kicked out. It was not so much to punish him but to teach every other student pilot a very valuable lesson. I wonder what became of that pilot, it would be traumatising enough for the crash but to return home a civilian in disgrace would be awful in those times.

[beagle]

There was a film on tv years ago with a WW2 theme and from memory these 2 pilots , one bristish and the other german, used to meet up quite often in the skies.
There was a series of bridges and they would test their skills by flying very low under it.
I think the further up stream the bridges got lower. Each day they each tried a lower bridge untill. Not sure if anyone crashed or not but being a british film the german probably crashed. Who dares wins come to mind but maybe not.

[flyjoe180]

From memory, 'The Blue Max' had a bridge scene like that, as did the TV series 'Piece of Cake'.