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Post by baz62 on Feb 12, 2009 15:28:37 GMT 12
Sorry about the washed out appearance of some of the P-51 photos.    I'm fairly sure Mustang NZ2427 was the one owned by Peter Coleman and now flying in the UK with Maurice Hammond. |
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Post by shorty on Feb 12, 2009 15:33:40 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 12, 2009 17:24:37 GMT 12
No, they don't use gloss paints, they use semi-gloss or satin paints. It still looks ok and indeed better protecton, and many warbirds fly like that. But the high gloss Klear floor shine look such as that A-36 is awful.
There may have been one paintscheme on the Mk IIa Spitfire P7350 from the BBMF that was glossier than normal but that was about 20 odd years ago.
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Post by shorty on Feb 12, 2009 17:50:04 GMT 12
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Post by corsair67 on Feb 12, 2009 18:31:58 GMT 12
Shorty, do you have any photos from the day the ZK-TAF was taken up for it's first flight at Wigram? What a great day that was! I biked out to the Wigram because I was bored, and noticed a heap of cars parked out along Vickery's Rd, so I asked a bloke what was going on and he said that the Mustang was going to be test flown.  Right place at the right time - it doesn't happen very often to me. ;D |
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Feb 12, 2009 18:39:04 GMT 12
Cheers Bruce, I can see it would make a very good mapping aircraft.
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Post by shorty on Feb 12, 2009 18:47:11 GMT 12
Sorry I don't have any shots from it's test flight (unless I have them as negs that have not been printed) or maybe they were amongst those I "lost" in a marriage break-up I do have some photos of its predeccesor, taken at Ardmore in March 1965 It's the usual 1 + 2 format.  scan0199 by Neville Mines, on Flickr  scan0200 by Neville Mines, on Flickr  scan0213 by Neville Mines, on Flickr |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 12, 2009 18:52:47 GMT 12
Nev, are the Mustang and Tiger Moth in the Technical Squadron Hangar in that photo? I'm sure that's right. I've seen so few photos of that building and really regret I never took any before it was destroyed, it was my last workplace in 1993 before I was posted out of Wigram, and to think that Gordons and Oxfords etc had been serviced there in the war and everything in between makes me really wish someone had been more history conscious and saved it like the other hangars.
Which Tiger Moth is that, do you recall? I heard once that as well as the Tiger Moth in the Museum. and the one in the Historic Flight, that the Moth Doctors restored a third one at the same time. Does anyone know if this is true?
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Post by shorty on Feb 12, 2009 18:59:17 GMT 12
Right on all counts Dave. I think the story was that the Moth Doctors were given the three with one to be done and returned to the donor as payment.
I will ask Dave Mitchell (ex W/O Historic Flight) when I am next talking to him (may be a week or so)
I am not sure which ones were which at this stage.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 12, 2009 19:51:23 GMT 12
Thanks for that. Have you any other photos of the Tech Squadron hangar? Up on that messanine in my time were the offices of the Squadron Leader (two in my time, the first one I've forgotten but he was replaced by Sqn Ldr Ian Ronalds, who now runs the Hobby Old Boys), plus the Maintenace Flight Commander (in my time Flying Officer Tony "T.C." Webster who was replaced in 1993 by Flt Lt Teresa Cunningham, both great fligh commanders), the Warrnat Officer, John Hare, who was a nice chap too, and the drawings office I think, plus the Joe Room and the Orderly Room which was run by F/Sgt Perry ?? and Cpl Mihi ??, who were husband and wife, but I forget their last name. On the ground level the paint shop was to the left (run by Dennis Gibbons), the airframe guys in the foreground run by people like J.C. Evans and Gus Paget in my day, avionics to the right and the metal and machine bays were down a corridor to the right past the greenies. Good times with a friendly bunch of people.
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Post by shorty on Feb 12, 2009 20:17:16 GMT 12
TCPC was also there, I think they might have been through the door in front of the P 51 nose in the first photo. I'll have a look to see what I have. I never worked in there, I was in 2 Hangar. Had the supply agency for the RNZAF continued to be the USAAC we would have been getting these to replace the Hudsons but as it was changed to the USN we got Venturas and F4Us instead.  scan0193 by Neville Mines, on Flickr  scan0209 by Neville Mines, on Flickr |
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Post by Peter Lewis on Feb 12, 2009 20:43:53 GMT 12
I'm fairly sure Mustang NZ2427 was the one owned by Peter Coleman and now flying in the UK with Maurice Hammond. Correct: NZ2427 - Last flight Wigram-Woodbourne 9Aug55, WFU, stored Woodbourne. Sold to A.N.A.S.Co. of Nelson for £80, to Peter Coleman of Blenheim. Parts toTim Wallis at Wanaka; engine to H Treloar of Sydney. Airframe swapped for a Hurricane to M Hammond, rstd as G-MSTG |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 12, 2009 22:15:02 GMT 12
Which Hurricane did Sir Tim get from maurice hammond? I know his company had several Hurricanes, most of which are eiher now flying or about to fly.
Shorty, I'd forgotten all about TCPC. By the time I was there (1991-93) they were in a new building out the back of the hangar (there was a small back door you went through, crossed a small road and into their very plush fully air conditioned offices. It was all space aged technology with drafting computers and drawing boards and things that did graphic design (early photoshop I guess), plus I think they had the internet or some early form of it - but back then I was overwhelmed by the technology and was completely lost when the guy I used to talk to there (Cannot even recall his name but I think he was a Cpl) used to try to explain stuff to me. Till then the most whizzy-do computer I'd seen was an Amiga 500! And at work we had the doddery old ALIS which made dos look amazing...
Of course round the corner away from the hangar a bit in one of the original WWI hangars was the Chippies (Planewrights, or woodworkers to you civilians). I always enjoyed popping in there to see Sgt Steve ??, Cpl PJ Smith (who's still at Wigram) and LAC Gary Barnes. It was like stepping back in time, the smell of the wood shavings, the craftsmenship, etc. Little did I realise then that WWI biplanes were worked on in that very building and it probably smelled the same then.
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Post by shorty on Feb 13, 2009 5:22:46 GMT 12
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Post by b10m on Feb 13, 2009 9:04:13 GMT 12
Shorty, who owned Charlie Charlie Golf.?
I was told once that the pilot (Mc Donald???) use to announce his arrival to an airfield as Mustang Charlie Charlie Golf, as it was a whole lot quicker than anything civilian around at that time, and he did'nt want to surprise anyone.
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Post by Peter Lewis on Feb 13, 2009 9:45:07 GMT 12
who owned Charlie Charlie Golf.? John S MacDonald & Ronald M Fechney, Christchurch |
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Post by shorty on Feb 13, 2009 16:54:07 GMT 12
First of all our o'seas one. This is what Te Pirita was built for. This particular one was used in the TV series "12 O'clock High"  scan0203 by Neville Mines, on Flickr Now back to Charlie Charlie Golf. John MacDonald's son Greg was the first apprentice engineer taken on by Mt Cook Airlines. I worked with him as an engineer on 748s before he went flying, firstly on ski-planes then 748s and now on ATRs. He owns (or part owns) an Auster, a Whitney Straight, a Pacer and flies Triplanes at Omaka and DH types from Mandeville in his spare time.  scan0208 by Neville Mines, on Flickr |
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Post by shorty on Feb 13, 2009 21:00:55 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 13, 2009 21:44:03 GMT 12
Is that an old chimney stack behind the tree in the second-to-last photo?
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Post by Peter Lewis on Feb 14, 2009 8:58:22 GMT 12
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