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Post by McFly on Jan 12, 2022 13:43:33 GMT 12
Two Fireflies came to Ardmore, one is still there. This one...  ( Link) "In 2005 two Fireflys recovered from Eritrea in South Africa were conveyed to Auckland, New Zealand, for restoration to airworthiness. These were a Mk I and a T Mk I dual-control variant. At about that time Avspecs of Auckland offered them for sale and it is believed the Mk I remained in storage at Ardmore and the T Mk I was exported to France where it has been undergoing restoration at Melun-Villaroche airfield near Paris." ( Link)  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2022 16:14:07 GMT 12
Two Fireflies came to Ardmore, one is still there. I think of that airframe every so often and wonder "when" rather wistfully! Thank you Brett and Ray, that is very helpful. I really appreciate the info. |
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Post by Brett on Jan 12, 2022 17:28:41 GMT 12
Just to clarify, linked Aeropedia article contains a few errors.
The Canadian recoveries were from Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea. At the time there were still several Firefly hulks remaining at the Asmara Airforce Base. I don't know if they were ever recovered, and there are suspect reports that remains were still there as late as 2014.
The two Fireflys that were shipped to Ardmore were not recovered from Asmara. They were recovered from Ethiopia in 1996. MB694 was recovered from the Air Force Headquarters at Debre Zeyit AB in Bishoftu. The FR Mk I was recovered from a small museum at Lideta Army Airport in Addis Ababa.
This may seem a bit picky, but as Eritrea and Ethiopia were at war with each other until 2018 they obviously think their differences are important.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 13, 2022 12:19:04 GMT 12
Jared Mulholland sent through these two photos taken by Dan Frew, and I have permission from Wal Denholm to post them. They show the remains of the remaining F-86's in storage at Avspecs. As you can see they are not in great condition.   |
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Post by kiwi285 on Jan 13, 2022 20:20:43 GMT 12
Two Fireflies came to Ardmore, one is still there. That is news to me Dave - I have never been aware of a Firefly in NZ dince the end of WW II. Do we know where this aircraft is stored ? |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2022 9:54:16 GMT 12
Thanks Dave, Jared and Dan for those photos. Challenging projects indeed! Two Fireflies came to Ardmore, one is still there. That is news to me Dave - I have never been aware of a Firefly in NZ dince the end of WW II. Do we know where this aircraft is stored ? I expect others can provide more detail but it has been mentioned on the forum a few years ago here and here. Geoff Goodall's Warbirds Directory entry for this aircraft says: |
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Post by l29 on Jan 14, 2022 11:26:36 GMT 12
Yes, I was trying to aquire them for a static gate guardian but there they still sit!
Il see if I can find the firefly pics
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axelford
Squadron Leader
I have visited 13 Plane wreck sites and counting, happy to help with info!
Posts: 121
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Post by axelford on Jan 14, 2022 14:43:03 GMT 12
Shame that one of those tubs doesn't even have a roof over it. This is very interesting though, I did not know we had a Firefly or multiple Sabers in NZ.
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Post by chrism on Jan 14, 2022 16:39:38 GMT 12
Shame that one of those tubs doesn't even have a roof over it. This is very interesting though, I did not know we had a Firefly or multiple Sabers in NZ. Surprised and shocked at the storage conditions to be honest. |
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Post by kiwi285 on Jan 26, 2022 18:33:51 GMT 12
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Post by kiwi285 on Jun 17, 2022 19:34:57 GMT 12
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 15:03:03 GMT 12
1) Venturas are cool so this is great to see, and b) Merlin looks like he could be our cat Sasha's twin brother!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 18, 2022 10:19:52 GMT 12
Peter Layne has asked me to post the following words and photos: For several years now the fuselage of Vampire FB.5 NZ5767 has been on display at Classic Flyers on loan from the RNZAF. This aircraft became INST202 It was recently handed over to Classic Flyers and in the last week several major parts have arrived from the Air Force Museum. The other FB.5 Vampire in the background is NZ5751 on loan from Ken Jacobs. Cheers Peter    |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2022 15:36:16 GMT 12
Excellent to see!
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Post by kiwi285 on Sept 7, 2022 20:56:28 GMT 12
I am on the scrounge - Nigel has offered to turn up an elevator trim wheel for our Ventura panel and I am trying to find a photo of this item. So far I have had no luck using Google and I wonder if anyone out there has such a photo or even a drawing put of a maintenance manual. It needn't be a close up so long as we can get an idea of just what it looked like.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 8, 2022 0:05:44 GMT 12
Have you tried MOTAT and their Ventura, Mike?
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Post by denysjones on Sept 8, 2022 8:52:57 GMT 12
C'mon Mike you only had to ask mate  Below from the Pilot's notes. Interesting in that the Hudson and Lodestar don't have that type for the elevators, their ones are the same as the rudder and aileron ones.  |
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Post by kiwi285 on Sept 8, 2022 17:50:29 GMT 12
You are a champ Denys. Didn't think you might have a set of Pilots Notes for the Ventura. Hudson yes, Ventura not necessarily.
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Post by denysjones on Sept 8, 2022 19:21:47 GMT 12
Never a problem Mike, here are the two relevant pages from the parts book which I had time to dig out this arvo.   Looking at these I believe, possibly wrongly as I've been known to be in the past, that the rear portion, namely item 2, is the same unit as the Hudson one shown in the right of the illustration but that the parts 3 and 4 are a replacement for the simple crank of the others. I wonder if this was brought about by higher elevator load on the PV-1 and so the use of a wheel and the bevel gearing enabled the pilots to get over that. If I'm right and you have need of said Hudson unit shout out as we've some spares. cheers |
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Post by kiwi285 on Aug 6, 2023 17:13:42 GMT 12
A Bit late I know But... You might be aware that we were asked to build a room where items from the DC-3 crash in the Kaimais in 1963 could be brought together and where people associated with the outcome of the crash could come and remember. We started wotk on this project about April but inevitabaly were side tracked onto other projects. In mid to late June the pressure came on to have this completed for the 60th anniversary on 3 July 2023. The room has been built under th stairway up to the Catalina and B-17 exhibits. After a few days continuous work by a group of volunteers and our full time person we made it but it was close. Not only did we have to complete the room but were informed quite late that we a;so had to refurbish the original plug for the main plaque, several items recovered from the airframe, an engine carcase and a main wheel had to be made presentable. These raised to tempo somewhat but all came together in time. A memorial service was held at the road side at Gordon at 9.00am (the approximate time of the crash and then another service at Classic Flyers at 1.00pm to dedicate the room and to allow people to look through the room anmd items we had presented there. Following are some of the photos taken on the day before and at the service too.  030723 Official opening (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr  030723 Official opening (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr  030723 Official opening (1) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr  020723 (7) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr |
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