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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2019 10:15:47 GMT 12
Back to airshow news, Kiwi aerobatic legend Pam Collings will be in the commentary box while forum member Andrew Love performs her routine in Pitts ZK-FRJ. A very cool addition to the programme. Unfortunately I can't link to the Facebook post on this machine, hopefully someone else can help out.
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Post by errolmartyn on Mar 31, 2019 13:59:50 GMT 12
I wouldn't have thought they would actually fly it with the rockets? Here is a graphic first hand description of a rocket-firing Nieuport in action by a New Zealander, as recounted in my Swift to the Sky: On 26 June 1916, his squadron received orders to attack a line of enemy observation balloons. The machines to be used were three French Nieuport fghters equipped with Le Prieur rockets. Four 1.5-metre-long rocket tubes were attached to each set of outboard wing struts. The rockets themselves, unguided and in appearance like oversized skyrockets, were attached to sticks, which sat in the tubes, and fired off electrically from the cockpit. The squadron had only two pilots qualifed to fly the Nieuport at the time, but Balcombe Brown volunteered to take the third machine on the mission. Starting at dawn, he learned to fly the new machine and practised firing rockets. That same evening he successfully destroyed a hostile balloon. Seven days later he attacked another, suspended at 1300 feet at Grevilliers, only in this instance the Germans had come up with a new tactic and were apparently using a balloon with ballast instead of an observer – as a trap. On his return to the airfeld he wrote the following vivid report, which conveys well the dangers associated with attacking balloons, considered to be a far more dangerous activity than air-to-air combat: I crossed the lines at 10-29 a.m. at 8,000 ft. and began diving on the balloon when at 6,000 ft. When at about 4,000 ft. suddenly about 50
shells burst around the balloon I was aiming for, forming around it a white halo about 200 yds. in diameter. This white cloud was on exactly
the same level as the kite balloon. Then a few seconds later I noticed two streams of balls of fire coming in a continuous stream as though from a hose, one at each end of a wood 300 yds. to the side of the balloon. The fire balls were about five yards distant from each other. One of these streams was some distance away from me, but the other exactly crossed my line of flight down towards the balloon. I carried on the same course for a few more seconds, then seeing that I was going to go straight through the spray, pulled the elevators back [sic] and passed over it. This caused me to lose sight of the balloon & on putting the nose down practically vertical again, I found I was very close to the balloon and slightly to one side of it. I tried to twist round & fired my torpedoes [rockets] which passed just to the side. My height was 1,200 ft. when my engine finally picked up. At first the engine would not pick up as soon as it usually does. After passing the balloon I was in the surrounding halo for about 2 seconds. On emerging from that another spray of fire started at me, and as I turned it followed the machine round in a semi-circle about 40 yards behind the tail. Each spray seemed to last about 15-20 seconds. On the way back to the lines A.A. guns were very active.
On examining the machine I found that all the shiny dope on the wing had apparently disappeared, leaving the fabric soft and flabby,
and about 2 ft. of the fabric beneath the fuselage had torn itself away. Soon after missing the balloon & going through the smoke of the
shells I noticed that the wings were covered with moisture as though it had been raining. Prior to this, the fabric was in perfectly good
condition. One of the torpedoes did not get clear immediately I pressed the switch, and the left hand struts were scorched and also the fabric of the top left hand plane.
While diving on the balloon no attempt was made to haul it down, because it did not swing round at all as they usually do when being wound
in, and no parachute descent was made from the basket of the balloon.Sadly, Major Balcombe Brown’s luck finally ran out on 2 May 1918, when, as CO of No. 56 Squadron, he was shot down and killed near Martinpuich, France. ------------------------------ Dont suppose we'll ever see the event replicated at a future WOW show! Errol Five days before Balcombe Brown's scary balloon attack the luck of a fellow New Zealander, Captain Herbert Ambrose Cooper, ran out while flying a similarly equipment Nieuport, on 21 Jun 16: Aeroplane Casualty Report: Nieuport Scout A121. 110 Le Rhone. Duty: Proceeding to ROUVREL for practice with Rockets. Locality: No. 11 Squadron’s Aerodrome. Lewis guns carried, with gun Nos.: 1641 and 5 magazines. Other appliances (bomb racks, etc): Le Prieur set of Tubes for Rockets complete with electrical fittings also Le Prieur fixed Sight, Foster Gun Mounting. Where brought down: No. 11 Squadron’s Aerodrome. Short report . . . : Machine left Aerodrome on 21.6.16 at 9-0 a.m. The climb and speed appeared to be affected by the Rocket Tubes. The pilot began a right-hand bank which increased to vertical at the height of about 200 feet. The usual side-slip and nose-dive resulted. The pilot died about a quarter of an hour later, without recovering consciousness. I am of the opinion that the accident was due to the extra weight on the struts, swinging the machine around its longitudinal axis, which the later control was unable to counteract in time. Very great care should be taken in banking a machine thus fitted, as a normal movement of the lateral control would be liable to produce a very much greater bank than intended. (Sd) T. O. B. Hubbard. Major, Commanding No 11. Squadron. Remarks by Wing Commander as to whether machine is toe be struck off, repaired in Squadron or recommended for transfer to A.D. for repair: Machine completely wrecked with Lewis Gun, Foster Mounting, Le Prieur Sight and 1 set of Le Prieur Electrical Fittings and Rocket Tubes. Struck off No. 11 Squadron and R.F.C. In the Field. Engine very badly damaged and any remaining serviceable parts to be returned to No. 2 Aircraft Depot [struck out entry replaced with handwritten] 3. A.A.P. [sic? 3 Aircraft Park, at Candas, was redesignated 2 Aircraft Depot on 13 Dec 15] Errol |
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andynz
Pilot Officer
Posts: 47
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Post by andynz on Mar 31, 2019 21:33:56 GMT 12
Back to airshow news, Kiwi aerobatic legend Pam Collings will be in the commentary box while forum member Andrew Love performs her routine in Pitts ZK-FRJ. A very cool addition to the programme. Unfortunately I can't link to the Facebook post on this machine, hopefully someone else can help out.   Here are a couple of contrasting snaps. Pam at a training camp in 1976, near Kiev. And Gavin Conroy's photo of Ryan Southam, Richard Hood and myself flying ZK-FRJ, Morris Tull's Pitts S1S, identical to Pam's and one she flew after selling hers in the 90s. Should be hoot, now to go practice... |
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Post by typerated on Apr 7, 2019 18:48:43 GMT 12
From the website it looks like a few missing this year:
Corsair, Catalina,T-28
Any of the Masterton WW1 machines or any historic jets?
Maybe the website is just out of date
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Post by mcmaster on Apr 7, 2019 19:02:16 GMT 12
From the website it looks like a few missing this year: Corsair, Catalina,T-28 Any of the Masterton WW1 machines or any historic jets? Maybe the website is just out of date The website isn't as clear as it could be. They need a succinct air and ground display list rather than the long.. what you will see section which talk about previous years. Minor gripe and maybe thats coming. Also maintaining the earlier release re RAAF Rhino's coming just confuses the issue for people. |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 7, 2019 19:23:05 GMT 12
The Corsair has not been flying for nearly two years and definitely will not be there. Also Keith Skilling has retired from display flying, so we'll never see his awesome Corsair display again, sadly.
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Post by typerated on Apr 7, 2019 19:36:03 GMT 12
The Corsair has not been flying for nearly two years and definitely will not be there. Also Keith Skilling has retired from display flying, so we'll never see his awesome Corsair display again, sadly. Definitely a shame, both for watching Keith and the aircraft. Apart from the Hornet, Omaka (looking at the website) seems a bit under par this time. No overseas warbirds this year either it seems |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 7, 2019 20:12:56 GMT 12
"Under par"?
They are expecting to offer three Spitfires, a P-40 Kittyhawk, a Mustang, a Yak 3, a Fw190 replica, an Anson, an Avenger, the Harvard team, two DC-3's, a Staggerwing, a Fox Moth, a Tiger Moth, a Ryan STM, a Pitts S2, a MX5, the Yak 52 team, the Fairchild, the Hornets, the RNZAF, WWI replicas, pioneer types, and a lot more.
That is not 'under par', that is what I call a bloody good airshow line up. And it's the best line up you'll see at any NZ airshow this year.
An overseas visiting warbird is always nice but they are very expensive and they add a lot more risk to an airshow. don't forget that their last show was badly effected by two natural events, the road closure of SH1 due to the Kaikoura quake; and the massive storm that saw the ferry crossings and flights into Blenheim cancelled. And the storm damaged the airfield's public area too. These factors led to a lot smaller crowd than normal showing up, and with fewer people through the gate - and I am making an assumption here - but perhaps just maybe they don't have the same amount in the kitty for this airshow as usual? How about rather than saying it's under par, lets all support the show, make sure we get as many through the gate as possible this time, and build that kitty back up so in 2021 they can look at the big ticket overseas items again?
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Post by typerated on Apr 7, 2019 20:31:34 GMT 12
"Under par"? They are expecting to offer three Spitfires, a P-40 Kittyhawk, a Mustang, a Yak 3, a Fw190 replica, an Anson, an Avenger, the Harvard team, two DC-3's, a Staggerwing, a Fox Moth, a Tiger Moth, a Ryan STM, a Pitts S2, a MX5, the Yak 52 team, the Fairchild, the Hornets, the RNZAF, WWI replicas, pioneer types, and a lot more. That is not 'under par', that is what I call a bloody good airshow line up. And it's the best line up you'll see at any NZ airshow this year. Still, it does not seem to be the level of the last few shows (at least from the website) Maybe it is just the Masterton based aircraft and the lack of classic jets that makes it feel light to me. |
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Post by l29 on Apr 7, 2019 20:58:48 GMT 12
Your answer is money, no $$ means they don't turn up.
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Post by shorty on Apr 7, 2019 21:01:34 GMT 12
I tend to agree about the aircraft that won't be there this year, the sooner the two outfits can get things sorted between them the better.
If I hadn't already paid for my Gold Pass I would probably not bother this year
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Post by ErrolC on Apr 7, 2019 21:20:55 GMT 12
The lack of TVAL aircraft (and Corsair/P-40) flying always meant that the show will be somewhat different from the previous ones. It's great that various long-term projects (and the NZ Warbirds WW1 types) are expected to fly and provide an interesting variety of types. The Hornets should definately help with the important Joe Public audience.
I'm greatly looking forward to it, the atmosphere is always welcoming and ... honest?
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Post by Mustang51 on Apr 7, 2019 22:20:55 GMT 12
The Wings Over Wairarapa show was "Bloody Great" despite 10 major aircraft not arriving due to the potential weather. Judge not before but after the event. Omaka is a great show and long may it continue !
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Post by vultee43 on Apr 7, 2019 22:31:29 GMT 12
Looks like a pretty decent line up to me. Given the amount of volunteer time given and the expense involved, it is a huge effort. Kudos to anyone who puts it on the line. If parties don't want play together then it is not for us to judge. Owners can choose how and why the use their aircraft.
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Post by Gavin Conroy on Apr 8, 2019 19:16:37 GMT 12
A huge amount of work is going into this show, and sure I speak for the rest of the committee in saying we have never put so much work into an airshow, we have a lot of obligations to meet that do not involve aeroplanes.
We have never had a lot of jets at Classic Fighters over the years, with the F-18s coming this gives the jet fans their buzz however the Venom should be at the show.
Same with the T-28 it is not a type we have had at the show much if at all but can confirm the Catalina will be at the show.
The Corsair will not be here as much as we would like to see it, we have had it at every show we could in the past, we love it just as much as everyone else.
TVAL would like to keep their aircraft flying out of Hood only for the foreseeable future, it is such a massive job bringing rare aircraft down to put them back together then pulled apart a couple of days later to be taken back again and flying some types over water can have its challenges so we understand their position.
That decision has meant we have tried to build a good set of other WW1 era aircraft to display, and can confirm that as well as the types listed on the website the BE.2 from NZ Warbirds will be making an appearance as well which we are all very pleased about.
Its not possible to update the aircraft page as often as some would like with the types coming as there is still work being done in the background to produce the best show we can and we are always trying to lift the bar and the props team are working on some very cool ideas.
Rest assured we are all working our backsides off down here to put on the best show we can, we had hoped for two Mustangs for example but the owner of "Dove Of Peace" is overseas at the time of the show so we will not see that aircraft here, we will never have all of the big bangers here as it just too costly and some aircraft are not available for the show for various reasons like the one I have just mentioned.
When these things happen we look for other aircraft that might be able to attend and all of this work takes time.
One thing we are very proud of down here is the ability to fly the local aircraft at the show like the Fw-190, Mk XIV Spitfire, Yak 3, and Anson. Has been decades of work building up this set of very rare aircraft so it
means we can roll them out of the AHC and go fly which is very cool to be able to do.
So we hope to see as many as possible of you here.
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Post by joey05 on Apr 8, 2019 20:12:34 GMT 12
Well said Gavin, and I have never been to any other airfield/airshpw where it seems you can reach out and touch the aircraft, Ill be there standing close to where Mr Conroy and his team of snappers do their work as that corner is just magic!
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Post by corsairarm on Apr 8, 2019 20:15:00 GMT 12
I know I would like to go but just can't afford it. I wanted to see the FW190 and if that's all I saw then it would have been worth it.
Just have to come to the next one.
What I would really like to see is a airshow in Whenuapai Auckland. The biggest city in NZ and no one can get it together. I am NOT criticizing Warbirds, I enjoy going to their open days.
The last big airshow at Warbirds for the first Mozzie was great.
Keep it up Omaka.
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Post by Gavin Conroy on Apr 8, 2019 21:27:52 GMT 12
Well said Gavin, and I have never been to any other airfield/airshpw where it seems you can reach out and touch the aircraft, Ill be there standing close to where Mr Conroy and his team of snappers do their work as that corner is just magic! Haven't got down there much over the last couple of shows as things have changed a bit for me which is good. Have a couple of good photographers who photograph the show for the AHC meaning I don't have to which is good, only go down there to make sure everyone is behaving :-) |
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Post by vultee43 on Apr 8, 2019 23:54:26 GMT 12
Perfectly articulated Gavin. Where else in the world are you going to find an airworthy Anson? Along with WOW it is also one of the best air show locations in the world.
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Post by flyinkiwi on Apr 9, 2019 8:32:57 GMT 12
Perfectly articulated Gavin. Where else in the world are you going to find an airworthy Anson? There is one in the UK but it's not a Mk 1. |
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