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Post by Mustang51 on Feb 14, 2022 18:17:27 GMT 12
Interesting to me is the use of airbags back then....
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 14, 2022 18:43:24 GMT 12
It was needed. As Camtech says above, a Lodestar was damaged at Norfolk Island.
I have a feeling that a Ventura mainplane was also flown from New Zealand to the Pacific this way.
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Post by camtech on Feb 14, 2022 19:20:11 GMT 12
Correct, Dave. Details escape me at the moment, but i'll have a dig.
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Post by denysjones on Feb 14, 2022 19:40:53 GMT 12
Charles Darby's "RNZAF the first decade" page 79 shows a wing under NZ3517 and calls it as a Ventura wing.
There appear to be differences in the number and layout of the attachments of the wing to the C47 centre section. That might well indicate that a Ventura mainplane could perhaps be heavier than a Lodestar one.
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Post by tbf2504 on Feb 15, 2022 8:04:15 GMT 12
Both the carriage of the wing to Norfolk and one of a Ventura wing being carried up in the Pacific are covered in detail in our book "DC3 Southern Skies Pioneer" the pilot was the same on both occasions Jim Steel.
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Post by madmac on Feb 15, 2022 8:43:19 GMT 12
Very interesting that someone saw fit to document such an interesting exercise. So was it just training or was a spare wing needed after damage? I would guess the Engineering Officer (or who ever signed off) wanted a record for if they did it again (or C-47 didn't make it to Norfolk).
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Post by emron on Feb 15, 2022 10:14:09 GMT 12
I don’t think there was any external load points standard on the C-47. It looks like they picked up fuel tank cover holes along the spar. It must have caused a lot of drag and I can see that it prevented the flaps from extending as well!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 24, 2022 11:46:34 GMT 12
I really love this shot taken on the 16th of September 1950 at RNZAF Station Taieri during Air Force Day, because it's a really neat photo. But it's extra special because that closest Mosquito is PZ474, the third Mosquito that was restored to fly by Avspecs! It is now airworthy in California with Charles Somers' collection. That day two Mosquitoes of No. 75 Squadron RNZAF visited Taieri, and one of the two, flown by F/O R.J. Scott (Pilot) and F/Lt J.D. Garrett (Navigator), set off at 1.00pm from Taieri to attempt to set a speed record for distance to Whenuapai. It missed the record by 2 minutes. So, I wonder if that was PZ474. NOTE: The Museum's listing says they were not No. 75 Squadron aircraft but the newspapers said they were - LINK
If these were squadron Mossies, this also proves that camouflaged Mossies flew with No. 75 Squadron! WgG1642-50 LINK "High view of crowds and aircraft during the flying display at an open day at RNZAF Station Taieri. Aircraft on the tarmac: Tiger Moth, Harvard, Oxford, Anson, 2x Mosquito (not No. 75 Squadron aircraft. Three Tiger Moths in formation flying over the airfield."
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Post by davidd on Feb 24, 2022 12:59:58 GMT 12
As RNZAF Taieri was used as a storage facility for surplus Mosquitos (as well as Tiger Moths) in the late 1940s and early 1950s, it is tempting to speculate that perhaps the two Mossies in above image were just pushed out onto the flight line for the day to add a nostalgic wartime touch to proceedings. Woodbourne was the main storage location for surplus Mosquitos, so why Taieri was also required has always been a minor mystery to me. And would any board member like to suggest what the apparently efficient smoke generator on the field is being used for? The presence of most of the spectators visible in this view on the upper left seems to indicate that something interesting is happening (or about to happen?) Also any comments of the code letters on nearest aircraft welcome. (is this 131 Coastal OTU?)
I also think that the crowd is worth a quick study, with the September weather apparently tending to be on the chilly side.
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Post by oj on Feb 24, 2022 13:20:04 GMT 12
"Interesting to me is the use of airbags back then...."
No need for special lifting air bags when you have plenty of rubberised fuel cells on inventory as were used in most aircraft of the time. I think that is what they are, when you look at the end fittings and hose joints. Also when you look at each one singly, the amount of lift available is only about 200-300mm, which is why you need a stack.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 27, 2022 10:47:30 GMT 12
This is curious. Harvard NZ1050 was first erected on a pole as gate guard for Wigram on the 14th of June 1973. A set of photos have gone on the AFMNZ page showing NZ1050 being lowered from the pole by crane on the 30th of July 1976. So after only three years. Does anyone know why it was removed? Surely it did not need repainting after just three years, it had fresh paint in 1973. Was the plinth moved for some reason? WgG1507-76 Galion crane removing Harvard NZ1050 from the pole at the main gate of RNZAF Base Wigram. LINK
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Post by tbf2504 on Feb 27, 2022 11:52:31 GMT 12
The mosquito in the foreground of the Taieri photo is carrying the codes that were assigned to either 20 MU or 132 OTU RAF (the previous operators?)
In relation to taking down of NZ1050 in 1976, if I recall correctly there was a problem with water collecting inside the airframe and causing corrosion, so it was taken down and made watertight.
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Post by Mustang51 on Feb 27, 2022 12:18:45 GMT 12
oj, they did have 'rubberised' fuel tanks in that time but they were the ones with the self sealing material that expanded and closed holes due to combat damage and the like. I have not seen any thin walled fuel cells made from rubber that could be used as modern air bags. I have been wrong before (I think) and shall stand corrected . If anyone knows specific instances of thin walled rubber tanks I would like to know to expand my knowledge.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 27, 2022 16:04:08 GMT 12
The mosquito in the foreground of the Taieri photo is carrying the codes that were assigned to either 20 MU or 132 OTU RAF (the previous operators?) PZ474 served with No.80 OTU and No.132 OTU before it came to New Zealand. In relation to taking down of NZ1050 in 1976, if I recall correctly there was a problem with water collecting inside the airframe and causing corrosion, so it was taken down and made watertight. Oh right, thanks, that makes sense now.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 27, 2022 16:37:40 GMT 12
This fantastic photo showing all of RNZAF Station Rukuhia was posted today on the AFMNZ page. it was taken in 1946 and shows large groups of fighters and bombers lined up in storage with No. 1 Aircraft Storage Unit. I have been staring at it and I am afraid I cannot work it out. The gulley is at the bottom so that will be east of the airfield. Yet the main runway seems to run east-west. Not the north-south orientation of today. And the two smaller runways don't seem to align with anything today either. None of the roads seem to align with the roads today but I know a lot of changes to roads happened there postwar. Not only that but there are two small hangars and some buildings on the left, which I cannot place, but the biggie is I cannot see the large hangars that were where Pacific Aerospace is now, on the right in orientation. This is hurting my Sunday afternoon brain and I can only conclude is the photo back to front? If not, can someone give me a reference so i can get my bearings please? MUS95115 Aerial oblique of RNZAF Station Rukuhia, with aircraft stored on the field, waiting to be sold for scrap. LINK
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Post by McFly on Mar 27, 2022 16:40:37 GMT 12
This fantastic photo showing all of RNZAF Station Rukuhia was posted today on the AFMNZ page. it was taken in 1946 and shows large groups of fighters and bombers lined up in storage with No. 1 Aircraft Storage Unit. I have been staring at it and I am afraid I cannot work it out. The gulley is at the bottom so that will be east of the airfield. Yet the main runway seems to run east-west. Not the north-south orientation of today. And the two smaller runways don't seem to align with anything today either. None of the roads seem to align with the roads today but I know a lot of changes to roads happened there postwar. Not only that but there are two small hangars and some buildings on the left, which I cannot place, but the biggie is I cannot see the large hangars that were where Pacific Aerospace is now, on the right in orientation. This is hurting my Sunday afternoon brain and I can only conclude is the photo back to front? If not, can someone give me a reference so i can get my bearings please? MUS95115 Aerial oblique of RNZAF Station Rukuhia, with aircraft stored on the field, waiting to be sold for scrap. LINK
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 27, 2022 16:53:25 GMT 12
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Post by Bruce on Mar 28, 2022 9:51:03 GMT 12
McFly's reverse photo isnt correct. The original was around the right way. A few landmarks for orientation: The square hangar is the old Waikato Aero Club Hangar which faces Due East, The half round hangar in the "nose hangar" - the concrete slab of which is still used as a run-up area today. behind those hangars, past the row of trees, is the old Rukuhia dairy factory on the corner of what is now the corner of SH3 and Ingram Rd. The state highway crosses the end of the east-west runway and heads up the hill to Rukuhia village. the big hangars will be out of frame to the Right hand side. The modern terminal would be about where the two "diagonal" runways cross. The roading layout was extensively changed in the 1960s, as was the alignment of the main runway. I'll find some aerial pictures on Retrolens which may help.
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Post by hardyakka on Mar 28, 2022 12:39:21 GMT 12
McFly's reverse photo isnt correct. The original was around the right way. A few landmarks for orientation: The square hangar is the old Waikato Aero Club Hangar which faces Due East, The half round hangar in the "nose hangar" - the concrete slab of which is still used as a run-up area today. behind those hangars, past the row of trees, is the old Rukuhia dairy factory on the corner of what is now the corner of SH3 and Ingram Rd. The state highway crosses the end of the east-west runway and heads up the hill to Rukuhia village. the big hangars will be out of frame to the Right hand side. The modern terminal would be about where the two "diagonal" runways cross. The roading layout was extensively changed in the 1960s, as was the alignment of the main runway. I'll find some aerial pictures on Retrolens which may help. So the camera aircraft is Southeast of the field and the image is looking Northwest. In the foreground there seems to be a rubbish dump-scar in the bush going down into the gully. Had they already started smelting down the surplus aircraft in 1946? Here is an image taken from Google Earth that I reckon is pretty close to the viewpoint of the original Without knowing the focal length of the lens used, it is quite hard to get an exact match.
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Post by flyinkiwi on Mar 28, 2022 14:07:48 GMT 12
You can clearly see the road that is now SH3 in the upper left of the original photo with the intersection of Narrow Rd in the correct position and Rukuhia township in the distant background. I think Evan's Google Earth screen grab has a slightly more northerly perspective and is zoomed in further but the position is close enough.
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