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Post by johnnyfalcon on Apr 10, 2023 16:04:03 GMT 12
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Post by Mustang51 on Apr 10, 2023 17:15:41 GMT 12
.....and the Grand Champion Warbird is................
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Apr 10, 2023 17:48:05 GMT 12
.....and the Grand Champion Warbird is................ ...The Same!! |
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Post by skyhawkdon on Apr 10, 2023 19:58:43 GMT 12
Great photos Johnny. The Anson is certainly well flown in its display, but I don't remember it going vertical! ;+)
Yes, I literally won the lottery on Saturday. Around 11.30am I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognise and it was Al Marshall. "You won the raffle. See you at the Mossie at 12"! WOW, I was speechless (except to rub it in with Baz who had bought the two tickets after me and felt robbed!). An unforgettable experience and thank you to all the team who made it possible, the Smith family (I got to say thank you to George which was very special), Al, Deane, Anthony, Grace and probably a few others who I can't remember. They held an auction for the next run while I was in the aircraft and the next seat sold for $2,600, so I was pretty happy with my $40 investment!
Climbing the ladder into the cockpit was a squeeze in itself. Deane said I would have to put my head in Al's lap to get in and he wasn't wrong! Just as well we are mates eh AL!
After the run Al got out and let me stay in the aircraft for quite a while (Johnny said it appeared that I didn't want to leave!). Al's advice as he departed was to just sit and soak it all up, to sit in the pilot's seat if I wanted (like I needed to be asked!) and to gun a few Me-109s and Fw-190s! Sitting in the pilot's seat was an added bonus. Impressions: the cockpit is a very snug fit for two burly blokes! How they did it with all their flying kit on is amazing. Much like a Lancaster crew, struggling over the wing spars. How did the Navigator operate the radios and other gear that was behind him? He must have been a contortionist. The hinged armour plate (with its small round window) behind the Navigator's head would have been a pain to lift up and down.
What did I learn that I didn't know before? The pilot's gunsight isn't positioned directly in front of him, it is in the middle of the windscreen, so to see through it and aim at anything the pilot had to cock his head to the side. Well, it is British after all!
The props are VERY close to the cockpit. The noise from the engines and exhaust must have been delightfully deafening at full power. The idle cut off's are behind and between the pilot and Navigator. Again, a contortionist act by the pilot to get at them.
The aircraft is such a time capsule inside. Everything is there, everything original. For this 75 Squadron old boy it was a special connection to the past. I was pleased to be wearing my 75 Squadron hat. Ake Ake Kia Kaha.
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Apr 10, 2023 20:16:12 GMT 12
Great post, Don! Well deserved win
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Post by baz62 on Apr 11, 2023 8:33:40 GMT 12
Yes, I literally won the lottery on Saturday. Around 11.30am I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognise and it was Al Marshall. "You won the raffle. See you at the Mossie at 12"! WOW, I was speechless (except to rub it in with Baz who had bought the two tickets after me and felt robbed!). The phrase the quick and the dead came to mind! Honestly though it couldn't have gone to a more deserving person, I mean the connection to 75 Squadron alone was enough. Don's smile took ages to go so it was certainly worth it! Anthony Galbraith managed to come up for Saturday and I gave him the use of the spare Gold Pass I had.(note to self.....don't forget to book the dogs into kennels waaaaay earlier next time! Teresa didn't mind too much staying home as she got to work on our new garden......plus we are heading out to buy more plants. Cant say no now can I?) Anthony knew John Smith very well and he and John collaborated over the years finding missing items for the Mosquito as although everything is inside the cockpit now, most of it was removed by the RNZAF prior to auction. Anthony said he had never seen the Mosquito run apart from the YouTube video but had been inside her many times. But seeing that engine run was the highlight for him even though she didn't fly. So well done Team Mosquito for doing such a great job on a real icon in New Zealand Aviation history. |
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Post by tbf2504 on Apr 11, 2023 10:59:39 GMT 12
Hi Baz, having suffered from kidney stones twice, I can definitely sympathize with you. Sad that you missed the mossie and the V2, however, there is always next time!
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Post by colford on Apr 11, 2023 17:30:16 GMT 12
Is this where I chip in and say that I too had a great time at Classic Fighters Omaka 2023 covering from Wednesday to Sunday with lots of catching up with forum members and friends over that time. A stack of photos and videos stored on the memory cards of my cameras that I won't have the opportunity to download until I get home in a few weeks time. Second flight in Full Noise on Thursday, won the first Mosquito engine run raffle on the Friday, scenic flight in the DC-3 Dakota with my wife on the Sunday, so a full on time. Now figuring out how to make it over for Wanaka next year.
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Post by nuuumannn on Apr 11, 2023 18:28:17 GMT 12
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Post by nuuumannn on Apr 11, 2023 18:37:42 GMT 12
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Post by planecrazy on Apr 11, 2023 19:07:53 GMT 12
Now that is a set of photos, love the moody shots with the clouds and hills in the back ground,
the flickr album great as well, thanks for sharing awesome!
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Post by Antonio on Apr 11, 2023 20:21:03 GMT 12
Now that is a set of photos, love the moody shots with the clouds and hills in the back ground, the flickr album great as well, thanks for sharing awesome! Ditto Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. Thank you so much for posting them |
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Post by campbellbox on Apr 11, 2023 21:20:31 GMT 12
My partner and I had a jolly fine time. We dressed for the conditions on Friday afternoon/evening and survived pretty nicely. For some reason I thought it was going to be warmer on Saturday and I am not sure I have ever been so cold. We had to splash out on an official air show blanket to survive the day! Sunday morning was a gorgeous contrast with quite a lot of sun, which was very much appreciated. I feel like it was a major privilege to see both the FW-190 and Spitfire XIV fly. They don't get out much, and after seeing the Spitfire on the apron at Woodbourne when we arrived on Thursday night I was worried we would miss out completely. The FW seems to have had a trouble-free event, which was great. I was surprised at the FW's engine note - I was expecting a tiger-ish growl, but it was more tractor-ish. My favourite displays did not come from where I expected - I must have seen dozens of RNZAF Hercules displays, but the touch and go after the angled approach to Omaka was really impressive. I also loved the Trojan pair, and the double Harvard display was eye catching too. I loved seeing the recognition lights on the underside of Bevan's machine in the evening display - I have glued heaps of those little lights into models but that's the first time I can remember seeing them in use. I'll pay more attention to them in 1/48 scale in future! I loved seeing the bombs on this Harvard too. Having stores on the aircraft adds a really interesting dimension. The Heritage Flight which combines the Black Falcons with Spitfire PV270 is a great touch. The formation work of the Black Falcons was flawless, and seeing the Spitfire tucked in there was a delight. Here are a few of my partner's shots from the weekend: Spitfire AL getting its gear up on Sunday  Spitfire gear up by Campbell McGill, on Flickr RNZAF Heritage Flight  Black Falcons with Spifire by Campbell McGill, on Flickr Bombed up Harvard  Bombed up Harvard by Campbell McGill, on Flickr |
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Post by Mustang51 on Apr 11, 2023 23:12:06 GMT 12
Now those shots really make me sad I was not able to be there............
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Post by tbf2504 on Apr 12, 2023 8:50:48 GMT 12
Ditto! Overall a very impressive show and congrats to the organisers and participants. Will definitely have to make it to the next one
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Post by nuuumannn on Apr 13, 2023 9:58:16 GMT 12
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Post by nuuumannn on Apr 13, 2023 9:59:42 GMT 12
Now that is a set of photos, love the moody shots with the clouds and hills in the back ground, the flickr album great as well, thanks for sharing awesome! Thank you, kind sir. Much appreciated of you, Peter, given your work. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2023 17:17:02 GMT 12
I had a nice time  I took more photos than at any previous show and will get some up in this thread on Sunday or Monday - the last few days have been all about recovery and returning to normal. The new camera is having teething issues but I knew others would be much better prepared...there are already some superb shots in this thread I absolutely love. It was just fantastic to catch up with so many people over the weekend, friends old and new and folks I've wanted to meet for a very long time. Unusually for me I actually missed several displays (I got NO photos of the two Reno Yaks flying together or the Spitfire pair!) as I was so engrossed in chatting. Even so there are several folks I totally missed - I guess I'll have to go back sometime! we had a great time up there in the bar after the show, got to chat to Easty and conrgatulate him on his engagement to Zac Yates............that's right isn't it Zac?  Gillian is a lovely lady and I'd never dream of coming between them! But Easty was fantastic and it was great to chat a few times over the weekend. He's a great guy and was very generous with his time. |
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Post by planecrazy on Apr 15, 2023 20:45:53 GMT 12
Just found this on the tube.
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Post by Mustang51 on Apr 15, 2023 22:28:11 GMT 12
So wish I was there
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