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Post by corsair67 on Aug 28, 2006 22:22:18 GMT 12
Thanks for that Colin; it all kind of makes sense now.
Yes, seeing all the Kiwis on Parade in their uniforms would have looked rather good I think, especially if they were lined up in gradients of colour from khaki to grey to white! ;D
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Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 28, 2006 22:48:46 GMT 12
Hmm, the Kiwis in Singapore sounds like It Ain't Hal Hot Mum where they all had different uniforms, much the the Sgt Major's chagrin Colin or anyone, I've wondered for ages since I 'raight clicked' this shot from a TradeMe acutaion, is this stuff wartime Pacific RNZAF or postwar KD insignia?
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Post by steve on Aug 29, 2006 1:38:55 GMT 12
Thanks Dave and Colin for human insights in your time within the RNZAF...excel reading... o/t...just looking at Fox News report on the crash of the commuter jet taking of from a short runway in Kentucky...reminds me of Whenuapais third runway unused know...any ideas when it was disused for take off landings?
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Post by phil82 on Aug 29, 2006 11:13:06 GMT 12
Steve, I wouldn't want to create the impression that the air force, any air force, is bound up by displinarians wandering around shouting at people. It isn't. For sure, the RNZAF is a military force which is an extension of the political will of a country which may one day have to send it out to effect mayhem and kill people, and as such it has to have the necessary legislation in place, but the people in the air force are all specialists in one form or another, and by and large intelligent people, and most of them go through their whole careers without falling foul of the rules. They are there, but not always obvious!
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Post by steve on Aug 30, 2006 1:10:45 GMT 12
Sure...I understand....thanks you guys for sharing memories...I spend my spare time looking through 2nd hand bookstores for any books with reference to the RNZAF and short stories etc..then i come home and read the insights from you and Dave which takes a liitle time to post..but worth the read
....one subject that hasn't come up often is the Life on Station eg Whenuapai when it was a civil/militaqry mix...i remember as a kid going to Sydney on the Teal Electra and going absent to tour the base before been cautioned that i was out of bounds! ( I was fasinated in getting to close to a RNZAF DC6!)
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Post by steve on Aug 30, 2006 1:33:33 GMT 12
whoops way of topic...ok.....i will brings the topic back to RAAF...Canberra Airport was a Military/civil aerodrome up to recently...or still is ..not sure ...was the military component only VIP or some other components?
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Post by corsair67 on Aug 30, 2006 10:03:03 GMT 12
Yep, that's correct Steve, Canberra (Fairbairn) was a civil/military airport, but it was sold to a private company in 1998. The RAAF Base was decommissioned in 2003, but the RAAF still have a presence at the airport with 34SQN (VIP Sqdn) still operating from there.
QANTAS Defence Services have two hangars at Fairbairn, and they perform all the maintenance on the B737 and Challenger 604 jets operated by 34SQN.
The civil terminal is located on the southern side while the RAAF hangars and base facilities are located on the eastern side of the field.
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