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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 10, 2008 18:23:15 GMT 12
That is looking really nice now, it's great to see the community are still caring for this historic aircraft and landmark.
There is something odd about the tail, isn't there.
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Post by sniff on Jun 10, 2008 19:55:45 GMT 12
I think the restoration a few years back was purely cosmetic judging by corrosion in the airframe. The wing mounting flanges look like silver Weetbix, it would not supprise me to hear a wing has fallen off. Also I do not think it is NZ980 in Tauranga as I have just found a pic. on page 106 in Leslie Hunts Veteran and Vintage Aircraft (enlarged edition) and it shows NZ980 mounted on its mainwheels with the tailwheel raised in the air on a stand with a ladder into the rear cockpit, interestingly the rudder appears to be off a Ceres. It certainly isnt a T-6 original, Dave. My guess would be that fabric surfaces were too hard to maintain and replaced with something down market.
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Post by Bruce on Jun 10, 2008 21:04:18 GMT 12
So did you go down the slide Mumbles?
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Post by nzav8a on Jun 11, 2008 21:01:11 GMT 12
NZ946 Methven January 1981
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jun 11, 2008 21:12:55 GMT 12
Bingo! So its not the Methven one.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 11, 2008 21:13:12 GMT 12
That's a great photo nzav8a! Now, does that clear things up, or complicate the issue further... ;D
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Post by mumbles on Jun 13, 2008 9:15:18 GMT 12
So did you go down the slide Mumbles? Of course!
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Post by fletcherfu24 on Jun 13, 2008 17:07:31 GMT 12
Time to call International Rescue................My money is its somewhere in Canada.
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Post by shorty on Jun 13, 2008 19:31:46 GMT 12
Well here's another shot of the Pahiatua Harvard and I reckon it the same one as in post #1, especially with that big tree behind it.
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Post by Bruce on Jun 13, 2008 20:54:53 GMT 12
O.K, Have been doing some web research on Takapau, Hawkes Bay (there is also A Takapau inland from gisborne, but that is a rural district and no built up area) On the Basis that the Harvard was removed from Takapau in the 1980s, and Playgrounds tend to be public reserves, I made the assumption that there would still be a playground of some sort in Takapau. On the Central HB district council web page it has one listed, and even has a map to show where it is. Checked Google Earth, Fotunately Takapau is in a High - res area. Found the playground site, then tried lining up surrounding buildings with those in the picture - not expecting all of them to be there, but Takapau doesnt strike me as the kind of place where wholesale demolition and property development goes on! Nothing remotely matches alignment wise. O.K, maybe the playground wasnt a council one, perhaps the local school? Checked GE again, A little better, but still no suitable match. Final possibility was the recreational reserve. No sign of a playground, but a better match - depends on how extensively the playing fields etc have been developed. Not much joy from Takapau it seems. Options remaining: 1. it is the Morrinsville Harvard: unlikely, Having been in it in the 1980s, it was definitely largely complete inside, no slide and access was from the RH side. 2. It was the Methven Harvard: This would require a strip and repaint at some stage before the 1980s, the loss of substantial components and the repositioning of the slide and ladder - Unlikely. 3. It was the Pahiatua Harvard - Lots of differences in terms of the slide arrangement, mounting poles etc, and the location based on the background is inconclusive - Would need more substantial evendence before this was confirmed. 4. It was Canadian. - The houses are NZ style, as are the cube type climbing frames etc. The aparent maple leaf is likely due to damaged paint near the baggage door latch. Not convinced to head to Canada yet.... 5. it was some other machine not previously recorded. possible but frustrating! It still may be Takapau - I just cant find where it would fit! its worse than Chilean light aircraft! (its not Chile by any chance?...... )
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 13, 2008 21:47:04 GMT 12
I do not believe there to be a maple leaf at all on the roundel. I think there has been a rectangular panel attached to the skin for some reason to perhaps patch a hole and it seems to be across the top of the roundel with the top part of the red dot on the new panel. It is raised and the shadow of that panel causes the lower part of the red dot to look like it has leaf-like arms, but I'm not convinced. Note the panel is a very similar size to another that is further up the airframe but missing. It strikes me as very curious as to how two Harvards came to be turned into slides and mounted in such a similar way in two different towns. The Methven one is a very similar design to the Pahiatua mounting. I wonder if the same designer was involved. or was it perhaps more common than I think? Have you ever seen other planes turned into slides like this with the same arrangement?
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Post by lumpy on Jun 13, 2008 22:15:38 GMT 12
The Pahiatua one is mounted slightly diving to the left ,the orignal is straight and level .The slide is also totally different where it meets the ground . I also agree with Dave , Im not convinced on the Maple leaf , but the lack of a definitive answer sugests this is probably not be in NZ
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 13, 2008 22:27:50 GMT 12
It is in NZ. I checked with Peter (who posted the photo) and his friend who's album he got it from took it whilst on a trip to NZ). It was the same trip that the photos of Stan and the Moth Minor were taken.
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Post by fletcherfu24 on Jun 13, 2008 22:36:01 GMT 12
Another clue is the rear cockpit frame,the playground Harvard has the same 2 frame rear canopy,with a rounded coaming as the Canadian built example in the photo.The NZ harvard has a single frame rear screen and the coaming is quite square. The roundel on the NZ planes appears to have been either on the red or infront of the red rear fuselalge but not across the demarcation line on the playground example,unless of course it was repainted by the locals!.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 13, 2008 22:52:57 GMT 12
But the Harvard slide is a Mk 2a, and the Harvard NZ1015 is a Mk IIIa. Does that make a difference? Some of NZ's Harvards were also Canadian built and there were several variations of canopy. NZ1099 and the one that the CAF has have the canopies which open for poking a gun out.
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Post by Bruce on Jun 13, 2008 23:07:57 GMT 12
Sorry, thats not really correct... :/ The canopy frame is the main differing feature between Mark IIs and III's - it relates to provision for a rear cockpit gun mount (gunnery Mk II's and IIA's did have the single side panel rear canopy as well) and is not a Canadian Special mod. All the Mark IIs in the Bennetts yard (see www.rnzaf.proboards43.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=civil&thread=4368&page=2) have them for example. Canadian machines however tend to have single side panels on the sliding sections - without the breakout bars, as your canadian picture shows, the vertical breakout bars are still on the playground machine.. Regarding the Roundel Position, the playground machine is in the late 1960s scheme - the first of the international Orange schemes. Before this the rear fuse was Dayglo orange, as on Harvard 57. At this point the roundels (Which generally had Silver fern Transfers in the middle) were larger and slightly further forawrd. NZ1015 is in a late service scheme, with modern variations (the blue is darker than 1977 colours) so isnt representative. It is of course likely that the playground example has been repainted locally as you suggest. Note how different the centre is from a canadian maple leaf as well. There is nothing specific to Suggest Canada. Still at a loss as to where though....
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Post by lumpy on Jun 13, 2008 23:30:08 GMT 12
With the wealth of knowledge on this board , I struggle to understand why this is such a mystry .OK , so its definitly on a NZ trip , hows about a stop over on the way ? ( play grounds near airports in OZ maybe ? ?)
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Post by hairy on Jun 13, 2008 23:36:07 GMT 12
( play grounds near airports in OZ maybe ? ?) No indigenous Harvards in OZ, all the ones they have were imported as "Warbirds" so doubtful one would end up in a Playground.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 13, 2008 23:49:13 GMT 12
I have never yet seen a RCAF Harvard in the grey and orange scheme. Did they actually fly them in thse colours? I've only seen them in yellow or silver.
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Post by lumpy on Jun 14, 2008 0:01:03 GMT 12
Very good point Hairy , just trying to " think outside the box ",a little . As I said , I think it would have been long since identified if it were here . Some other stop off maybe ?
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