junior
Flight Lieutenant
Wibble
Posts: 95
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Post by junior on Sept 29, 2013 5:44:39 GMT 12
Wow... you guys never cease to amaze me by digging up these old archives from obscure places.
Thank you so much for the contribution. As a young fella growing up in Woodbourne in the early to late 70's, I can certainly relate to some of the articles in the magazine. I remember Frank Fesche (Parachuting article) as I used to knock about with son Tony through our primary school years. I believe Tony joined the AF as well as a pilot (?)
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Post by vansvilla on Sept 29, 2013 9:25:56 GMT 12
Can well remember being on roving patrols overnight by landrover during that time, catching a certain airman making the the beast of two backs under some trees at the civil airport terminal, picking mushrooms off the airfield, sold these in town later same morning. Because of doing all night shifts, 2 on, 4off were excused work during day time, so went apple picking to get a bit of xtra cash. Tim Shadbolt was involved as a protester, bit ironic that in later years was elected Mayor out Henderson way and consequently an honoured guest of the O mess Whenuapai!
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Post by vansvilla on Sept 29, 2013 9:30:10 GMT 12
Shorty, we used to run past Longbank once or twice a week, were not allowed to take shortcut across the front of it. Boundary's injunction to stick to the mowed grass was dutifully followed, imagine our delight when the mower took the shortcut and we faithfully stuck to the mowed grass as per instruction.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 29, 2013 10:15:03 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 29, 2013 10:19:31 GMT 12
Junior, not only did Tony join the RNZAF as a pilot (and flew helicopters) but he's also a member here on the forum, as Fish.
I see there's also some Marlborough Aero Club history in those old Pictorials too.
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Post by baronbeeza on Sept 29, 2013 14:13:27 GMT 12
www.converge.org.nz/abc/pr31-119.htmlwww.scribd.com/doc/23707500/August-1986I knew of Owen Wilkes and his team through the various West Coast connections throughout the '70's and into the '80's. Some of my school teachers, yes the younger ones, were well into this lifestyle. It made for many interesting times and stories. It really seems like another world these days. Tim appears to have done a good job at Woodbourne and this side of the story seems to think he was held in high regard. Perhaps he was a 'real' politician after-all.
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Post by horicle on Sept 29, 2013 16:41:58 GMT 12
The Longbank people were at WB during 1963. Some of their equipment was flown in that year. First a Globemaster with a long trailer on board (that nearly didn't make it down the ramp. Then a later load on a Herc that that sat engines running during the whole unload. I recall it as being an A model with the shorter nose radome. I also remember the reaction of the young American Airmen in our barrack block on 22/Nov/63 when the news of Kennedy's assassination came through (it was a weekend and you always remember where you were - for me, in the shower). I was away from WB during 1964 and on 27 March 65 I took the then Longbank Boss Morgan Closs for a couple of glider flights. His last flight command had been a Globemaster. I think he may have been the first Longbank Boss. In 1987 or later I visited EECC (ecky squeeky) a few time but don't recall anything 'special' about the building.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 29, 2013 17:26:50 GMT 12
Was Eacky Squeeky where the Kahu avionics were produced?
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Post by exkiwiforces on Sept 29, 2013 18:26:03 GMT 12
Wasn't this a part of the Omega System that the Yanks used before the advent of GPS?
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Post by baronbeeza on Sept 29, 2013 18:50:59 GMT 12
The Omega station never really was going to happen. There was a proposal for one at Lake Pearson but in the end it was established in Oz. Woodside in Victoria. Some of those low frequency masts are incredible, I can remember flying around in Dallas and there are some there that are about 1600' high. They were for sub communication at NAS Dallas. I read a few more pages of the pictorial magazine. That was Tim on Page 7 and I also saw the back cover pic at Page 51. No-one else I could recognise in the crowd. There was a pic of a Fiat Bambina chained to a pole, Lester Hope was a long time electrician at Safe and will be well known to some here. I am sure he will have memories of the incident.. EDIT. Perhaps the NZ site was more of a reality than I could remember, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLF_Transmitter_WoodsideIt seems that mast is 1400' high. |
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Post by exkiwiforces on Sept 29, 2013 19:08:59 GMT 12
Yes Baron, the VLF masts are bloody high/ big on the ground, as I've seen the ones at the Harold Holt Base in WA.
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Post by camtech on Sept 29, 2013 22:01:56 GMT 12
I can remember several C-118 aircraft overnighting at Wb during 1965 and I believe a C-124 - may have some photos somewhere.
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Post by SEAN on Sept 30, 2013 5:20:58 GMT 12
I am not sure how it all fits together, but there was also the Black Birch station that was in the hills above Blenheim. This was also run by the Americans, and I can remember during the early 80's the Dodge pickups coming on to Base.
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Post by snaphead on Sept 30, 2013 8:56:38 GMT 12
The YM also sold a thing called a Yankee sandwich which was t0asted bread, grilled cheese, ham, tomato and lettuce sandwich. Shorty, over here thats called a BLT, bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich. Longbank was operating in 1966 when I was at ACS. You rarely saw them around the base but I remember that one guy drove around in a corvette stingray. The Corvette Stingray that is mentioned, was that Cherry Red?? I may have a photo of it,was there on my Mechs course. There was also a whitish Dodge Dart used to park outside the mess. |
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Post by catherine on Sept 30, 2013 13:07:52 GMT 12
"300 strong party marched to Woodbourne to protest…"
Could someone please verify this? The story going around is that they changed their minds and bused in. It might even have been in the papers. I do know that it caused much mirth on the USAF side (it's one of the reasons why I remembered it so clearly after all these years).
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Post by supertweet on Oct 21, 2013 20:29:59 GMT 12
I was a radio operator at Woodbourne circa 1965 - 1968. We used to handle some telecommunications for Longbank. The unit got a mention in the book Harmonic 13 by Bruce Cathie on UFOs around Kaikoura. It was an upper atmospheric research facility run out of the USAF laboratories at Wight Patterson. Interesting place and people.
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Post by skyhawkdon on Oct 22, 2013 6:33:12 GMT 12
Was Eacky Squeeky where the Kahu avionics were produced? No the Kahu kit was built elsewhere (not at Woodbourne) and was assembled on the other side of the airfield. Eacky Squeeky built some Kahu test equipment and was more into test equipment calibration etc. when I was in the mob. |
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Post by jonesy on Oct 22, 2013 7:14:00 GMT 12
These are amazing stories coming out here-keep it up! Piece by piece it threads together the great conspiracy theories that abound regarding U.S. secret activities in that era. And there I was thinking the late '80s were heady days! It must have been a lot of fun back then, seems like the later on the years get the less fun things have gotten....  |
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Post by lancelink on Oct 28, 2013 19:26:19 GMT 12
Remember running past Longbank whilst at Sprog School, 1970, also guarding MT when the protest were held at the end of the airfield.
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Post by pjw4118 on Oct 31, 2013 9:02:24 GMT 12
John Walsh who owns Woodbourne farm next door ( the site of Fairhall aerodrome ) showed me around some years ago and the timber building was known as the CIA House. He said they were all friendly enough but he could never find out what they were really doing. Mind you with all the stuff John has on his farm , maybe the CIA were watching him.
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