Aircraft General Discussion

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Here's a Tiger in RNZAF colours at one of our local air displays, there are still quite a number of DH-82As around NZ.

Ian S C

[John OlsenParticipant @johnolsen79199]

Well Ian they did build about 8000 of them in what became the terminal building at Rongotai.

When I was a kid they were common over Masterton, to the point that almost any light aircraft was a "Tiger Moth" to us. Little did I know that had I been born a bit earlier I would have been seeing P51 Mustangs, they used to operate out of Hood aerodrome during WWII.

John

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Nearer 200 Tigers built in NZ there was a total of 335.

The Mustangs arrived in Aug/Sept 1945, only 30 out of an order of 370 that were to replace 12 squadrons of Corsairs arrived before the war ended. They mostly went into storage until the Territorial Airforce was started in 1951.

I see that one Corsair is at MOTAT, how is it getting on.

The aircraft at Hood may have been P-40s or Corsairs during the war.

Aerobatics Kiwi stile, well used to be, aerobatics while coupled together with the refuelling line. A-4K Skyhawks

Ian S C

[Anonymous]

Here is a link to download the AAIB interim report on the Hawker Hunter crash at Shoreham:

**LINK**

Andrew

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks, Andrew

MichaelG.

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Ian;

Thanks for the A4 pic.

When living in Lower Hutt in 1990/1991, I had the opportunity to fly to Hamilton for the day. After my work was done, a colleague and I went to the airport, had a tea and a biscuit on the outdoor patio (knee high white picket fence between us and the apron) where we were able to watch the flew-in-for-the-day NZAF repair crew figuring out why an A4 was blowing smoke rings whilst flying the day before (and made an emergency landing at Hamilton).

The ground crew had plans on the apron, held down by weights on each corner, and were scratching their heads while an A4 sat close by, running, with pilot aboard. Engine would be throttled up, back down again, and more head scratching.

Eventually one of the ground crew gave the pilot a wave to go and fly, which the pilot did. After the second wave.

He went to the end of the runway, way down behind trees. After what seemed like 5 minutes of full throttle (obviously brakes on), the little A4 rocketed down the runway, became airborne and flew off to the right and behind the terminal. Ground crew just stood on the apron. After a minute or two the little A4 flew over the terminal building at a very low/fast altitude; no smoke rings evident, so the ground crew removed the plans from the apron, hopped into their aircraft and flew off to places unknown.

What a nice way to spend an hour on a beautiful sunny day!

[Anonymous]

Posted by Paul Barrett on 02/09/2015 21:07:39:

I've got G-AOEI in my logbook too. Did my first solo on it when I learn't to fly at Cambridge. I think Bill Ison was the CP/Owner. I went on to own a share in the worlds smallest airline using a Tiger Moth. Got hundreds on hours in Moths and even won an aerobatic comp once in one.The judge said I did the best slow roll he had ever seen in a moth.

Paul

Good grief, it never occurred to me that some-one else on the forum would have flown the same Tiger. You've got way more hours on a Tiger than me. Must have been a very small airline; personal service in fact! I understand that Bill Ison was a founder member of the Cambridge Flying Group, and was CFI when I flew there in 1985/86. I did my GFT with Bill, and got a b0ll0cking before we'd even taken off. Doesn't put you in the best frame of mind for the test proper. At least I was taught to actually fly, rather than just be propelled through the course by an instructor building hours towards a commercial licence. Which is why I went to the Group in the first place, rather than the more conventional flying club. I think it took me 5 or 6 hours to go solo.

Martin: Digging around on the Cambridge Flying Group website I found that G-AOEI has been there since 1958, so comfortably over 50 years.

Andrew

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Thanks Andrew, a good chance I might of had a flight in it forty three years ago with Pilot Officer Page of 301 ATC Bury St Edmunds. I assume it has electronic communication between crew, when I went up in it it was a speaking tube.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

I think the NZ tigers still use the speaking tube, don't know about the ones on your side of the planet. They do carry radio gear these days, and GPS, although a good many pilots still use the roads and railway to navigate.

Ian S C

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

There is an expanded interim report on the "Wings Over New Zealand" site, not sure how I can transfer it here, but the aircraft is at Farnbough being inspected by the AAIB engineers

[Anonymous]

Posted by martin perman on 05/09/2015 09:22:40:
Thanks Andrew, a good chance I might of had a flight in it forty three years ago with Pilot Officer Page of 301 ATC Bury St Edmunds. I assume it has electronic communication between crew, when I went up in it it was a speaking tube.

Yes, it had a 'proper' radio and intercom system running from a 12V battery in the luggage compartment. Even back in my days Cambridge frowned upon non-radio aircraft. That made Bill Ison cross – he reckoned that in the war (when he trained) there were 30 aircraft going round all non-radio and no-one had a problem. To be honest the comms weren't that effective. Even with a leather helmet there was still quite a lot of wind noise. More than once I had to tell the instructor to wait until we were on the ground before dishing out a b0ll0cking, as I couldn't hear him properly.

I think it has a transponder now as well as a rather neat radio installation. People seem to wear crash helmets now rather than the old leather helmets. I assume there must be some sort of generator (wind powered?) as I don't think a battery will run a transponder for very long.

I even remembered to use the transponder in the tug yesterday when aerotowing. Although we're quite a few miles from Cambridge the airport has been pressing us to squawk 7000 (generic VFR code) when towing.

Andrew

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

A lot of the Warbird pilots wear a hard helmet that resembles a leather one here in NZ, others just use the normal Gentex, don't know what the jet pilots use(Strike Master/Hunter/ Vampire Venom plus three or four more types), a number of the pilots have a good number of hours aerial topdressing/spraying, so a "bone dome" is second nature, all a leather helmet does is keeps your ears from freezing off, and something to hold the ear pieces for the speaking tube, and along with the Irvine Jacket, the look.

Ian S C

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Ooops. Luckily it didn't catch fire.

[Anonymous]

Posted by Muzzer on 07/09/2015 16:24:23:

Ooops. Luckily it didn't catch fire.

Hmmm, that's a kick where it hurts – in the wallet.

Presumably an engine problem or failure? If so then the "boy dun good". I suspect that the glide angle isn't too bad, but with a large prop stopped, and presumably no feathering, it will act as a darn good airbrake. Combined with a high wing loading I hate to think what the descent rate would be.

Being daft I've turned the engine off * in various light aeroplanes and then landed them to see what it was like. If I recall correctly the Super Cub glide quite well at about 65mph, but the descent rate was over 600fpm.

Andrew

* Off means off, ie, throttle closed, fuel off and switches off, and then ease back on the stick to stop the prop windmilling.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

That Spitfire reminds me of Tim Wallace's crash at Wanaka, he' been flying a Merlin engine Spitfire in the morning, and then went on to fly the Gryphon powered on, the prop rotates in the opposite direction, requiring opposite rudder for take off, oh dear, wrong rudder.

Ian S C

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Spending the weekend at Haddenham steam rally, north east of Cambridge, with one of my engines. The skys were busy with Hercules, KC135’s and a pair of Strike Eagles but the highlight was seeing my first Osprey.

Martin P

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

They have started training, and licencing drone pilots here in NZ, the first licence went to Yamaha Motors Ltd for an unmanned crop spraying helicopter, there's going to be quite a few of those in NZ.

Glide ratio for a J-3 Cub  10:1, a PA-18 would be worse. Modified J-3s were used in the USA for training glider pilots during WW2, the engine was removed, and the cockpit  extended forward in the new nose section.

Ian S C

Edited By Ian S C on 16/09/2015 12:22:40

[Anonymous]

Just watched a couple of Mustangs doing formation aerobatics over the bungalow – superb, and a very characteristic sound. And quite rare, generally we see a lot more Spitfires than Mustangs.

Andrew

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

During the war, here we go- I was about 7 and on my way back to school after dinner and as I turned the corner I heard a Doodle Bug and could not see it and suddenly it came over the house behind me at about 150 ft and right on it's tail a Mustang firing it's guns at it, my first thought was if it goes bang i am dead so i flipped over a garden wall and crouched down. 20mm shell cases rained down and as the 2 planes receded I jumped up and collected some shells and they were still hot ! That was my first sight of a Mustang. We spent so much time in the shelters at school during those day that we learnt very little. A few days later I saw another flying up the river Medway and as I was higher up I could follow its path until it disappeared. Later 2 engined jet planes appeared Gloster Meteors that could fly faster than the Doodle Bugs.

My father was on 40mm Bofors near Dover and they had first crack at them. Late at night was not very nice as you could see the flame of the motor. We did get bombed but only an incendiery down the chimney. The incendiery bombs would stick up in the soft earth on the fields and not go off.

Clive

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Andrew, the P51’s were most likely practicing for Duxfords show this weekend.
Clive, my mum was brought up in Sutton, Surrey and she says that she used to watch them roar over and then dive for cover when it went quiet.
I’m off to the isle of wight to see its preseved steam railway tomorrow so wont see whats flying from Old Warden.

[Bob Brown 1Participant @bobbrown1]

toot toot can be heard most days from house c/o Isle of Wight steam railway (Wootton Station)

Bob

[Anonymous]

Posted by martin perman on 18/09/2015 18:10:31:
Andrew, the P51's were most likely practicing for Duxfords show this weekend.

Yep, that would be it! Just seen it mentioned on the preview for Look East.

Andrew

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

My Dad was boy of similar age on my great-grandfather's farm near Bicester during the war. One day he was out when a Lancaster went over very low, streaming smoke. It crashed nearby and that experience had quite an impact on him. His dad was teaching radio operation and radar at Cranwell when my uncle was born during the war, and he cadged a lift to the local aerodrome on a lancaster being flown back from repair by a polish fighter pilot.

My mum was bit younger, and was at home in Barry when the house two doors away was bombed flat, when they tested the civil defence sirens during the 70s and 80s the sound still upset her. I remember I was listening to Black Sabbath once, and she couldn't bear the sirens at the beginning of War Pigs. Her dad was in the far-East, he died when I was a boy, and there weren't many stories, although pre-war he had a good time as a coppersmith (and rugby player) in the RAF in places like Egypt.

Neil

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

On sunday whilst I was at Haddenham steam rally I watched a spitfire pass over us in the direction of Duxford, as he cleared thd rally area he did a rapid left role and dropped his nose
as if to fly back over the rally then he must have thought of display restrictions because he did a rapid right role until he was back on his original course

Edited By martin perman on 18/09/2015 19:24:59

[Sam StonesParticipant @samstones42903]

They know your address Andrew. Probably showing off for your benefit?

[Author]

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