RAF Museum at Hendon - Fighters and others

In this final post from the Museum, I have a few samples from the collection of World War 2 fighters and other aircraft. Again, this is only a tiny selection of what was on display... you'll just have to go visit for yourself!

Top to bottom are:

Messerschmitt Bf109G
de Havilland Canada Chipmonk T.10
Republic Thunderbolt
Curtis Kittyhawk III
Hawker Hart Trainer

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Curtis P-40E Kittyhawk

Getting away from the WW1 theme for a few minutes, but always great to see, was this Curtis P-40E Kittyhawk! Fast, noisy, big and impressive, it was the perfect machine to spice things up and get the airshow moving a bit faster. It's also amazing to think that this aircraft was flying around barely more than 20 years after many of the other machines in the airshow. Technology moves fast!

The only downside to this, is that I'm still not very good at photographing very fast moving objects, especially since I'm standing still on the ground... not that I'm complaining! Anyway, here are some of the better photographs I managed to get.

ANZAC WW1 Airshow at Masterton : Intro

Yesterday I went to the ANZAC WW1 airshow put on by The Vintage Aviator at Masterton's Hood aerodrome. As its name suggests, it was put on to commemorate [mostly] World War 1 flying and ANZAC day [just a few days ago on 25 April].

The weather was looking like a washout, but I was able to drive over [thanks for the ride Amy!] and as it turned out, it all pretty much ran to time, which was good.

The next few posts will cover off some of the aircraft that were flying. As a heads up, I'm not particularly knowledgeable about these vintage aircraft, so if [when?] you see mistakes, please let me know. If you have more details, please leave a comment to let me know, and I may update the post.

Firstly, are a few introductory pictures. First off is the weather we faced while driving across the Rimutaka Ranges to get to Masterton. Next are:

Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2c
Pfalz DIII
Pfalz DIII and 2x Albatross DVa in formation
Curtis P40E Kittyhawk [one of the few "later model" aircraft in the show]

Enjoy!

Wings Over Wairarapa 2011: Post 14 - World War 2 fighters

One disappointment of the airshow was the absence of Spitfires. I imagine that the weather had something to do with it, although the Auckland based 2 seater apparently had some minor mechanical issues - better to be safe than sorry though!

Ok, I'm over that [!], and was very pleased to see the Vought/ Goodyear FG1D Corsair, ZK-COR, and two Curtis P40 Kittyhawks. These aircraft put on a really good display, but my favourite is and has always been the Corsair. I especially like the final picture with the Corsair pilot looking at the approaching P40 in the background.

Wings Over Wairarapa 2011: Post 1 - Introduction

Yay! Another airshow to go to!

Wings Oer Wairarapa is one of my favourite airshows... partly because of it's proximity to Wellington [around 1.5 hours drive or 40 minutes flight], but also because of the mix of aircraft and the friendly atmosphere. Usually the weather is very nice [often too hot].

This years show was a little different. Unfortunately the weather did not play ball, and with 9 aircraft or events [that I counted] missing, including both Spitfires, a crashed Venom and patches of rain it was not up to the usual standard, but still well worth going to [where else can you get a day's high-octane entertainment for around NZD$30?]!

Over the next few days I'll make a number of posts which I hope you'll find interesting! I don't have registrations for all aircraft, so apologies if you are one of those people who like all the details [feel free to update me with the details]! Anyway, first up are:

Aero Vodochody L-39C Albatross
Pacific Aerospace Corp CT4/E, NZ1996, operated by the RNZAF
North American Harvard 3*, operated by NZ Warbirds Association
Curtis P40 Kittyhawk
de Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth, ZK-BLI

 

Europe Trip #7: RAF Museum Hendon - 2 - Single piston/ radial/ rotary engines

I've given a fair bit of through how to arrange these photos. By manufacturer? Type? Age? War? In the end, I'm going to group them pretty much as I came across them in the museum, except that I'll tend to put them in roughly into groups of single pistons, jets etc.

Please excuse the quality of the photos in this section. I'm shooting with a Canon EOS 450D [which is an awesome camera], but the lighting is designed for people to walk in and see more than to take photos! Using the flash doesn't often seem to work well either, but I'm sure you will agree, it's good to see these machines anyway!

This post contains some of the single engined piston aircraft I saw in the first couple of hangers. Top to bottom are:

Supermarine Spitfire F24 [x 2 pictures]
Hawker Typhoon 1B
Bristol Bulldog
Hawker Hart Trainer
Hawker Tempest II
Curtis Kittyhawk III

Classic Fighters 2009 #22: Final Attack

At the conclusion of the airshow was the customary mock attack, complete with pyrotechnics and aircraft that seem to be going everywhere! It was also my final chance to photograph a few of the aircraft that I had missed earlier in the day, such as the North American P51-D Mustang and Curtis P-40E Kittyhawk.

By this stage I was back at my own [rented] aircraft, ready to pre-flight and get away as soon as possible, to try and avoid fading light and then ECT.

Here are a few of the photos I got during that final attack. Obviously the Spitfire is one, then the P-40E, the P51, a couple of Harvards and a look across the crowd to final approach. I hope you have enjoyed this photographic series [almost] as much as I enjoyed taking them and posting them up for you :-)

It was, as they say, the perfect end to a perfect day.

Wings Over Wairarapa # 11: Curtis P-40E Kittyhawk, North American P51-D Mustang & Goodyear FG-1D Corsair

While each of these aircraft deserve their own post, they are all so closely related due to service in various theatres of World War 2 and their combined displays at the airshow. In addition, each of these types were operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force [RNZAF] at various times.

The Goodyear FG-1D Corsair is a stunner and is instantly recognisable due to it's 'bent' or 'gull' wing [designed to reduce the undercarriage leg length while retaining prop clearance]. At any airshow, this will be one of my favourites, even beyond the Mustang or the Hurricane [not shown at this airshow]. Perhaps I might change my mind when I finally get to see a Spitfire being displayed, but I suspect it will be a rather close call. To me, the aircraft looks like it was designed by a big angry man wanting to do some damage to someone... I guess it looks right then!

Another very recognisable aircraft is the North American P51-D Mustang. An aircraft that performs as well as its reputation [and that's a hard ask!] and an airshow favourite for generations, the Mustang never fails to impress. At the risk of upsetting some, while the aircraft was always good, it perhaps only became great when they installed an English Rolls Royce Merlin V12 [the same power plant as the mighty Spitfire].

Perhaps with less instant recognition than some, I am always impressed with the Curtis P-40E Kittyhawk. While out-classed by the others, it still exudes confidence as a reliable and capable performer. When Kittyhawks were replaced by Corsairs as New Zealand's front-line fighter, many of them were returned to New Zealand as advanced trainers.

Both the Corsair and Kittyhawk are operated by the Old Stick and Rudder Company, and I think that the Mustang is operated by New Zealand Warbirds. Check out their websites for more details.

Anyway, here are a few photos of these aircraft with the Corsair followed by the Mustang then the Kittyhawk... plus a picture with a "stray" Harvard [taken during a mock airfield attack] :-)

Wings Over Wairarapa # 7: Consolidated Vultee PBY-5A

The Consolidated Vultee PBY-5A is an interesting aircraft. Firstly, it's ugly :-) Secondly, it's a large type with an interesting history and is quite different from most other aircraft with its large boat-like hull. Certainly I can imagine that if I were floating around the ocean having bailed out, the sight of one of these beasts coming to the rescue would have been very welcome!

The RNZAF operated a number of these aircraft out of the old Hobsonville aerodrome, including seaplane facilities and so they have a clear connection to New Zealand.

Here are a few pictures of this awesome aircraft. My favourite picture is the one with the P40 tucked in tight.