Hello Woodsy
My Eagle Annuals had the recurring theme of balsa wood glider plans.
The memory of this was triggered when in New Zealand in a coffee shop the decor was blow-ups of balsa gliders made in NZ - see photos.
I have ordered some from there which I hope to assemble this summer. They are rather nice souvenirs in that they are in the markings of RNZAF from WW2.
These days modern gliders tend to be foam printed both sides and rather blurry and just don't seem right.
Regards,
Terranova47
NYC
It is always nice to see the Royal New Zealand Air Force getting a mention, so often the smaller Allied air arms are overlooked. The Curtiss P-40 is carrying the markings of ace Flying Officer Geoff Fisken, his aircraft was named Wairarapa Wild Cat. The P-51D Mustang is actually a post-war type as the first aircraft only arrived in NZ after the Japanese surrender. The aircraft were placed into storage, but brought out in the 1950s. The checker-board markings show it to be from one of the Territorial Air Force squadrons, a reserve force similar to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. I only had one of these gliders, I think a Northrop F-89 Scorpion in US markings - it did not survive many flights. I stayed with plastic kits after that.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Paul. I'm glad they got a mention too. Its always fun when readers like Terranova47 send in words and pics from travels around the world. I looked up the RNZAF's motto and was pleased to see it was per Ardua Ad Astra, the same as the RAF and one of my favourite latin motto's as my late Dad mentioned it to me from his time in WWII. He was in the RN. A radio operator or 'sparky'!
DeleteJust remembered my sailor Dad trained at HMS Ganges. When I looked it up there's a NZ High Commisioner in the Wiki picture! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ganges_(shore_establishment)
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