< PreviousKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 71 30 Event Guide December 28th Mercury Bay Aero Club Open Day At Whitianga. 10am–4pm. Coro Café and food stalls. No landing fees. Vintage and warbird aircraft joyrides. Classic and vintage car display. Contact 07 866 5128 or mbac@xtra.co.nz. January 1st New Year’s Day 2021 Fly-in At Feilding. Spot prizes, No landing fees, Lunch at noon $15, MOGAS on request. Contact Stan Hyde 021 045 3801. January 30th Stratford Aerodrome Open Day Everyone welcome. 10am to 4pm. Camp next to your plane if you fly in. Avgas on site. Contact Nick 020 4042 8854. January 30th Thames Wings and Wheels At Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield, Thames Vintage & classic cars, wide range of aircraft, flying displays, music. More info at wingsandwheelsthames.com January 30th - 31st Autogyro Association Fly-in At Dannevirke. Annual gathering of gyro enthusiasts. ALl welcome. Includes fly-out to Athbey Farm, socialising, AGM, lunches and more. Contact Bruce 027 620 5006. Event Guide February 5th - 8th SAANZ Annual Fly-in Great Plains at Ashburton. AGM, dinner, awards. Contact Adrienne 021 507 009, admin@saa.org.nz www.saa.org.nz February 6th Healthy Bastards Bush Pilot Champs At Omaka. See advert this issue. Register by 29 January at www.marlboroughaeroclub.co.nz February 19th - 21st Aero Deco Weekend At Hawke’s Bay Airport. Napier Aero club welcomes all aircraft to fly in for the Aero Deco part of Napier’s Art Deco Festival. Contact Graham 021 499 208. February 21st RV Aircraft Fly-in At Turangi. Starting 11am, $15 BBQ lunch incl drink. No landing fees. Contact Alan Turner 021 458375. February 26th - 28th Wings Over Wairarapa Air Show Premier biennial event at Masterton’s Hood Aerodrome. 70+ aircraft on display including The Vintage Aviator’s Collection. See advert this issue. www.wings.org.nz March 3rd - 7th National Aerobatic Championships At Hood Aerodrome, Masterton. Contact Andrew Love, Torque_Roll@hotmail.com31 2020 #5 For more information or to arrange a demonstration flight please contact Jim Lyver 027 440 0747 info@foxbat.nz www.foxbat.nz FOXBAT l VSTOL: Take off and land in just under 100m l VHF radios l The best ab-initio trainer to teach students to fly in l Tundra Tyres l Mud Flaps l Y shaped yoke with twin throttles l 30kg metal baggage bin with side door l Carry over 200kgs after full fuel “The perfect high country plane” Jim Lyver, through his company Foxbat New Zealand, is the exclusive distributor for Aeroprakt aircraft in NZ and the South Pacific. Designed by Yuriy Yakovlev and manufactured in the Ukraine, the Aeroprakt Foxbat A22LS and Vixxen A32 are well- proven training and recreational STOL aircraft (<100 m ground roll at MAUW), with the company having produced more than 1400 aircraft during 28 years of operation. Jim describes them as “the aircraft of the future”. The aircraft are keenly priced and have a very low and uneventful stall speed of just 26 kts IAS. Jim says that’s 7 kts and about $25,000 less than their nearest equivalent competitor. As well as that, they’re respectably fast, with the A32 (powered by the 100 hp Rotax 912 ULS) cruising comfortably at 120 kts TAS at 8 to 10,000 feet. Jim says that also makes it one of the best air nautical miles per litre aircraft using 95 octane petrol or AVGAS. With long range fuel tanks, non-stop direct flights Auckland to Queenstown are possible – as well as tolerable given the aircraft have very spacious cabins, excellent visibility and fully sealed doors to help keep out noise. Jim is a strong advocate for cruising at higher altitudes between 5 and 10,000 feet and is currently working with Airways to design a new pilot-friendly NZ chart specifically showing relevant airspace for cruising at these levels. “With the right PFD, ND & EFIS instrumentation these aircraft can be flown with much better safety than is currently widely practiced at low level, dog- legging all over the place. Good knowledge of meteorology, basic instrument training and of course maintaining VFR in VMC is the key to good and safe aviation practice,” says Jim, adding, “I can give all the advice and training needed to keep these higher altitude flights safer, more comfortable and economic rather than the current widespread practice of flying at low lovel in the mechanical turbulence levels. Using Transponder / ADS-B, and the appropriate VHF control frequencies is the way to go.” That said, if flying from short strips is more the way an owner wants to go, then the A22LS with tundra tyres (without wheel spats) covers this base as well. They’re also well suited to glider towing, have a 30 kg luggage compartment accessed via a side door, as well as many options including for controls and trim systems. Flaperons and ground adjustable propeller pitch are standard. Jim says, “with Aeroprakt aircraft, the field is covered!” Aeroprakt Aircraft “have the field covered” from STOL flying out of farm paddocks to cruising at 10,000 feet Jim Lyver demonstrating his advocacy for higher altitude cruising, here in his Aeroprakt Vixxen A32 at a touch over 10,000 feet on the way past Aoraki Mount Cook. Aviation Business ProfileKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 71 32 Nestled in the heart of the Otago high country, Queenstown Airport constitutes a unique challenge for New Zealand aviators. It is also a very tricky location for meteorologists to forecast for. Due to its mountainous surroundings, Queenstown’s weather conditions – particularly, the wind – are often quite different to the conditions across the rest of the lower South Island. This article discusses some of these challenges and how forecasters deal with them. Queenstown Airport lies close to the northeastern shoreline of the Frankton Arm of Lake Wakatipu. The main, Continuing with his series of meteorologically inspired articles, Ciaran Doolin, MetService Meteorologist and Adjunct Teaching Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington, shares some of the challenges of weather forecasting in New Zealand. The subject here is Queenstown with a case study including 57 knot wind gusts and thunderstorms. Final approach to NZQN with Air New Zealand. Aviation Meteorology contributed by Ciaran Doolin sealed runway is orientated southwest to northeast, while a secondary strip extends north-northwest to south-southeast. Surrounded by precipitous ranges and mountains, such as the Remarkables to the east/southeast, the aerodrome experiences considerable sheltering from low cloud and precipitation from all directions except the south and southwest. The prevailing wind directions are largely a consequence of channelling by the surrounding terrain. Favoured directions are northeasterly, southwesterly and southerly winds. The winds at Queenstown are typically quite different to the broadscale flow over the lower South Island. A notable feature of the wind regime at Queenstown is the high frequency of light winds in all seasons. Much of the time, winds during the day are less than 10 knots. Winds over 20 knots are rare, but when they do blow it is from the northeast or southwest quarter. Although winds can be gusty, gusts exceeding 50 knots are rare, occurring once every two to three years. The Challenge of Forecasting for Queenstown Most fronts or troughs that are followed by a southerly flow produce a southerly change at the aerodrome when they move across the region. Although the prevailing wind directions are terrain-influenced, there are several other effects which contribute, depending on the season and broadscale wind flow. Much of the time, the daily wind regime can be divided into two or three distinct phases. During the night, the wind is a light north to northeasterly katabatic (drainage) flow or calm. In summer, during the day a west to southwest lake breeze develops once the heating of the land surface has created a sufficiently strong temperature contrast with the lake surface. During winter, the lake breeze is absent, and the daytime wind is either calm or light northeasterly. Another significant effect in summer is the development of shallow low-pressure systems over inland parts of the southern South Island. These form on clear days when heating of the surface by the sun causes the air to expand and the surface Green and Hahn. Ref: MNZ-2075-1/4-F. Alexander Turnbull LibraryGreen and Hahn. Ref: MNZ-2075-1/4-F. Alexander Turnbull Library 33 2020 #5 pressure to resultantly lower. These ‘heat lows’ typically develop an abrupt southerly at Queenstown of up to 15 knots in the late afternoon. However, there are exceptions to this general pattern. If there is a strong wind flow from between west through south to southeast over the lower South Island, then the wind at Queenstown will be between southwest and southerly and will blow day and night with little variation in wind speed. Secondly, in strong northwest flows, such as often occur preceding the passage of an active cold front over the South Island, then the surface wind at Queenstown will be variable and for the most part light. However, if the pressure gradient over southern New Zealand is exceptionally strong – an old rule of thumb is when the pressure is 20 hPa higher at Haast than at Puysegur Point – then a (rare) 20-25 knot westerly is possible at Queenstown. Given the mountainous terrain, some turbulence is experienced in most broadscale wind flows. Downdrafts are common in the lee of Peninsula Hill to the southwest of the aerodrome. In “Given the increasing private use of computer model information available on the internet by aviators, it is very important to emphasise here the hazards of taking model depictions of conditions at the surface at Queenstown at face value.” True colour visible satellite image of NZ at 6:00pm (local time) 23 January 2019, showing the cold front through the middle of the South Island. In eastern districts ahead of the front, note the largely clear skies apart from the lee-wave clouds. Imagery courtesy of Japan Meteorological Agency. strong northwest flows there is usually considerable wind shear in the first several thousand feet above the surface. Unfortunately, the sparsity of elevated stations in the vicinity of the aerodrome makes it difficult at times to make a full assessment of turbulence risk. Conditions of low cloud (below 1,500 feet) and/or poor visibility are infrequent at Queenstown due to the sheltering afforded by the surrounding mountainous terrain. When it does occur, low cloud is typically associated with a low- pressure system or a front. In a westerly broadscale flow, cloud bases are typically above 6,000 feet. Visibility reductions in precipitation are rarely poor enough to affect operations. However, in heavy snow associated with very cold southerly outbreaks in winter visibilities can get as low as 200 metres. As challenging as Queenstown can be to forecast for, thankfully fog, one of the trickiest weather phenomenon to predict in New Zealand, is rare at Queenstown with only a few occurrences annually. It has been mentioned that conditions at Queenstown are often quite different to the broadscale situation over the South Island. Unfortunately, computer weather models struggle to accurately depict conditions at Queenstown. (Note: this statement pertains to the modelling of conditions at aerodrome level ; the computer models are in general very accurate in the free air above the Alps.) This mainly comes down to inadequate resolution of the complex terrain surrounding Queenstown by the computer models. The models ‘see’ the mountains in much the same way we WANGANUI, NZ PROFESSIONAL HELICOPTER FLIGHT TRAINING Get in touch for more info... Phone: 0800 643 937 Email: chris@nzhta.co.nz Why learn to fly with us ? l We’re passionate about quality not quantity l Centrally located with bases at the foothills of Mt Ruapehu and Ruahine Ranges l Ag Ratings available with highly experienced Ag Pilots l Train alongside a busy commercial and agricultural helicopter company l Scenario based training l Train on your terms, at your pace. l Private and Commercial Pilot Licence Training l Agricultural Spraying & Topdressing Ratings l R22, R44, Bell 206, MD 500, MD520N, AS350 type ratings available view a pixelated photograph: we can make out the general features of the image but the detail is lost. Meteorologists forecast for Queenstown by first figuring out the broadscale flow across the lower South Island. After determining the likely direction, strength and stability of the flow in the free air above the Alps, they use their climatological knowledge of the complex relationship between the air flow F K aloft and at aerodrome level to prepare a forecast for Queenstown Airport. Given the increasing private use of computer model information available on the internet by aviators, it is very important to emphasise here the hazards of taking model depictions of conditions at the surface at Queenstown at face value. A Case Study: Dramatic Southerly Change of January 2019 On Wednesday 23 January 2019, a cold front swept up the South Island bringing a dramatic change to southerly winds. Several factors combined to enhance the temperature contrast across the front and thereby strengthen the southerly change that followed it. Ahead of the front, a warm, humid airmass extended across much of the Tasman Sea. For example, Hokitika reported a temperature of 17 degrees Celsius and dew point of 16.5 degrees Celsius throughout the night of the 22 nd . The air experienced further warming through compression as a strong pre- frontal northwesterly flow descended the eastern slopes of the Southern Alps – this is known as a ‘Föhn wind’. Christchurch, for instance, reached 32.4 degrees Celsius in the afternoon of the 23 rd . In addition, clear skies in the east allowed for maximal heating of the land surface by the sun. Finally, as the change occurred during summer, the contrast in land and sea surface temperature was at a maximum. The southerly change came through Queenstown at 4:30pm (local time), peaking at a remarkable 43 knots gusting 57 knots half an hour later. Thunderstorms were reported at the aerodrome which suggests that this exceptional wind strength may have had a convective downdraft component. As the front continued to sweep north, a low-pressure system developed along the east coast of the South Island and rapidly deepened while moving east of the country, further strengthening the pressure gradient along the coast (see Figure 1). At 9:30pm the southerly came through KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 71 34 Aviation Meteorology Figure 2: Reported temperature and pressure at Kaikoura (NZKIX) and Queenstown (NZQNA) during 23 January 2019 (times along the bottom axis of the graphs are in UTC). The sharp fall in temperature corresponds to the southerly change (indicated by the coloured arrows). Also notice the sharp rise in pressure, which results from the change to a colder, denser airmass. Temperature (C) Pressure (hPa) Kaikoura, rising rapidly to an astonishing 64 knot mean wind a half hour later, with a maximum gust of 93 knots recorded. The temperature fell by 15 degrees in an hour as the Föhn northwest gave way to the cool southerly flow (see Figure 2). As discussed above, winds from the south are the main direction whence Queenstown can sometimes experience strong winds. However, this was an exceptional event – not just for Queenstown but for much of the South Island. People often think of southerly outbreaks as a wintertime affair, but in fact some of the most hazardous changes occur in summer. This article has examined some of the characteristics of the weather at Queenstown and discussed the challenge it poses for forecasters. It is important to remember that the weather at highly terrain-influenced locations – of which there are many in New Zealand – is often poorly depicted in computer weather models. It is, therefore, vital that aviators refer to the official aviation forecasts produced by MetService meteorologists, which are available from MetJet (metjet. metra.co.nz) and MetFlight (metflight. metra.co.nz). Ciaran Doolin35 2020 #5KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 71 36 Warbird History contributed by Bryan Cox In our previous issue of KiwiFlyer, Mark O’Sullivan wrote of his path towards owning and flying Yak-3U ‘Steadfast’, involving Tiger Moth, Cessna 185 and Harvard time along the way. Mark’s tale prompted KiwiFlyer reader and well-known Kiwi aviator Bryan Cox to write of his own nostalgic Harvard recollections and of the comparisons between Mark’s Yak-3U and the Corsairs which Bryan flew on Pacific operations in WWII. Bryan suggested we “may or may not find something of interest to readers in my rambling dissertation”. It’s reprinted here word for word, so the answer to that question is obvious. Corsair Recollections ‘Ready to go’ on a bombing strike on Bougainville in 1945. Hi Michael, Another interesting issue - particularly for me the nostalgic items by Mark O’Sullivan on flying the Harvard and the Yak-3U Steadfast, a beautiful looking aircraft. Although vastly different in weight and horsepower compared with the Corsair, performance-wise they were very similar. Both the Corsair and Steadfast use Pratt & Whitney engines - the Corsair the 18 cylinder 2,000 hp R2800 engine, and Steadfast the 14 Cylinder 1450 hp R2000 engine. The major difference in comparison is the Corsair MAUW of 14,000 lb, compared with the MAUW of the standard Yak-3U of 4,640 lb. Both used 40” of boost for takeoff and 35” for the climb at 170 kts which was our standard formation climbing speed in the Corsair. Another interesting comparison is that Steadfast set a new world record at Reno for its piston engine weight class of 416 mph - and the original F4U-1 Corsair as the RNZAF used in WWII had a published maximum level flight speed of 417 mph! Another interesting comparison is the loop entry speed of 300 kts for both aircraft. Strangely the P-40s we flew before the Corsair also used 300 mph for loop entry. Today they probably only use 250 mph in both types, due to more experienced pilots, and probably lighter aircraft - less ammo in the belts and armour plating? One of my favourite pastimes in both P-40s and Corsairs during flying practice was 20 continuous loops in a row, and in the Corsair I would continually adjust the Cowl Flaps slightly during the loops to keep the Cylinder Head Temperature constant. The later F4U-4 model, which we never had, had automatic cowl flap control. My first Corsair flight Whereas at Ohakea we were provided with poorly cyclostyled notes on the P-40, at Ardmore we were not provided with any printed notes whatsoever on the Corsair, except for the DVAs for take-off and landing to paste into our logbooks. Flt/Lt Doug Greig AFC who had shot down a Zero in the Solomons in a P-40, was O.C. Corsair Conversion at Ardmore, and before our first flight gave us five days of illustrated lectures on the Corsair’s systems, beautifully illustrated by him in colour, for which he was well 37 2020 #5 qualified being both a pilot and an engineer. My first flight in a Corsair at Ardmore was almost an anti- climax, with all systems and controls easier to operate and monitor than in the P-40, and barely 15 minutes after take-off was steep turning around the Bank of New Zealand in Hamilton, where I worked prior to entering the RNZAF in 1941. Controls were very light. Indeed Sir Tim Wallis’ pilot Tom Middleton who flew his Spitfires told me when he came to Ardmore to pick up Sir Tim’s first Corsair, that he found the Corsair’s controls to be lighter than the Spitfire’s. This was because all three primary controls on the Corsair were fitted with servo tabs which caused the airflow to assist control movements, making their control no heavier than a much lighter aircraft such as a Harvard. The fuel system was very simple with a main tank just in front of the cockpit holding 236 US gallons, but when Main Tank was selected it took fuel from the top of a pipe sticking up from the bottom of the tank, and when Reserve Tank was selected it took the bottom 50 gallons from a hole at the base of the tank. There were also wing tanks, each holding 57 US gallons in each wing, plus a drop tank holding 170 US gallons - permitting us to easily conduct our four hour patrols over Japanese occupied Rabaul. In front of you was a flap selector graduated in 10° – 20° – 30° - 40° and 50° of flap, simple to operate, with flaps fully visible from the cockpit. Trimming all three primary controls was achieved by three fairly large trimming wheels on the left, just below the Throttle Quadrant, making it very simple to trim for hands-off flying. In front of the Undercarriage selector was a panel displaying the exact position of all three undercarriage items during extension and retraction. I felt perfectly ‘at home’ soon after takeoff on my first flight, during which I did a couple of gentle rolls whilst passing over my home at Te Rapa just north of Hamilton. Visibility apart from directly forward, as in most fighters, was exceptionally good in the Corsair as from the cockpit the wing seemed to be quite a long way below, giving excellent visibility in all other directions. Another benefit I only learnt from flying fast at low level, was due to its relatively high-lift aerofoil compared with say a Mustang or Spitfire with more slender wing profile; when power was increased say to 50” manifold pressure, and the speed increased, the increased speed created an increase in lift, causing it to gain altitude, so you had Norm Rosser on the wing with Ivan Walker at left, speaking with Australian pilots. An Ardmore landing mishap Bryan witnessed, attributed in part to overuse of brakes. Contact Logan for New & Used Alpi Sales and Servicing Requirements 027 490 1553 jenandlogan@xtra.co.nz www.alpiaviation.co.nz Alpi Aviation NZ Ltd. is proud to introduce the P 300 Griffon l Improved aerodynamics l Wider cabin interior l Larger bubble l New ergonomic seats l Integrated avionics options l New console and arm rest l Available with Rotax 915iS or 912iS engine 140 kt (912iS) to 155 kt cruise (915iS) (@75% and sea level) from 21 lph On its way to a NZ customer now. Enquire for the next delivery! KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 71 38 Warbird History to lower the nose noticeably to prevent it from climbing - improving the forward visibility quite noticeably when flying at very low level. On my fifth flight in a Corsair, at only 19 years of age, and only 202 hours ‘pilot in command’ in the logbook, we were instructed to climb to 35,000 feet to ‘test blowers’ (our three-stage superchargers) and the oxygen system. However, probably like the other pilots, on reaching 35,000 feet in ‘high blower’ with no problems - I just kept climbing until reaching 40,000 feet when the controls began to feel rather sloppy, so I decided that ‘discretion being the better part of valour’ it was now wise to cease climbing and return to denser atmosphere. I feared the results if I inadvertently entered a spin at that altitude, as we were warned against spinning the Corsair. That was in September 1944, but I continued to enjoy flying the Corsair until March 1947, after three tours of operations in the Pacific in No. 16 Squadron, and twelve months in Japan in No. 14 Occupational Squadron based at Iwakuni, only 20 miles from Hiroshima. By this time I was beginning to wonder if I really knew how to fly an aircraft, as the Corsair virtually flew itself, with none of the dangerous quirks of the P-40! Instruction from Charles Lindberg During WWII the famous aviator Charles Lindberg was sent to the Pacific by the Vought Sikorsky company to demonstrate to the US Marine Corsair squadrons how to fly a Corsair! He personally conducted two dive bombing attacks on Japanese targets just north of New Guinea, with a 4000 lb bomb load - whereas our heaviest bomb load was normally a single 1,000 lb bomb. He also demonstrated the extreme range possible in the Corsair with its Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine, with its fuel flow capability varying between 290 US gallons per hour at full power, reducing to 42 USGPH using 30” boost and 1300 rpm, with its endurance only restricted by its oil limitation of only 8 hours. To bring the engine rpm back to 1300 involved moving the Pitch control back to Fully Coarse, and you could see the propeller rotating, as from memory it was also geared down to 2/3rds of engine speed - but the Corsair still managed to maintain about 140 knots. A memorable day One particular day I recollect relates to a couple of incidents and a couple of relatives as well. My Aunt Marion and second husband (first husband killed in a farming accident) Alan Starr had moved from their farm near Cambridge to another adjacent to Ardmore Airfield long before WWII. In fact it was directly across the road from the threshold of runway 03 - so I visited them almost daily when at Ardmore. My cousin Barbara, (who died only about a month ago) at Hamilton, happened to be ‘home’ for a few days from nursing at Waikato Hospital, and had not seen me flying so I phoned her in the morning to tell her that I would be flying shortly, and she could see me in a group of twelve about to take off for air to ground firing at Seagrove airfield where our SBD Dauntless Squadron had been based, but now only used as a firing range. The targets were 10 feet square, white in colour, and we fired at an estimated range of 300 yards using only a single gun, with each aircraft firing different coloured bullets. On days not flying, we would go across to Seagrove to count the number of hits on each target. My best score in a P-40 was 36% on 22/8/1944, (Giving me an Above Average assessment for gunnery in a P-40) but my best ever was 52% in a Corsair at Ardmore on 24/1/1946, before going to Japan in No. 14 Squadron. Cousin Barbara saw us take-off from their house and also watched us landing on our returning. Unfortunately two ‘incidents’ happened at the same time. As I approached for landing on runway 03, I saw a Corsair belly-landing in their front paddock, after sliding through a few fences, and coming to a stop in the paddock, just short of the threshold of runway 03 across the road. Thinking it could be me, Cousin Barbara ran about 300 yards, still in night wear, down to Corsair 5547 - but it happened to be F/O Don Moore. Don was blamed for carelessness having been flying on reserve tank during the exercise, with no register of usage, which became exhausted at the last moment apparently from using a too-high power setting during the exercise! Don must have been flying the Corsair ahead of me, as I also witnessed him sliding through the fences below me as I was in the final stages of my approach. After I had taxied in at the tarmac and climbed out, a mechanic said to me, “Did you see the prang?” I said, “Yes I did, it’s in the paddock.” He said, “No it’s not it’s on the runway.” On looking in that direction I saw a Corsair inverted on the runway. It was Corsair 5540 flown by Flt/Lt Gordon Bell who had landed directly behind me. He was also officially accused of carelessness for making a tail high touchdown then over usage of brakes! Gordon received minor injuries but never flew again, and eventually became a dentist. Whereas most fighters would have only nosed over, the Corsair’s main wheels From a bygone era. Illustrations from Corsair flight training material.Corsair DVAs39 2020 #5 were located well forward (to counteract the weight of its 2000 hp engine up front) causing the nose to be almost vertical before making contact with the runway. These were the only two Corsair accidents I ever recall there during my four postings to Ardmore although I am reminded also of the following. I previously mentioned that most pilots continued to make three-point landings ever since starting on the Tigers, with no landing problems - but we had one pilot, my friend Norm Rosser, who didn’t - as a result of which he nosed over two P-40s at Ohakea, and I watched him making his first landing at Ardmore in a Corsair - in which he re-circuited with a bent propeller blade! He somehow survived WW2 but at considerable cost to the tax payers! In the photo included, taken at Bougainville, Norm is sitting on the wing with Ivan Walker of Tauranga at the left. Talking with them are two Australian Boomerang pilots. We were at Bougainville at the same time, but Norm and Ivan were in a different squadron from me as we had four Corsair squadrons based there. We all met at Ohakea flying P-40s - but maintained our close friendship through to Post War, although in different squadrons in the Pacific. Both Norm and Ivan have now been deceased for many years. A word about landing Some final comments relating to landing an aircraft: We were taught to make three-point landings in the Tiger Moth, with it settling down gently on running out of lift in the hold off, and I continued to follow that same principle on every landing I ever made in Harvards, P-40s and the Corsairs, with never a bad landing that I can recall. Landings were normally a virtual ‘non-event’. However, there was one landing that I will never forget - during my last flight in a P-40 at Ohakea - which happened to be at night; During the flare, with no external vision, and just the kerosene flares flashing past the cockpit, the stick hit against the seat which had never occurred to me during daylight! Thinking that my nose must be pointing steeply upwards, I was about to apply full power to commence a ‘go round’ when I felt the wheels making beautifully smooth contact with the concrete runway! A very thankful ending to my very exciting month at No. 4 OTU at Ohakea, during which I flew 60 hours in P-40s and 20 hours in Harvards. Chris Gee image During almost 21,000 hours logged subsequently, again at Ardmore but this time as a Chief Flying Instructor mainly in tricycle undercarriage Piper and Cessna aircraft, I still adopted a similar technique – largely for protection of the nose wheel assembly which was never intended to be used for the landing process and occasionally proved very expensive to repair! With most aircraft types my theory was to enter the flare, somewhere between 2 and 3 feet above runway level until due to loss of speed and therefore lift, it will commence to sink on its own accord. Then applying back pressure to reduce the sink rate, the main wheels should make runway contact with the nose-wheel well clear of the surface. With aircraft types such as the Mooney, Beech Musketeer and Twin Comanche having extremely minimal suspension, I would tell students to flare at 2½ inches! but still make some attempt to prevent the nose wheel making contact, increasing back pressure as it sinks to reduce the sink rate, and maintain after runway contact until the nose wheel makes contact of its own accord due to deceleration. Bryan Cox Keith Skilling pilots the FG-1D Corsair NZ5648 at an Omaka Classic Fighters air show. F KNext >