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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Jan 25, 2011 2:50:55 GMT
I'm still enjoying playing with Jens flying boats .... SO .... I "splashed out" again and added some more pictures .... this time featuring one of the QANTAS EMPIRE AIRWAYS medium range S23 EMPIRE's from 1939, and a long range BOAC S.30 EMPIRE also from 1939 and a livery these aircraft supported when impressed into military service during the very early stages of World War 2.
Mark C AKL/NZ
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Post by walterleo on Sept 26, 2011 10:09:31 GMT
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Post by Herman on Sept 26, 2011 16:43:56 GMT
Interesting fictional paint on the Soviet TU 154 Walter. It definetly is a nice looking airplane.
Herman
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Sept 26, 2011 19:52:58 GMT
I/we, here in New Zealand, never had the MALLARD .... the NG was apparently too much of a "potential problem" for our type of operations. We had the WIDGEON and the GOOSE operating here for just under 40 years .... with AMPHIBIAN AIRWAYS, TOURIST AIR TRAVEL, MOUNT COOK AIRLINES, SEA BEE AIR, and SALT AIR/AQUATIC AIRWAYS. G44-A SUPER WIDGEON ZK_AVMG21-A GOOSE ZK-DFCThey've all gone now .... although we do have 2 WIDGEON's currently hangared and awaiting their destiny. They'll never fly again .... though ! I do miss both the WIDGEON and the GOOSE. They were .... what I call .... "fun aircraft". Even the "NASTY FRIGHTS" I had on some of these aircraft .... like a certain heavy T/O which I'll never forget ;D) and which wasn't particularly funny when it occurred ;D .... all seem "FUN" now .... looking back on it ;D Mark C AKL/NZ
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Post by walterleo on Sept 27, 2011 18:18:28 GMT
I/we, here in New Zealand, never had the MALLARD .... the NG was apparently too much of a "potential problem" for our type of operations. Yes the Turboprops where too much for the plane if mishandled, like some crews at Chalks did, pulling them out of the water with full power or landing her banked. Cracks developed where maintance had no access and the horrible crash after T.O. which took the lifes of 20 people on 19 th of december 2005 was the end of the operations. The Tu 154M LUFTHANSA repaint was by Pipe, its available at www.friendlyflusi.at/index.php?page=DownloadDBView&categoryID=16Kind regards Walter
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Sept 27, 2011 19:58:46 GMT
In our particular case it was apparently the NG/nose gear that posed most of the potential problems in operating a MALLARD (in either piston or turboprop form) here in New Zealand .... for our type of operations here in New Zealand. The TOURIST AIR TRAVEL, MOUNT COOK AIRLINES, and SEA BEE AIR aircraft (WIDGEON and GOOSE) operated from a downtown ramp facility .... but .... all of their destination ports of call were remote and undeveloped stoney beaches (excluding Northland's Bay Of Islands) without any such facilities at all. Something both the WIDGEON and GOOSE could handle particularly well .... but which the likes of a MALLARD or ALBATROSS wasn't so easily adapted to. Our WIDGEON aircraft (we had 6 of them .... ZK-AVM, -BAY, -BGQ, -BPX, -CFA, and ZK-CHG) all started out with Ranger engines .... and were upgraded with Continental Lycombing engines (2 aircraft also had their keels modified to prevent water looping too) and G44-A "SUPER WIDGEON" status during the mid 1960's. Our GOOSE aircraft (we had 3 of them .... ZK-DFC, -ENY, and ZK-ERX) were all G21A's .... though ERX was a converted G21-G "TURBO GOOSE" purchased primarily for the South Pacific island based devision of SEA BEA AIR which flew longer inter-island routes within the Tuvalu/Ellis Islands group .... and extending as far east as the Cook Islands. G21-G TURBO-GOOSE ZK-ERX (photo Colin BALLANTINE) It was briefly operated between Auckland city and Northland's Bay Of Islands (where there was also ramp facilities) upon the conclusion of the Tuvalu service, but, even on this longer route the Turbo Goose wasn't simply wasn't economic. It couldn't service the off-ashore islands of our Hauraki Gulf either .... "economically" .... because those routes were, in comparison, too short, and the aircrafts longer bow also apparently presented potential problems at some of the airlines remote and underdeveloped ports of call too. Mark C AKL/NZ
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Post by walterleo on Sept 28, 2011 13:50:16 GMT
In our particular case it was apparently the NG/nose gear that posed most of the potential problems in operating a MALLARD (in either piston or turboprop form) The nosewheel problem according to my friend was a problem and a constant headache, even on the sandy beaches of the caribian islands like Bimini. There one of Chalks Mallards (think eactly the one which went down on 19 dec 2005) was filmed for "After Sunset" and my friend got sometimes stranded there cause of the nose gear. There are worser places to get stranded. Walter
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Post by Herman on Sept 28, 2011 15:47:43 GMT
Interesting Mark. I have never seen a picture of a Turbo Goose. There are lots of turbo beavers and a few Grumman Goose around here, but none are turbos.
Herman
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Post by aerofoto - HJG Admin on Sept 28, 2011 20:36:47 GMT
Most of the GOOSE conversions which incorporated retractable wingtip floats (which all of our GOOSE had) were undertaken by McKINNION from 1958 .... and later by VOLPAR in respect of refitting these aircraft with GARRET AIR RESEARCH turboprop engines.
Only a few GOOSE were modified to turboprop standard (and I think 1 or 2 WIDGEON might also have been similarly converted too) .... mostly for private and corporate use, but, they are rare !
Mark C AKL/NZ
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