Tiger Beer Mustang

I have just been going through some old issues of Flypast, and on page 8 of the June 1992 issue there’s a nice photo of the Tiger Mustang in flight. You can see where the paint was falling off around the bottom and down a whole strip above the mouth which started to peel so was taken back to the panel lines.

Just thought those with that issue may be interested.

Originally posted by Hatton
simon west? simon callow?

To be perfectly honest I really cannot remember. The name Simon West does ring a bell, it could have been him. I think it definately wasn’t Simon Callow.

One thing funny when we made the advert. On the first morning of shooting the film crew needed something done to some pyrotechnics, so they went along to the base armourers. As it was over-and-above their RNZAF work, the armourers said they’d do the job, whatever it was, for a dozen of beer.

No problem, said the crew. The job was done, a dozen of Tiger Beer handed over, and on the day went.

An hour later when the set was being set up, the director arrives demanding some Tiger Beer to add to the scenery. A props man suddenly finds, very red faced, that Tiger had actually only supplied two dozen beer for the whole shoot! In those days it was not available in the country so it could not be bought at the offy! So a mad rush was made to negotiate the beer back from the thirsty armorers!

It turned out they intended to use local beer, DB Draught, in all the glasses, and the Tiger was purely for show in foreground shots! It was a narrow escape for the props man, who nearly got in deep trouble for losing half the main product!

We went through four kegs of the local brew that day, but a lot of that we couldn’t drink because the props man kept adding shaving foam into the glasses – for realism! I managed a few swigs though. And at the end of the day the Air Force guys were allowed to divy up the remaining DB and also the Tigers so we all got a taste- and the armourers missed out! I still have one of the bottle caps as a souviner.

Looks really good in that scheme.
Need to go and drink Tiger beer now……

Nice sheme, but I prefer the militairy markings that it had. It has a impressive sharkmouth, but I like the silver markings much more.

Cheers,
J.V.

Nice paint scheme.

Makes a great change from all the 8th Airforce look-alike clones we get over here. (Not that I’d want to lose any of them, its just they all get a bit samey)

Moggy

Originally posted by Dave Homewood

The pilot was played by a top British actor ofthe time, Simon someone. Can’t recall his second name. But apparently he was well known in the theatre and on tele.

simon west? simon callow?

Don’t worry, guys, I shall take bulk pics for you at Wanaka.

I found another one, this was an RNZAF Official shot of a few of us in front of TIG-8 upon roll out. This shot shows that we also painted the lettering under the starboard wing.

Ah of course, silly me – I should have known that

Chers
Dave

The T6/24 was the Air Tourer, CFS had 4 of them for ATC cadets, and Instructor training. I think in the old days of University Officer Cadets they got to fly them a bit also !

Was the T6/24 you mention an RNZAF Harvard? Or a civil one operated at Wigram?

While I was there, 1991-93, the only operable Harvard was NZ1015. It is still in the RNZAF, at Ohakea now.

I too never got a fly in 1015. I was offered but was too busy with real work on the base. I did get to fly the Tiger Moth though, and I did a trip in one of the NATTS Friendships before they retired too. Plus I was swung out of a few choppers at Wigram too.

Sadly i will not make it to Wanaka this year due to the cost. I shall hopefully be going to Motat instead for the first time since 1996.

Miss Torque was still at Wanaka last month and I think it is planned to be displayed at WoW. Hopefully it won’t sell for some time. It will be sad to lose it, I doubt it would stay in NZ. These days all the warbirds are going off shore. Bring them back! I miss Plonky most of all – I’ll post the photos of that one soon.

Dave,

sounds like a wonderfull couple of days, I have been away from NZ for 5 years now and is wonderful to see some pics and hear afew old names !, any pics you can post are great !

I learnt to fly the trusty old T6/24 at Wigram to many years ago, my instructor at the time Sqn Leader John Grant (not a bad guy for ex Navy) was also the current display pilot for Harvard 15, I never got to fly in it, but did spend afew evenings sitting in the cockpit when I should have been learning checks !

No doubt you are all gearing up for Wanaka, would love to make it there (have always found Wanaka Airshow is simply a giant reunion of everyone you know in NZ aviation), but just don’t think it will happen for me this year !

Thanks again for posting all the great pics, is nice to have news from home !

ps any idea if P51 Miss Torque has found a buyer as yet ?

Oh yeah, here’s the Corsair in ‘race markings’, ie they simply bunged a big bulldog sticker on the roundel for some reason.

Aileron Roll,

Sorry, we posted that mesage at the same time – Yes you’re quite right, that was indeed Phil Murray’s Midget Mustang. I’d forgotten it was his. I was thinking it was belonging to a NATTS pilot – but it was indeed Phil’s. He was an instructor at CFS then.

The crumpled heap is explained above. That was very sad, and worse for us who were resident in No 6 Hangar as it was laid out for the investigation for about three months right where ZK-TAF now sits in the photos. The CT4 was only shifted so we could do the paint job.

Sadly there was not enough money for the whole team to get a ride, so I didn’t. Dennis did, and deservedly so. Also, there was a NATTS pilot (I cannot think of his name now, can see his face) who co-ordinated the whole advert, not just the painting side of things, and he got a great ride.

But we were rewarded very nicely. The crew needed extras, and almost everyone on base put their names down. We all went to the Base Institute for an audition (basically they took a butchers at you and said whether you were right for the part or not). I think 50 people from base were selected. I easn’t, but some of the S&S paint team were. Then someone had a word and managed to get more of us onto the shoot since we’d worked so hard on the plane. That was the only thing I ever had to work overtime on in the RNZAF!!!

So I was given the job of an extra. We had to simply dress up nice, stand near a beer tent on the airfield, and sip beer all day for two days, whilst the P51D, Corsair, a Harvard and various other little nifty things buzzed over our heads low enogh to nearly touch. We were playing the rich people in the corporate area at the end of the race, so they also brought in about 20 really hot models from a Christchurch agency, plus some BMW’s and Ferraris, etc. On top of this, we were paid $50 per half day for being an extra, plus our regular RNZAF pay as it was an official job! It was there and then I decided I wanted to get into film making, which is what I am studying now.

Later I also played the part of a mechanic, and I knelt on the wing as the star plane and star pilot was rolled out of the hangar for the beginning of the race. I had to give a bogus hand sinal to make it look more like Hollywood!

The pilot was played by a top British actor ofthe time, Simon someone. Can’t recall his second name. But apparently he was well known in the theatre and on tele. He was a nice bloke, chatted with us airmen, unlike his passenger, the French model who was then Bendon’s worldwide symbol before Elle McPherson took over the role I believe. She was hot, but said little.

After we’d finished the paint scheme on the Friday, that weekend was Wings and Wheels, an airshow at Wigram. We advised them not to fly it because we knew it was going to rain, and we doidn’t know what would happen with the peel-off-paint. They flew it, and yes, it peeled off. Just a bit, but too much to patch. So Dennis hastily found some very good matching yellow Danco tape and taped over the gaps. It never showed up on film.

They took Dennis to Queenstown to complete the filming and he had to do several more patches. Plus the radiator crapped out and the engine blew on the Mustang. A disaster, but enough was in the can to finish the advert. The pilot had a double mishap as when he was blowing the Stang’s engine, his wife was pranging his Ferrari into a hare at high speed! Expensive day.

That was an amazing experince for us all. I hope you all liked the photos.

I also photographed when we painted the ex-OFMC Avenger into RNZAF colours for Sir Tim Wallis if you’re interested

You’ll note in the background of the photo above, a Midget Mustang belonging to one of the NATTS (F27 Friendship) pilots, and the remains of NZ1934, an Airtrainer that crashed in the Alps and sadly killed the much liked RNZAF instructor, Flt Lt Garick Beats.

On a happier note, here are the team who painted this P51D, and a few others in the same trade (a * appears if they were directly involved in the painting). The RNZAF Base Wigram Safety and Surface team, l-r, LAC Simon Williamson, F/Sgt Keith Scott, LAC Vaughn McAllistar*, LAC Bob Stenson*, AC Dave Homewood*, Cpl Steve Leach*, LAC Aaron Lyttle* and Sgt Dennis Gibbons*.

Dave

Is that Phil Murray’s old Midgit Mustang in the back ground ?, and any idea what the crumpled wing with 21934, is from ?

Dave,

did they offer any of your team a quick flip in the back of the P51 for your efforts ?

Damn, did it again!!

Finished!!

Finished!!

GGGGRRROOOWWWLLLL!!!!!