I used to service Gibson Girls in the RNZAf in the 1990’s and I believe they still use them. They first appeared in the RNZAF in 1941 with the Lockheed Hudsons, and we were using them in Hercules, Friendships, Orions and maybe other types in my day.

They came standard with the kite and the weather balloons (2 of). These were still all original, stamped 1941 or 1942, in the same pack they flew with in WWII I believe. Ingeneous things, the balloons were inflated by attaching them to a tube which contained chemicals that, when dunked into the sea water, generated hydrogen and blew them up. I think the kit was a back up to the balloons, and for use on windier days in case the balloon blew off the wire.

The Gibson Girl itself is the radio, named so for it’s shape, like a girl. It was strapped to the user between the legs, and the handle was cranked to generate electricity, while the balloon or kite took the copper wire aerial (about a mile long) skywards. From memory they had around a 300 mile radius for transmission of Morse Code.

The kites were foldable box kites, which were very light, and yellow in colour. They were about a metre in length. I think those instructions were pushing it with a run up of 100 yards. If you had a bit of breeze they were actually easy to get flying. I know, I’ve done it without any running. The hydrogen generators and balloons are also fun to play with, we used to have to when instructing aircrew on the usage of the Gibson Girl kit. I never succeeded to do what one legendary erk before me had, in his haste to get to lunch after such a demonstration he used the vacuum cleaner to deflate the balloon. Being hydrogen, there was rather an explosion apparently!

here is a photo of the Gibson Girl radio showing the aerial being spooled from its stowage. You’ll note the distinctive curvy shape that gave it its name.

There are loads of songs that have all different emotional meanings for me. But there is one that I think embodies true emotiuon in the lyrics and the singing of, and I have to stop and listen and think every time. That is the Pogues singing “The Band Played Walzing Matilda”. It’s a stunning recording.

If you’ve never heard it, have a look here about the guy who wrote it, and see the lyrics
http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/matilda.html

Cool. Ken Wahl was the leading man I think. It had some great low, fast helicopter scenes filmed around Wanaka/Queenstown area and i was told once the pilot was Sir Tim Wallis but never had that confirmed.

It’s a M3 Lee isn’t it?

In the remake of the film the fighter was played by Guido and Lynn Zuccholi’s Fiat G-59B

Race For The Yankee Zephyr?

That’s a Kiwi film starring Donald Pleasance and some yanks in a race to find the wreck of a C-47 crashed in a lake in NZ, full of gold.

I wish any restoration project well too, and in the case of the Concorde and Vulcan I don’t take a side in either camp because I’ll never see them flying even if they miraculously do get airborne again – but if others want it badly enough and achieve it, good on them.

My point was the public face of these groups must surely be damaged when their rather vocal supporters/insiders come out aggressively towards any criticism and even simple logical questioning from the very people they need on side, the public enthusiasts. And especially so when several who all seem to portray themselves as being involved start bickering with each other, there certainly look like problems afoot! Such attitiudes will never help any project that requires funds raised and public support, no matter what it is.

I have had my judgement of both well known big projects clouded not by the opinions of the enthusiasts who think it’ll never happen, but by reading so many aggressive and abusive messages from these projects’ closest “supporters” in response to such opinions. I might take more interest if rational, well thought out replies were given to questions all the time, rather than just slanging matches.

Why is there so much aggression surrounding the attempts to return to the air of grounded aircraft like Concordes and Vulcans?

Surely those people behind such groups who are doing their best to get these hugely expensive and complicated projects off the ground must realise that to the average rational person who is outside their inner sanctom of planning and not fully privy to such things as the economics they’ve worked out, etc, the ideas seem like nice ones BUT in reality impractical, sometimes to the point of ludicrous.

They must know that the average person will think these projects will never succeed, never find funding, never get permission or official support, etc. It’s human nature to think that what normally happens will happen. And they’ll think anyone who’s pushing such pipedream ideas are crackpots till they’re proven wrong. Isn’t that normal?

In light of this, any group or individual attempting such a project, or even just part of it as a supporter, is therefore going to make no friends or gain any support for the project by making that crackpot impression a reality in hurling abuse and ranting angrily at the very people they need behind them, the enthusiasts. Poor show chaps.

Just all calm down and discuss it rationally, and you might find some sympathetic ears rather than an exchange of constant abuse from both sides.