The RNZAF Museum has preserved an Iroquois (not one from our service yet, hopefully they’ll get a genuine RNZAF example when they soon retire the fleet and they are replaced with Eurocopter NH90’s), a Wasp and a Seasprite. I assume they’ll soon get a Sioux too when they retire them.

I hope some of the RNZAF Iroquois remain flying on the warbird scene when they retire, it won’t be the same without them.

The Wanaka airshows always make a point of displaying the importance of helicopters, after all, the Alpine Deer Group was built up using them.

I think really why people have a different view of choppers from planes is helicopters are seen as tools, workhorses, a bit like vans. You never see Toyota Hiace vans, or Commer vans, in car museums either. Whereas fighter or bomber aircraft, and even some transports, trainers and airliners, are often things of great beauty as far as design aesthetics goes, as well as capable machines. There is no comparison in looks or affection between a Spitfire and a Jet Ranger, or an Me109 and a Wessex.

In the Expert level I got 12 / 21 = 57.1%

Pretty hard tests these

Dave,

Have you seen the video that they screen at the Blenheim museum? The museum with the recreated Blenheim village, car and train collections, etc. I saw an excellent video there last year and a clip in it showed the first Bristol Freighter to arrive at Blenheim (Omaka i think, or Woody). Could that be the one you mean? I can’t recall fully after over a year.

First and foremost for me – Dad’s Army

Then:
Blackadder
Allo Allo
Red Dwarf (though this is meant to be coming back someday, isn’t it?)
The Two Ronnies (though I heard they are making a new series!!)
Family Guy
Futurama (why oh why was such a good show cancelled??)
Fawlty Towers
MASH
Steptoe and Son
and
Auf Weidersehn Pet too – is there definately going to be no more now that Pat Roach died then? Sad, he was great, Bomber was. (Buffpuff – didn’t they have a Yorkshireman join them in the second series for a while, the bloke who played Tosh Lines from the Bill when they were redoing Ally Fraser’s big house as a retirement home. I think the bloke, Kevin someone, played a Yorkie, didn’t he?)

Though I am mates with and have met personally Bill Pertwee, Frank Williams, Pam Cundell and Jimmy Perry. I know other Dad’s Army actors and crew too but have not met them in person, only on the phone or mail/email

I’ve met Ian Bleasdale who played Josh in Casualty

I am also mates with local Cambridge boy Matt Osment, who’s better known these days as Matt Datsun of the rock band The Datsuns. I see him occassionally when he’s home from touring. Cool guy. I’ve met the others, but only briefly.

Though I have not met any house-hold name Air Force celebrities properly I had the briefest ‘meet’ when I said hello to very famous ace Johnny Checketts while at Wigram. A funny moment, an officer was walking right behind him and as me and a mate walked towards them we saluted this nobody johnny pilot behind, but Wing Commander Checketts rtd. thought we were saluting him, and saluted back, probably on lifelong instinct. As he did I said “Hello Sir.” to him, and he said hello. As we had passed both, Vughn said, “What was he saluting for, silly old coot.” I replied, “Don’t you know who that was? Wing Commander Johnny Checketts, DFC, one of New Zealand’s greatest aces, leader of the New Zealand Spitfire Squadron, shot down twice…” and reeled off all this info. Vaughn was amazed and smiled at the satisfaction that he’d saluted a real officer and gentleman without knowing it. The squirt of a pilot officer behind couldn’t hold a candle to our Johnny, who still works for the RNZAF museum now even in his 90’s. He was in a team that rebuilt two Tiger Moths for the RNZAF!! I always cherish that memory, I had hoped to get to see him again at the museum section but never caught him on his days there (volunteers only did one day a week, so each day it was a different batch of vollies).

In my air force research I’ve come across people who should be famous. I interviewed Brian Oliver who has since passed away – he was noted for his action in the Pacific in several books. He flew Venturas and flew 85 bomber missions in them.

Another I’ve met several times is Wg Comm Ron Watts, night-fighter pilot, Brilliant guy.

There have been many more whom I’m proud to have met who should be more well known for their exploits.

Best of all, though not in person, was interviewing Bill Wells on the phone (as he lives in England). He was an amazing pilot, a Battle of Britain veteran, one of our top aces, a crack shot marksman and a very popular leader. He appeared all too briefly in Spitfire Ace. He was regarded as quite a hero during the war, in both Britain and New Zealand, nad especially so here in Cambridge – when he came home on leave in 1942, over 800 people turned out at the Town Hall to welcome him! I am currently putting together his story for my site, and the resources are massive as he was so well written about. But it means all the more to me to have been able to track him down and question him directly, because everyone here in Cambridge thought he was long dead.