“I guess it all started after I saw Iron Eagle 3. It was a really silly movie, but it sure made me interested in bad films involving historic aviation”.

One thing thta has bugged me when i have watched the trailer, if a B-17 were hit and was going down, would the captain get on a radio and shout “Mayday, mayday”? Would it not be the radio operator on the wireless telegraphy set tapping out a Morse message about their peril? Did the B-17’s even have voice radio for the captains? I’m not criticising, I’m genuinely curious.

The Lexington was the name used when it was in service with the USAAF – I’m not certain if Lexington was given to the type by the USAAF or by Lockheed.

In RNZAF service it was known as the Ventura, whether it was an early model like this or the later PV-1. The first batch of Venturas that the RNZAF received were in fact second-hand B-34 and RB-34 Lexingtons that had already been worn out by the USAAF. This is one of them.

No. 4 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron, RNZAF, in Fiji had its Hudsons replaced by B-34’s but they found them to be more worn out than their Hudsons, terrible to maintain and most of their gear was incompatible, so they swapped them back for their old Hudsons! After that the RB-34 Venturas of the RNZAF stayed in NZ only, and were used for operational training.

This particular example never really flew in RNZAF service as such, on arrival from the USA it went straight to the Technical Training School to become an instructional airframe for mechanics, riggers, etc. After the war it was sold to a local, and it sat on his farm/orchard till MOTAT were donated it in the late 1960’s. It’s a rare aircraft, NZ’s only surviving example of the Ventura fleet, and seeing it sit outside without paint is a huge shame. And when it comes indoors again they apparently plan to string it up into the rafters which is sad too.

It is not a PV-2 outside Johan, it is an RB-34 Lexington, which in RNZAF service was, like our PV-1s, known as a Ventura.

Yes the theme for the show in 2009 was Italy, complete with a massive recreation of the Monte Cassino monestary on the hill behind the airfield which was bombed by dozens of aircraft and reduced to rubble on the last day.

I think the Luftwaffe colours came in 2010, not sure, maybe 2011. The Hurricane that sits beside it has worn several schemes in recent years too, including a Desert Air Force sheme, then the scheme of a Blenheim (the town where Omaka is based) ace, and now Russian scheme.

Ricky Gervais is a very clever and witty man in my opinion and I like the way he doesn’t care what he says in Hollywood, breaking down their sacred barriers.

Mike the Air Force Museum of New Zealand’s Canberra is still in storage due to lack of space, and manpower and funds for restoring it. It is in the queue though. They are currently extending the museum buildings and two of the three projects currently under restoration (the Oxford and Kittyhawk) are nearing completion which will mean only the Vildebeest will be in the workshop. I’m told after that the Catalina will be finished and displayed and then the Canberra will be tackled.Whether that all pans out remains to be seen. They have a pristine RAAF Canberra on dispaly already which has been there since 1987.