Dave HomewoodThanks for that info.
William Lucy sounds like a real hero, it’s a pity people like him from the early war period are not more well known. I’d never heard of him.
Dave HomewoodI believe the Skua is significant in that it was the Fleet Air Arm’s first monoplane, their first aircraft with retractable undercarriage and first enclosed cockpit aircraft, so a technological leap for the FAA.
Doe John Casson’s logbook exist somewhere?
As for the ace mentioned above, anyone who can become an ace against the Luftwaffe in an aircraft with a top speed of 225mph must have been very gifted. Who was he?
Dave HomewoodThanks for the info Steve.
Dave HomewoodIf the USAF had a keen sense of humor…and most of it does not….
The leader of the current Thunderbirds team, Lt Colonel Kevin Robbins, was interviewed a week or so ago on The Daily Show (which we get hot off the satellite here about 24 hours after the USA sees it). Did you catch it John? I was pleasantly surprised to see the colonel had a great sense of humour and took the ribbing from John Stewart very well.
Dave HomewoodHis first one is called ‘Kiss Me Kate’.
He’s probably worn it out already by jumping up and down on the seat.
I guess he could be buying the CA-18 as they’re meant to be ar better than the P-51D, and he may flick on the former one.
Dave HomewoodHe owns what is, iirc, a half-original Sopwith Camel, displayed at Omaka Airshow ’03. I have the DVD of the airshow somewhere…
I have never heard Jackson actually flying it.
You seem to be referring to Peter Jackson in answering the question about ownership of a classic biplane. I think if you look at the original question in post #32 by John Boyle, the person who owns a classic biplane he referred to was Stephen Fry, the scriptwriter. Not Peter Jackson.
Quite seperate from Mr Fry’s alleged involvement in classic aviation, Peter Jackson has a world renowned collection of aircraft based at Omaka and Masterton in New Zealand. If you have not heard about it, you have not been paying attention to worldwide warbird news for the past few years. He is a collector but he is not a flyer himself by the way.
He is also a renowned collector of aviation memorabilia – some of the more important WWI aviation artifacts are in his possession, and he is chairman of a world-beating aviation musuem that puts the likes of Hendon and Duxford to shame in terms of presentation. Having viewed some of his incredible collection and the attention to detail in that musuem, the Aviation Heritage Centre at Omaka, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind of his intention to promote and achieve accuracy in this film. Filmmaking and aviation history are his passions. Having said this, he’s not the director, his protege is directing it, but I doubt that Peter’s guidance is far from on-hand.
There is so much rubbish and utter dribble on this thread and others by naiive narrow-minded people about this film. They keep referring to the film as being Hollywood. What does “Hollywood” mean? And what does it have to do with the remake of the Dambusters? Please connect the dots because I fail to see the connection.
It is being made in New Zealand and Britain. It is being funded primarily by British and New Zealand producers. The director – Christian Rivers – is a New Zealander. The CGI is being done in New Zealand, as are the models. One assumes that a mix of British and New Zealand actors, and others will be involved. Aircraft used are to be British and possibly Canadian if the rumours come to anything, as well as NZ-made replicas which are having parts made in China.
The only mention of anything remotely connected to “Hollywood” is that the distributor is planned to be Universal. Whipty frickin do. All they do is get the film out to the cinemas. They don’t write the script and digitally create the dams etc. You’ll find most popular British films have US-based distributorship too, if they don’t, they don’t get seen and are not successful.
I think it’s time a number of you got an Atlas and found out where Wellington is. You also need to look up via the internet to see the Omaka collection, the Aviation Heritage Centre, and the Classic Fighters airshow.
Additionally if you have little faith in how films about true and historic events are handled by the New Zealand film industry I will recommend sample some already available. Off the top of my head there are Peter Jackson’s own masterpiece, Heavenly Creatures, or Bad Blood, or The World’s Fastest Indian, or one I highly recommend that I watched tonight, Out of the Blue.
Three of the four I just mentioned are based on true murders which made big press in New Zealand at the time. They are all handled with subtlety and decorum, and are bitingly accurate in historic terms if you research the real events. NZ films rank far higher then most US-made films in my opinion.
And the important thing is the NZ film industry is not just Peter Jackson, there are thousands of people working behind the scenes. Many of those working on Dambusters will be experienced in other excellent films from our multi-award winning industry. For a tiny country we have one of the world’s most amazing film industries. A great deal of them have experience from other film industries too having gone overseas to work, then returned with their knowledge.
This film is being made in secrecy, like most films made here in NZ these days. So you and I know virtually nothing about the film other than what has been said in official press releases, and the facts from them can be counted on your fingers. Other than that, the rest is total uncertainty to those of us not in the know, and thus not worth considering. The press reports have never stated this film is being made in or by Hollywood.
Before you all continue with the uninformed criticisms wait till the film is released and then make your judgements, or alternately be like the grumpy old sods who refuse to ever watch it because they’re stuck in the delusion that nothing can better the half-century old black and white, stilted acting, poor SFX, historically innaccurate version we all know and love.
Dave Homewood(as in the James Bond Films, English directors, European cast, English writers etc and american money).
To get technical here, three of the Bond films have been directed by New Zealanders – Martin Campbell and Lee Tamahori. Of the other directors in the series, Guy Hamilton is French, Roger Spottiswoode is Canadian, and Terence Young was born in China. The only English Bond directors as far as I’m aware were Lewis Gilbert and John Glen.
Dave HomewoodThe price paid has been reported publily on several newspaper websites already if you put Guy Gibson into Google News, I spotted it the other day when looking for the Dambusters film remake news.
Dave HomewoodWhen withdrawn from service the aircraft was based at Lauthala Bay, so that’s a starting point to start looking up the rivers there. He said it was towed up a river and moored. But that was 65 years ago now.
Prices Wharf at Suva was their earlier base whilst Lauthala was being built.
Dave HomewoodThey were all Singapore III’s, that’s the only model that went into service, the I and II were just prototypes. The Mk I was used by Sir Alan Cobham to do a tour of Africa but never saw squadron service.
If the house boat could be found I sincerely think it would make a great project to restore back to a static flying boat. Perhaps parts could be retreived from the others that were sunk in the bay off Lauthala too..
Dave HomewoodThanks for that info chaps. Glenn Curtiss began making kitsets of his aircraft I believe as I’m sure I read that the Walsh brothers, Leo and Vivian, brought two Curtiss flying boat kits in from the USA for their school at Kohimarama, Auckland, NZ. After flying them they decided to design and build their own aircraft and came up with other flying boats. I have a documentary with footage of their flying boats and aerial footage from one of them in about 1913. Amazing to see the city from the air back then.
And yes if you want to take the title literally I can possibly beat the Wright Brothers getting rained on because Richard Pearse’s first flight in March 1903 took off from a road but landed in a riverbed so I guess he may have gotten it a little soggy. 🙂
Dave HomewoodToday the real story has been posted on stuff.co.nz it seems
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4060455a11.html
Sorry for the confusion
Scottish village honours Kiwi Spitfire pilot
NZPA | Tuesday, 15 May 2007
A young New Zealand pilot who sacrificed his life saving a small Scottish village in World War 2 will have a bronze bust unveiled in his honour this weekend.
Carlisle Everiss, 26, is regarded as a hero in the small village of Cowie, Stirlingshire, after he refused to bail out and stayed with his stricken Spitfire to steer it away from houses on October 2, 1941.
Villagers said he knew his decision meant almost certain death.
He died moments after his Spitfire crashed into railway sidings at the Cowie Colliery. He was pulled from the burning wreckage by villagers and given the last rites.
They believe his actions saved the lives of countless villagers.
On Saturday the village will unveil a large rock statue with a bronze bust of the Kiwi hero mounted on top to his memory.
The Royal Air Force will to hold a flyover of Tornado fighters.
The statue was “a testament to his fantastic courage and sacrifice,” local councillor Gerard O’Brien said.
“No one here underestimates the contribution Carlisle Everiss made in sacrificing his own life for the sake of not just the villagers at that time but for all generations to come.
“This tribute is about ensuring he will be remembered not just by Cowie but by the rest of the world, and forging lasting links with his homeland.”
Cowie Bowling Club secretary Pat McCormack told NZPA it was a “big, big event for us”.
A portrait of Carlisle Everiss, called “The Face of Courage” had hung in the clubrooms for many years, Mr McCormack said.
Dave HomewoodHi Ian,
That’s very odd, yes it did come from the article and from what it states it makes out that the museum is the venue for the unveiling event. I thought it odd that it wasn’t to be in the village.
The exact text in the report, after talking about Everiss’s deed in which he sacrificed himself to avoid hitting the buildings, states:
“On 19 may, thanks to the efforts of the Scottish New Zealand Society a special memorial is to be unveiled at the Museum of Flight in East Lothian.
Society chairman Peter Leslie summed up the thoughts of many when he said: ‘His split second decision saved the lives of countless miners and their families and it is only right that his actions should be recognised.’
Perhaps you need to have a word with Mr Leslie and see what’s going on?
I wonder if they condensed a report and got it muddled up, as often happens when editors tamper with a journalist’s work.
Dave HomewoodWhat a waste. That aircraft was flown all the way across the Pacifid when its first US owner bought it. That would have been an interesting trip. i wonder if there are photos around, and I wonder where it stopped off along the way.
What a shame the remains are not to come back to NZ where it could be combined into one of the flying projects that are going on here. 🙁
Dave HomewoodWhat do you mean “put out to grass at Chino”, do you mean scrapped? Or just stuck outside of the hangar?
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