Volume 27 #2, Issue 125SWIBLO STUNNER!
WACO RETURNS HOME![]() In January a time warp of sorts occurred at Omaka Airfield, Blenheim, NZ, when one of only three WACO UOC built took to the air some 55 years after it had taken off from this exact same location wearing the exact same colours. In his article we present an overview of the aircraft’s history, including the mystery of a passenger leaping to her death on a flight over Cook Straight between the South and North Islands of NZ, and the sleuthing which culminated in what might be considered dumb luck, which saw it return home from long term storage in Australia. Co-owners Jay McIntyre and Rex Newman discuss how this happened and the frustrations of trying to replicate the ‘Insignia Blue’ colour scheme. All of this complemented by historical, restoration and current air to air images, as she once again soars over a familiar landscape. SPAD FIGHTER SURVIVORS – FINAL
Our Last Mystery Aircraft was a...LWF Model V Tractor![]() The LWF Engineering Company was founded in 1915 for the manufacture of “all types’ heavier-than-air machines.” In a 1919 advert for the company their machines were touted as “having stood the most severe tests and the only machines used for advanced training in America in the fall of 1917. A large number had been sent to France for the same purpose and 25 at the time were being used on the “Czecho-Slovak front.” Here we chart the aircraft’s design and development and concentrate on its service in Russia with both the Czechoslovakian Legion and the White Russians, all fighting to stem the Red tide. Thereafter we take a look at a remarkable survivor which not only escaped that conflict, but years of socialist government’s thereafter. AIRSHOW - Classic Fighters 2023![]() Following a four year hiatus due to the pandemic and the uncertainties created by it, the first full air show to happen in NZ since then took place over Easter at Omaka Aerodrome, NZ. |
|