5. Training like crazy to die
Specific training for the suicide mission begins – with high speed glides from up to 10,000 feet in the Zero. The young pilots contemplate their imminent and inevitable deaths – as USAAF B-29s stream overhead. Translated by Nicholas Voge. Continue reading 5. Training like crazy to die
4. Like a fish out of water
Seaplane pilot and instructor makes the transition to flying landplanes and converts to nimble – if war-weary and unreliable – Mitsubishi A6M ‘Zero’ fighters. Translated by Nicholas Voge. Continue reading 4. Like a fish out of water
3. Our coffins were painted pink
Masa’aki Saeki and his squadron-mates arrive at the secretive Konike air base and learn the reality of their mission. They also see their Yokosuka MXY-7/K-1 Ohka suicide bombs for the first time. Translated by Nicholas Voge. Continue reading 3. Our coffins were painted pink
A journey shared
Salvaging a wrecked WB-29 from a remote and icy recovery strip was not part of the plan when Robert Liggett volunteered for the US Air Force in Tennessee during the 1950s. But you go where you’re sent… Continue reading A journey shared
Out of the blue…
Those of you with sharp-eyes and a long memory may have noticed that it’s been a while since anything appeared on airscape Magazine. Happily, that’s about to change. But first, a brief word of explanation – and I’m the kind of person that treats “enough about me” as a platform rather than a conclusion, so I will be keeping it short. Making excuses Even though … Continue reading Out of the blue…
Extra Manoeuvers
What It Takes to Pull Formation Gsat World Championship Level Written by Monica Kade Flying is an unexpected romance, one that many have come to know intimately in their own way. It seems to choose the individual, rather than the other way around, and it’s a feeling that’s hard to shake from the soul. Those who love it, live and breathe it—and a select few, … Continue reading Extra Manoeuvers
Pilot No.1
William Ewart Hart It’s fair to say that most of Australia’s early aviation history happened during and immediately after the Great War… Most. But not all. There were a handful of Australians who caught the flying bug early and gave it full rein right here. And one of the most important was Paramatta dentist William Ewart Hart – holder of Australian Aviator’s Licence No. 1. … Continue reading Pilot No.1
Home for a hunter
Orion rising The first thing you notice is its size. In fact, the most common reaction is ‘Oh. Wow!’ Although it’s hardly enormous by modern standards, the Lockheed Orion’s ancestry in the Electra turboprop is a vivid reminder that even small airliners are not small aeroplanes. To walk from SAAM’s darkened restoration workshop into a display hangar that is dominated by a retired RAAF AP-3C … Continue reading Home for a hunter
(G)olden days
Messing about in planes This won’t be news to TAVAS members any more, but a couple of weekends back I had the enormous pleasure of hanging out with my mate Andrew at the TAVAS Museum at Caboolture, north of Brisbane. (Plus other shenanigans, which we needn’t go into here.) TAVAS Museum I’d like to stop here, in case your boss comes in and you have … Continue reading (G)olden days
Missing Man
Vale, General Yeager Sometime today, you will find yourself processing the news that the famous twinkle has forever left the clear eyes of Brigadier-General Charles E. Yeager. I heard the news from my friend Ronald, who heard it on the radio. Then I checked and found I’d not known for around five hours. Part of me regretted that. Another part was glad I hadn’t found … Continue reading Missing Man
airscape Magazine 