Dad got posted to Whenuapai in 1976. I went to Hobsonville school then Massey high till 82. Got to see inside the P3's a few times as well as a few flights down country on the C130's. Seeing this brings a tear to my eye. So many great memories from being in an Airforce family

great video work for sure. I remember as a school boy in the 1970's cycling to the airport and watching planes from the terminal roof top viewing area. With the new airport thats no longer available and very much missed by so many of us older folk

to think they will just rot away like the lancaster at motat never to fly again because nobody in the future will be able to service them or even understand how to fly them. i can see they are being forced into the dementia ward when the still have their marbles. look at them. such beautiful sounding aircraft. bless anybody who served on them in the last 60 years

Sure is like a death in the family. Dad was based at Whenuapai. Dad would get flight schedules from Air op's so I knew when to go to the end of the runway to watch the birds come in. they were the older P3c's back then in the late 70's and the C130's weren't camo.

@@trevorspark1933 was your dad Greg?

@@brendanbayer5002 Yeah mate. he died at Woodburn base back around 95. Only 53

No problem 👍

No worries!

Thank you! Cheers!

P8 was over Chch today

@@GBlanchy yeah man, i saw that on flight radar! pretty cool right?

@@AverageDiscordMod was watching on the radar as it came back up the coast.

Jets are for kids!

I remember back in the late 70's when all the contestants were at Whenuapai. Our Orion's, Aussie's Orion's, UK's Nimrod and Canada's Argus. Damn that Argus was loud. Dad was based there.

@@trevorspark1933 I was duty grocer the night they came in DNCO and Orderly Officer were grocers, as well, and duty airman was grocer, who took over in main store while we put the Canadians in the barracks at Hobby...that was the last time Argus was here, before the Aurora took over, and the Saturday morning they departed, one oops two of the Best beet ups I seen there, was, 77 or 78, if remember rightly.

Airport control tower

@@GBlanchy nice

It stays friends with it's Allies. The cost of running a fighter wing is more than the cost of the entire Defence forces budget. The big 4 banks and many other Australian owned businesses don't pay any tax on profit made in NZ. So Australia gets about $5 to $7billion of New Zealand tax money to pay for their super expensive f35 's at over $200 million each with upgrades and stupendous running cost's the Australian govt did not realise how expensive this would become. So the recommendation from the Parliament was to cut flying time in half to bring cost's down to being affordable. So pilot training will suffer on ground crews will not be up to speed not enough technictians either RAAF pay is no where near private sector. the f35 will be a white elephant. The Canadian govt knew this and bought all Australia's reliable and much cheaper fa 18's. So what planes would be best for NZ I say drones and rockets make far more sense for us especially as we have such a large territory to cover. Drone boats diesel long range helicopter drones .

The question would still apply if they had some. Small countries don't typically defend themselves by building and maintaining powerful armed forces.