HANGAR TALK - From Strikemasters to Chipmunks - Vaughn Davis - 3pm, Sunday June 18, 2023

"There we were, 20,000 feet over Washington DC at night, near-constant lightning bursts silhouetting an insane amount of traffic, when I saw we were in a 70 degree bank..."

 Vaughn Davis decided at 5 years old he wanted to be a fighter pilot. 12 years later the RNZAF told him his legs were too long for Skyhawks, saving him from spending his career pretending to bomb beaches in the Manawatū.

 Vaughn's wings course on Airtrainers and Strikemasters was followed by tours and commands on the F27 Friendship (aka the Tough Fokkers) and C130 Hercules. He's stopped for lunch in hot spots including Mogadishu and the former Yugoslavia, and overnighted in cold ones including Antarctica.

 After being crash-tackled by Warbirds CFI Dave Brown while visiting the NZ Warbirds @ Ardmore hangar a couple of years ago, Vaughn joined the Chipmunk syndicate and is now NZ Warbirds Chipmunk display pilot.

 In this talk you'll get an insight into training and maritime ops in the F27, the incredible range of operations carried out by the C130 (including Antarctic ops and that Washington experience) and what it's like to fly, display and rebuild the De Havilland Chipmunk

The talk will be followed by a detailed walk-around of Warbirds ex-RAF Chipmunk WK551.

• Sunday June 18th
• 3pm kick off in Hangar Two (next to the Chipmunk)
• $20 members (digital NZWA membership card must be shown) 
• $40 non-members (all monies from ticket sales goes to NZWA)
• Stay for drinks at Mac’s bar afterwards.