John Christie's Page

C'mon mate - you aint a loser!!!! You're living the high life! Brewing beer in your range at Mt Cook - what in life could be better?!?!?

Its a lithuanian registered 52,I had intended using the paint scheme on one I was going to import before I left Oz, now i'm back in NZ I bought into a Harvard syndicate,it doesn't have the inverted capabilities of the yak but it's a hell of a nostalgia trip doing aero's in a 1941 trainer.

Pleased to meet another "Rotten Russian" aficionado John.
They're both great machines, if I had some money i'd have one of each, but not unhappy to share a Harvard for now.
Were/are you part of the Ashburton Yak syndicate? You'd have a good feel for it @ 150hrs.,I've only spent a few hours in a 52, still alot of unfinished business there.

I didn't hear about the forced landing although I've heard John Parkers name mentioned many times, would be a bit unusual for a vedeenev to fail,do you know the cause? ( just googled it,can't help but laugh at the golfers comments)They're tough little buggers, back in '06 a mate in Queensland loaned one of his to another aero instructer to train a new 55 owner, a few circuits and a brain fade = wheels up landing, tore a foot or more off the prop then tried to fly away,nearly worked but a gum tree got caught up in the wing root.Very bent, 3 very unhappy men but as hes an engineer it'll probably fly again.