By Blue Riley
Blue Riley
Earlier in the year, we were asked at school to design a poster showing what Anzac Day means to us. I thought about my Grandma’s Dad, who had been in both World Wars, after he joined the army at only about 16 years old.
I was lucky to have my poster chosen as one of the top three, and my prize included the chance to spend the day with one of the armed forces. It took me about two seconds to choose the Air Force, and so on Friday my Dad and I went to Ohakea. We met Flight Sergeant Daren Smith at the gate and, after getting our visitor IDs, he took us to the big helicopter hangars. I got to see where the mechanics work and was shown inside an Iroquois. I thought the mechanic’s shadow board for all the tools was pretty cool.
There was a lot going on there because they were packing up to get ready for a trip to Samoa. Next he took us to the fire station, where I got kitted up in all the safety gear and taken out on a fire truck. They lit a fire on a fake plane and I got to try and put it out with water and then foam. Then we went back to the Officer’s Mess and had lunch, which was really nice.
Blue and his father putting out a fire
After lunch we went to see the plane hangar and were shown through a big flash twin-engine plane that the Prime Minister would get flown around in. We got to see the fighter jets that aren’t being used now. We also got shown through the pilots’ school and checked out their equipment.
The most exciting part of my day was next—I got fitted with a flying suit and helmet and introduced to one of the pilots, Pilot Officer Ben Woodhouse. He took me out to the tarmac and showed me around a training plane. They told me how to tense up my stomach and leg muscles if the ‘G’ forces made me feel sick. They put a special seat in so that I could see out properly and we got in and waited on the runway for another plane to do a touch-and-go.
Inside of the King Air
Then it was our turn to take off. It was a really smooth take off. We flew over Palmerston North and over the gorge and the windmills, and did a touch-and-go at Palmerston North Airport. He let me have a turn at flying which was really exciting. We did a loop-de-loops and a barrel roll—it was my favourite part of the day. It made me think that the Air Force would be an awesome place to work. Everyone seemed to love their jobs.
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to show me around—especially Ben, the pilot who took me up. Dad and I were buzzing when we got home. I had such an awesome day.