The Wings Over New Zealand Show

Guest: Wing Commander Donald Ferguson Fleming, retired, RNZAF, known as Don

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎22nd of January 2026

Released: 26th of September 2026

Duration: 2 hour 37 minutes 27 seconds

Dave Homewood sits down with Don Fleming, who grew up in the wild back blocks of the Whanganui River in the 1930s and early 40s. He got interested in aviation while at New Plymouth Boy’s High School as a boarder. And he was inspired when Squadron Leader Bob McKay flew the country’s first jet, Gloster Meteor NZ6001, over his school.

Don join...

Guest: Squadron Leader Peter Pennell, retired, RNZAF Navigator

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎17th of August 2026

Released: 27th of August 2026

Duration: 1 hour 59 minutes 6 seconds

Dave Homewood sits down with Peter Pennell, a former RNZAF Navigator, for a chat. Peter was posted straight from completion of his training at Wigram to England where he joined No. 75 Squadron RNZAF and began conversion to the English Electric Canberra bomber. The squadron then collected six Canberra B.2’s and ferried them to their new base at Tengah, Singapore. The unit replaced No. 14 Squadron and were soon...

Guest: Dr. Dan Ellin of the International Bomber Command Centre, and Andrew Panton of the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎28th of July 2026

Released: 21st of August 2026

Duration: 58 minutes 56 seconds

Lincolnshire is Bomber County, remembered as the heart and home of RAF Bomber Command in WWII (even though a lot of Bomber Command stations were also situated in Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire and beyond, too.)

In this episode Dave Homewood revisited the amazing Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby in Lincolnshire with Dr. Dan...

Guest: Paul Waite of the Tangmere Aviation Museum

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎18th of July 2026

Released: 15th of August 2026

Duration: 53 minutes 25 seconds

In this episode Dave Homewood visits the Tangmere Aviation Museum and he speaks with the museum manager Paul Waite. The museum is situated on the former RAF Tangmere airfield, famous as a front line station in the defence of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain, and as a base for numerous Fighter Command an No. 2 Tactical Air Force squadrons taking the offensive back to the Germans...

Guest: Howard Heeley

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎15th of July 2026

Released: 9th of August 2026

Duration: 1 hour 56 minutes 54 seconds

In this episode Dave Homewood visits the Newark Air Museum, at former RAF Winthorpe, situated at Coddington, just outside of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. Dave was hosted by Howard Heeley, Secretary & Museum Trustee, who has had a long affiliation with the museum, and was the perfect person to talk about the history of the site and the collection, and the current and future happenings there.

The Newark Air Museum has an amazing...

Guest: Clive Woodward Estcourt NZ391045, Pilot, Bomb Aimer (14th of October 1917 – 17th of Aug 2017 )

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎13th of August 2013

Released: 9th of August 2026

Duration: 2 hour 33 minutes 11 seconds

Clive Estcourt had been a commercial artist and signwriter in Hamilton in 1939 when the war broke out, and he immediately volunteered to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He was sent to the newly-opened RNZAF Station Ohakea in the Manawatu region, and became one of the very first airmen posted into that base after it opened on the 18th of Septemb...

Guests: Don Simms and Chris Newey

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎1st of June ‎2026

Released: 6th of June 2026

Duration: 55 minutes 27 seconds

“Maximum Effort” was a docu-drama made by the Ministry of Information during WWII about a crew of a No. 75 (NZ) Squadron Avro Lancaster bomber based at RAF Mepal in mid-1944.

In this episode Dave Homewood, Don Simms and Chris Newey discuss the making of this film, the real life characters who appear as themselves, and the Lancaster that is featured, ND752.

Portions of the original film footage...

Guest: Flying Officer John de Hoop (RAF 1810752, 191161) Wireless Operator-Air Gunner

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎19th of November 2013

Released: 29th of May 2026

Duration: 1 hour 6 minutes 13 seconds

John de Hoop was a Londoner who joined the Royal Air Force in 1943, and trained as a Wireless Operator-Air Gunner. The following year he was posted to No. 75 (NZ) Squadron at RAF Mepal, as a Wireless Operator on Avro Lancasters, in the crew captained by New Zealand pilot F/Lt Wylie Wakelin DFC. His final few ops were flown with S/Ldr Bob Rodgers as his...

Guest: Warrant Officer Leslie James Olsen N74992

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎18th of March ‎2026

Released: 24th of May 2026

Duration: 1 hour 55 minutes 48 seconds

Les Olsen joined the RNZAF as a Boy Entrant in January 1952. He trained as an Armourer in 1953, and ended up working on numerous units and squadrons over the next two and a half decades, working on guns, cannons, ejection seats, helicopter winches, torpedoes, turrets and more.

Les serviced armament equipment on Vampires at Ohakea, Canberras and Iroquois at RAF Tengah in Singapore, and he was one of th...

Guest: Air Commodore Stuart McIntyre CBE, DFC

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎25th of ‎August ‎2025

Released: 15th of May 2026

Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes 21 seconds

Air Commodore Stuart McIntyre CBE, DFC joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force on the 31st of August 1949. Following an elongated flying training phase, he converted onto the then-new de Havilland Vampires. He ended up deployed to Cyprus with No. 14 Squadron in 1952, and then returned to Ohakea, New Zealand and No. 75 Squadron in 1953, where among his duties he led an aerobatic display team. He then returned to Cyprus in A...

Guest Speakers: Brendon Deere, Tim Costley MP, SQN LDR Craig Clark, FLT LT Stu Glendinning, Roger Dalziell, and SQN LDR Michael Williams

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎28th of February 2026

Released: 9th of May 2026

Duration: 3 hours 14 minutes 55 seconds

In this bumper-sized 350th episode in the Wings Over New Zealand [...]

Guests: Bil Thuma, Don O’Rorke, Arthur Palmer and Dave O’Malley

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎24th of ‎March ‎2026

Released: 14th of April 2026

Duration: 57 minutes 40 seconds

A search is currently underway with the aim of locating the remains of a missing Lockheed Ventura, AE665, which vanished in WWII off the eastern [...]

Guest: Wing Commander Barry “Patch” Nelson

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: ‎29th of ‎December ‎2025

Released: 1st of March 2026

Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes 26 seconds

Have you ever wondered what is involved when a new aircraft type is selected for service in the Royal New Zealand Air Force? In this [...]

Guest: Grant Harnish

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 19th of February 2026

Released: 20th of February 2026

Duration: 45 minutes 34 seconds

In this Wings Over New Zealand Show “Flying Boat Month” episode Dave Homewood speaks with Grant Harnish of Salt Air in the Bay of Islands. Grant owns and flies ZK-CFA, which is the only [...]

Guest: David Berger

Hosts: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 11th of February 2026

Released: 14th of February 2026

Duration:  1 hour 53 seconds

In this Wings Over New Zealand Show “Flying Boat Month” episode Dave Homewood speaks with David Berger, who is an ex-pat British doctor who lives in Fernmount, NSW, in Australia, [...]

Guest: David Wilkinson, SAANZ President

Hosts: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 22nd of January 2026

Released: 8th of February 2026

Duration:  58 minutes 06 seconds

In this Wings Over New Zealand Show “Flying Boat Month” episode Dave Homewood speaks with David Wilkinson, who is President of the Sport Aircraft Association of New Zealand. He is [...]

Guest: Andy Love

Hosts: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 2nd of February 2026

Released: 2nd of February 2026

Duration: 44 minutes 58 seconds

In this episode Andy Love, air display coordinator of the upcoming Warbirds Over Wanaka 2026 International Airshow gives a rundown of what the public can expect to see, [...]

Guest: Paul Dalley, aka Seaplane Paul

Hosts: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 10th of January 2026

Released: 1st of February 2026

Duration:  3 hour 52 minutes 49 seconds

In this extra-length Wings Over New Zealand Show “Flying Boat Month” episode Dave Homewood speaks with Paul Dalley, who grew up with aviation around him thanks to [...]

Guest: Mark Hillier

Hosts: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 6th of January 2026

Released: 13th of January 2026

Duration:  1 hour 33 minutes 35 seconds

In this Wings Over New Zealand Show episode Dave Homewood speaks with Mark Hillier, who is a recreational pilot, a historian, an author and he is Head of Operations [...]

Guest: Warrant Officer Raymond William Tocker 73469 (18 June 1931 to 24 September 2015)

Hosts: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 11th of February 2013

Released: 6th of January 2026

Duration:  1 hour 15 minutes 32 seconds

In this Wings Over New Zealand Show episode Dave Homewood pulled another previously unpublished older interview out of [...]

Guest: Flight Lieutenant Wilfrid Leopold “Buck” Pound NZ427559 – 21 October 1922 to 27 January 2021

Hosts: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 29th of June 2013

Released: 31st of December 2025

Duration: 53 minutes 23 seconds

In this Wings Over New Zealand Show episode Dave Homewood interviews WWII RNZAF bomber pilot [...]

Guests: Reg Mitchell – No. 488 (NZ) SquadronKeith Boles DFC – No. 109 Squadron PFFHarold “Bunny” Burrows – No. 487 (NZ) Squadron, and No. 75 Squadron RNZAF, and Martial “Sonny” Gaspard – No. 75 Squadron RNZAF

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 2nd of March 2013

Released: 25th of November 2025

Duration: 1 hour [...]

Guest: Squadron Leader Geoffrey Maurice Rothwell, DFC+Bar, BC Clasp, CDeG1940 + Palme(Bel), COdLeoll + Palme(Bel), LdH (Fra). RAF 42726, RNZAF. WWII. POW#58653 April 1920 to 5 November 2017

Hosts: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 4th of March 2015

Released: 9th of November 2025

Duration:  1 hour  22 minutes 56 seconds

In this Wings Over [...]

Guests: Air Commodore Nick Osborne

Hosts: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 8th of October 2025

Released: 8th of October 2025

Duration:  1 hour  41 minutes 29 seconds

In this episode Dave Homewood interviews Air Commodore Nick Osborne RAAF, known to all as Oz.

Oz is a former fast jet pilot in [...]

Guest: Malcolm Laird

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 29th of September 2025

Published: 30th of September 2025

Duration: 1 hour 52 minutes, 48 seconds

Joining Dave Homewood on the Wings Over New Zealand Show this episode is Malcolm Laird of Ventura Publications. Malcolm has spent decades working in aviation publishing and the model aircraft [...]

Guest: John Gaertner

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 14th of September 2025

Published: 14th of September 2025

Duration: 1 hour 27 minutes, 58 seconds

John Gaertner has had a long career and life in aviation, working as a research assistant for the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum, as an airline clerk for [...]

Guest: Mike Murray

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 6th of September 2025

Published: 7th of September 2025

Duration: 2 hour 11 minutes, 57 seconds

Mike Murray is one of the founders of the King’s Cliffe Airfield Museum. RAF King’s Cliffe was a wartime Air Force station in Northamptonshire. It is located 19 kms west [...]

Guest: Matt Wilcock

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 17th of August 2025

Published: 19th of August 2025

Duration: 1 hour 16 minutes, 43 seconds

Matt Wilcock was born and bred in Hamilton, New Zealand, but he moved as a child to Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. Having a lifelong interest in aviation, he joined the [...]

Guest: Squadron Leader John Barry (Retired)

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 11th of August2025

Published: 13th of August 2025

Duration: 1 hour 1 minutes, 39 seconds

John Barry was born and bred in Wanganui. Upon leaving school he went to the Teacher Training School, and planned on a career as a school teacher. But [...]

Guest: Simon “Kermit” Rea

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 6th of August2025

Published: 7th of August 2025

Duration: 1 hour 24 minutes, 57 seconds

Simon Rea grew up in Hawera, New Zealand, as an aviation enthusiast. When he left school, he did a little bit of flying with the Hawera Aero Club, before he [...]

Guests: Sjeord “Chewy” Bakker, Tony “Chipps” Chippendale, Keith “Buck” Harrison, John Lanham, Paul McSweeny, Rene “Red” Redmond.

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 20th of July 2025

Published: 23rd of July 2025

Duration: 1 hour 39 minutes, 21 seconds

In this episode Dave Homewood chats with six ex-RNZAF members who were involved in the restoration and [...]

Guest: Ian Quinn

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 13th of July 2025

Published: 14th of July 2025

Duration: 1 hour 19 minutes, 55 seconds

In this episode Dave Homewood chats with Ian Quinn, aka ‘chinapilot’ on the Wings Over New Zealand Forum – https://rnzaf.proboards.com

Ian started his aviation career volunteering as [...]

Guest: Martin Hedley

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 2nd of March 2025

Published: 27th of June 2025

Duration:  32 minutes, 38 seconds

In this episode we hear the final presentation given at the WONZ 20th Anniversary Forum Meet at Ardmore. The presenter is Martin Hedley, foreman at Pioneer Aero Ltd., the warbird restoration [...]

Guest: Phillip Harrall AFC, MPhil, FRAeS

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 23rd of February 2025

Published: 15th of June 2025

Duration: 41 minute, 36 seconds

In this episode we hear an edited down presentation given at the WONZ 20th Anniversary Forum Meet at Wigram by Phillip Harrall, a former Royal Navy Observer. Phillip [...]

Guest: Bob McGarry

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 23rd of February 2025

Published: 8th of June 2025

Duration:  58 minutes, 19 seconds

In this episode we hear a presentation given at the WONZ 20th Anniversary Forum Meet at Wigram by licensed aeronautical engineer Bob McGarry. He talks about his career in aviation, which [...]

Guest: Anthony Galbraith and Stephen Carruthers

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 23rd of February 2025

Published: 23rd of May 2025

Duration: 48 minutes, 34 seconds

In this episode recorded at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, during the WONZ 20th Anniversary Forum Meet held there on the 23rd of February 2025, we hear [...]

Guest: Chris Newey

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 2nd of March 2025

Published: 19th of May 2025

Duration:  47 minutes, 23 seconds

In this episode we hear a presentation given by Chris Newey, who talks about his latest book The First Flight – The Origins of the New Zealand Bomber Squadron.

The [...]

Guest: Rob Booth

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 2nd of March 2025

Published: 13th of May 2025

Duration: 30 minutes, 18 seconds

In this episode we hear a presentation given at the Wings Over New Zealand 20th Anniversary Forum Meet at NZ Warbirds Inc., Ardmore, by Rob Booth, a former Warbirds pilot and owner. [...]

Guest: Andrew Brian of the Helicopter Heritage Museum

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 23rd of February 2025

Published: 4th of May 2025

Duration: 32 minutes, 24 seconds

In this episode we hear from Andrew Brian of the Helicopter Heritage Museum. This is a talk given by Andrew during the Wings Over New Zealand 20th [...]

Guest: Mark O’Sullivan

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 17th of April 2025

Published: 26th of April 2025

Duration: 1 hour 26 minutes, 42 seconds

In this episode Dave Homewood sits down with warbirds pilot Mark O’Sullivan at Omaka to talk about his aviation passion. Mark was born and bred in [...]