WONZ 267 – Vampire Month: Brett Emeny

Guest: Brett Emeny Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: 24th of November 2022 Released:  30th of November 2022 Duration: 1 hour 21 minutes 14 seconds November 2022 marks 50 years since the RNZAF’s de Havilland Vampire fleet retired from service. The Air Force operated 58 Vampires within New Zealand, and at least 44 more leased Vampires in Cyprus and Singapore. In this episode of the WONZ Show, Dave Homewood talks with well known Warbirds pilot Brett Emeny. Coming from a family of pilots, his father Cliff flew in the Air Force during WWII as an Air Gunner, then a Navigator and then as a Pilot. Brett’s brothers are all in aviation, Duane owns Air Chathams, John is an ag pilot and Derek is aviation accident assessor. Brett’s daughter Faye is also a pilot. Brett discusses his journey into aviation and the various Warbird aircraft he is involved with, from the Catalina ZK-CAT which he flies and maintains, to the Yak 52 team, to the T-28 Trojan, and most importantly for Vampire Month, his two-seat de Havilland DH115 Vampire Mk. 55, ZK-RVM. Note: Unfortunately the evening that we recorded this interview the Zoom connection was not quite as clear as it should have been, so apologies in advance for the audio quality. Quick Links: New Zealand Defence Force Serials for de Havilland Vampires The WONZ Episode with Rod Dahlberg WONZ 263: Vampire Month – Tommy Thompson WONZ 264: Vampire Month – Dave Greenlees WONZ 265: Vampire Month – Mayn Hawkins WONZ 266: Vampire Month – Jim Barclay The following photos have kindly been supplied by Gavin Conroy of Classic Aircraft Photography: Brett Emeny flying his s