Like how a lot of my web searches go, I was looking up one thing and in the middle of the page a pic of a Gloster Meteor shows up so of course I have to click on it.

It is a New Zealand blog talking about old times and I'll paste the paragraph here:

Perhaps the most dramatic memory from 1946, though, was the visit to New Zealand of the world’s first active service jet fighter plane the Gloster Meteor.



We all assembled in the playground as the Meteor did its things over Dunedin, and we hardly got a glimpse of it. Then some bright spark, probably Ralph Park, rang through to Taieri Aerodrome to find out whether we might get a closer look at it as it returned to base. The pilot must have been contacted, for a closer look we surely got, as the plane roared in quite low over the village, only to go into a fast vertical climb right over the school. Some of the littlies were lying on the ground by this time, and every mouth was wide open, as the Meteor did a U-turn, and a fast dive straight back toward the ground. Not only had we never seen an aircraft without propellers before, but neither had we known that a diving plane could go so fast, and level out so smoothly.
I will never forget it!


From here:
http://slidgenz.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html


Anyway, it was somewhat poignant to think of when a person could phone up an airfield or tower on the spur of the moment and say "Hey, I have a schoolyard of children that can't see the plane, could you give them a better view please?" (and notice how the person would say please!)

Then the tower calls the pilot and says "There is a schoolyard full of children who would like a closer look of your plane, can you give them one?"

Pilot (While taking a quick scan to make sure no nearby homes have any laundry out)- "They want a closer look do they? I'll see what I can do.... "


Nowadays a military pilot doing a flyby later determined to be under, what 1500'? risks losing his wings and career.

Very nice blog. Thanks for that link!