Radio Announcer in The Air

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 27, 16 December 1938, Page 3

Radio Announcer in The Air

IKE newspapermen, radio announcers land in some queer places at times, meet up with some novel experiences. One recent experience that Tan (‘‘Slaps and Claps’’) Maekay, programme supervisor at 2ZB, won’t forget in a hurry is the trip he made to the annual training camp at Blenheim of the Wellington Territorial Squadron of the New Zealand Air Force. Anxious to do the thing proper. ly, the Air Department placed a plane at the disposal of the — NCBS, and Squadron Leader Grundy was deputed to pilot Mr. | Mackay across to Blenheim. Normally it is a very pleasant trip by air, but this time condi- |

tions "upstairs" were bumpy in the extreme, and it wasn’t. Arrived and recovered, Mr, Mackay set a microphone up and wandered ronnd the camp _ interviewing officers and men and giving listeners a first-hand account of conditions in camp, Next, in preparation for a Slightly more technical description of the work being carried out by the squadron, Mr. Mac« kay was taken up in a bomber by Flying Officer L. Taylor, and shown what diving and strafing and zooming and all the intricate manoeuvres of aerial warfare really mean. Back on the ground, he took some more time off, then proceeded to tell listeners what had happened to him. His troubles were not over yet, for weather conditions were so bad that he had to stay at Blenheim overnight, Fortunately the return trip was smooth and uneventful.