Question time # 200 resolved. ZK-AFD.

Lockheed 10A ZK-AFD with the construction number 1095, with a date of manufacture of 19-04-1937, was purchased through Brown and Dureau, as the New Zealand agents, for Union Airways of New Zealand Ltd. 

It was shipped to NZ along with ZK-AFC on the Union Steamship Company's MV Limerick *** reaching Auckland on 28-05-1937.

I have three dates for its ZK-AFD listing - 1st, 3rd or 14-06-1937.

Its first flight in NZ was 03-06-1937 bearing the name Kuaka.

It was not impressed into the RNZAF for service during World War II.

On 05-02-1943 after departing Taieri it entered cloud and shortly thereafter its port wing struck Flagstaff Hill with the aircraft coming to rest among gorse bushes.

The extensively damaged aircraft twas recovered the following day and trucked down to the Union Airways hangar at Taieri.

The aircraft was rebuilt in this hangar and re-flew again from Taieri on 11-08-1943. 

Follows is a selection of photographs from the Roy McDonald collection of this project.

 These first three shots show it as it it came to rest.

 Above. Dunedin City to the left of the wing tip.

The two photos below show that it was quickly dismantled the following day.

 The fuselage was towed back to Taieri Airfield

Three shots below show progress as at 19-07-1943.

Below two photos of progress as of 25-07-1943

Below. Nearly there.

Wings and engines installed 9-08-1943.

It was test flown on 11-08-1943.

Below is a list of persons in the above photo, as best as I can make out, from details on the rear of the photo.

Left to right.

R Hart, A C Denholm, A Fleming and R Tawharu- all engineers.

I Hastings Panel beater and welder.

M Kelly, and L Whinray engineers; R McDonald Engineer in charge and inspector; 

M McCronie, N McClean, P McLaughlin, R Cornwall, R Treadgold engineers, and R Hunter instruments and radio.
Below we see ZK-AFD and ZK-AGJ at Rongotai in May 1945.

Unknown photographer. (May 1945). [Union Airways NAC Electra 10A]. Ref: 15-0792. Whites Aviation Collection. Walsh Memorial Library, The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT)

It continued in service - transferring to New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NZNAC) from 01-04-1947.

With a total airframe time of 14,894 hours it was withdrawn from service on 14-09-1951 having been listed with Rural Aviation Ltd at New Plymouth from 23-04-1951.

I believe they purchased it to acquire the Pratt and Whitney Wasp radial engines.
Pic below taken at Bell Block Airfield New Plymouth - I will blame Nev Worsley for it - via Allan Wooller.

In the 1960's the stripped airframe was with Mangorei Motors Ltd, Taranaki.
Pic above at the 'wreckers yard' at Waitara.
Again a Nev Worsley pic via Allan Wooller.

 It was acquired for the Museum of Transport and Technology of Auckland in 1966 and delivered up to them in March of 1967.

The aircraft currently on display at this Museum as ZK-AFD is in fact ZK-BUT.

The real ZK-AFD is displayed as a cutaway fuselage.

**********

From  www.airmailsnz.com/page5.htm we note :-
1943, 5 February

CRASH OF UNION AIRWAYS LOCKHEED ELECTRA ZK-AFD "KUAKA"

(Commander A.T. Orchard with Second Officer A.I. Hadfield) while on a scheduled flight from Dunedin to Christchurch and Wellington. "Kuaka" crash-landed on Flagstaff Hill in very poor visibility just after leaving Taieri aerodrome, Dunedin. There were no injuries to passengers and crew and they were able to walk Out. Mails were placed on the next day's flight. No cachets were applied.
********

Another bit of information - useless maybe - but ZK-AFD featured on an NZ stamp about 1974.

***

The MV Limerick was an 8,724 ton refrigerated cargo ship built by William Hamilton and Co, Glasgow in 1925 for the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand.

While sailing in convoy GP48 along the east coast of Australia Limerick was torpedoed and sunk on 26 April 1943, by Japanese submarine 'I-177' off Cape Byron. 

All but two of the crew were rescued.

If 'Anonymous' from the original Question Time # 200 post would care to send me his/her postal address then I will send your chockie fish portion to you.

The Vintage Aviator Reveals Two New WW 1 Aircraft at Masterton 28-1-2018

The Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL) has not participated in any public displays this season, but they have continued with their flying days at Hood Aerodrome on the last weekend of the month.  These flying days have focussed on getting more pilots familiar with the various TVAL aircraft.

The most recent flying days were over the weekend of 27 - 28 January, and the weather co-operated although it was scorchingly hot.  A lot of flying was done and around 20 TVAL WW 1 replica and reproduction aircraft were out in the sun.

And in an unexpected highlight TVAL revealed their two latest creations which are exact reproductions and are the latest in the lines of Albatos D VAs and Sopwith Pups:

 TVAL Sopwith Pup ZK-AFS2 (c/n 0008) was first registered on 27/2/17 and is powered by an original 80 HP Le Rhone rotary engine.  It is painted up as N6185 from 4(N) Squadron of the RNAS and which was the aircraft flown by 21 year old Australian pilot Flight Lt Charles J Moir.  It originally bore the code A but the letters NZAC were added.   Flight Lt Moir scored 2 victories in this Pup when he was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire near Zeebrugge on 10 May 1917, while he was on a bomber escort mission.

This is the third Sopwith Pup reproduction to come from The Vintage Aviator.

And the other new aircraft was TVAL Albatros D VA-1 ZK-ALB2 (c/n 0147) which was first registered on 15/3/17.  This is the sixth Albatos D VA reproduction to come from The Vintage Aviator (as well as one Albatros D II).  It is powered by a TVAL built water cooled 200 HP Mercedes D III au engine.  It is painted up as a Jasta 11 machine of unknown serial, that was flown by Ltn Carl-August von Schoenbeck.  It has the Jasta 11 red forward fuselage and struts and has the pilots personal colour on the tail surfaces - in this case lilac.  The German WW 1 aircraft were much more colourful than their British opponents.  Carl-August von Schoenbeck had seven confirmed victories in WW 1 as well as four unconfirmed.  He was highly decorated and survived the war and he then went on to have a long flying career.

He was an instructor during the covert founding of the Luftwaffe in Lipetsk, Russia in 1935 and rose to the rank of Group Commander in 1938.  He later served as the Air Attache to Bulgaria and was a prisoner of was from 1945 to 1948.  He later founded the Luftfarht-Technik Company and represented such aircraft companies as Hiller Helicopters, Piper Aircraft, the Bristol Aeroplane Company and the Beech Aircraft Corporation.  In 1954 he gained a multi-engine pilot's license and in 1975 he took up hang gliding at the age of 77!  He died on 4 September 1989.

Thanks very much to Ray Deerness for supplying the long awaited photos.

Warbirds Fokker Triplane Replica at Ardmore

I was very pleased to arrive at Ardmore in the late afternoon of 25/1/18 and find the NZ Warbirds Fokker Triplane replica ZK-FKD out in the sun.  It had been pushed out for inspection by a large visiting group so my timing was perfect.

After the inspection the group moved on to Avspecs and the Triplane was quickly pushed back into the Tecnam hangar.

Meanwhile at Masterton a lot more WW 1 aircraft action was about to happen....

Homebuilt Aircraft from the Waikato 25-1-2018

As I worked my way up from the King Country to the Waikato on a Thursday afternoon there were a few original homebuilt aircraft from the AACA era on offer:

At Te Kuiti was Gary Williams' Jodel D 11 ZK-KSD (c/n AACA/430).  It was originally built by Gary and first registered in April 2004.  It could be parked up at Te Kuiti to give room for the RV 8 that Gary Williams is building at Otorohanga

Hangared at Hamilton Aero Maintenance at Hamilton Airport was Dave Stewart's Squirecraft SA 102.5 Cavalier ZK-DJS (c/n AACA/250).  This was built by Dave and was first registered in February 1984.  I was told that it hasn't flown for a couple of years but it still looks in great condition.

And a bit further North at Te Kowhai Zenith CH 200 ZK-ZEN (c/n AACA/662) was taxying back to its hangar after doing circuits.  This aircraft was built by Barry Vivian at New Plymouth and was first registered in November 1983.

Question time # 201

A nice easy Question Time to start the year.

All we need to know is :-

What ?

Where ?

When ?

Why ?

Who ?

I have left the letter 'A' in as a give away clue.

(Come in Mit !)

Supermarine Aircraft Spitfire Mk26B Replica ZK-MEB.

Just three hours into its forty hour test flying program the Supermarine Aircraft Spitfire Mk26B Spitfire Replica ZK-MEB (c/n 72) was noted at  Rangiora on 27-01-18.

It was first registered to Ivan Campbell of Loburn Abbey on 28-11-2016.

 Above we see Ivan getting organised prior to start.

The small print forward of the cockpit says ' Into the Blue'.

 Up and into the blue.

 Lovely sound there Ivan.

Cessna 180J ZK-WBG.

First flying in May of 1952 the Cessna 180 continued in production until the last 180K model rolled out in 1981 by which time nearly 6200 had been produced. 

Used examples still continue to trickle into NZ. 

One of the last of the Cessna 180J’s built flew in 1976 as N7824K and was delivered to Skyways Inc at Troutdale, Oregon. On 05-07-1977 it was transferred to Carson Industries of Laverne, California and then to Arthur Maturi of Chisholm, Minnesota on 28-12-1983. 

Allen Hoyt at Jackson, Wyoming, operated it briefly from 23-05-1995, followed by Canyon Wood Products Inc of Carson City, Nevada from 30-08-1998. 

From 09-08-2005 Cazort Technologies Inc of Corona Delmar, California operated it -

until selling it to its final listed US owner Oxford Partnership of Cambridge NZ on 20-05-2014. Its US registration was cancelled on 29-05-2014.

 It become ZK-WBG on 23-09-2014 still with Oxford Partnership replacing the the Cessna 182P Skylane ZK-MAK which was sold about a month later.

 The WBG registration is created from three letters taken from the new owner’s surname.

It was photographed yesterday (27-01-2018) at the fuel pumps at Rangiora.

It received an earlier posting Here.

The Twinstar ZK-FTN returns to the register

The Kolb Twinstar Mark II ZK-FLN (c/n 3000) was first registered on 07-06-1989 to A E Austin of Auckland.

From the first of February 1993 it was with Ron Cohen of Taradale and from 08-08-1994 was listed to Bob Climpson of Upper Moutere.

It has been parked up in a dismantled state at Takaka Airfield for some time with its registration being canceled as withdrawn on 28-10-2015.

It is seen below at the back of the hangar at Takaka on 13-11-2016.

It was rescued in about April last year and trailered down to Rangiora by Graeme Main

Below at Rangiora on 05-05-2017

 On 07-07-2017 - work underway. 

 Below 06-10-17. Engine runs under way and paint scheme being worked on.

 Final scheme below, with registration back on tail and left undercarriage being sorted on 17-11-2017.

It was re-registered on 12-01-2018 to the Penmain Syndicate of Christchurch

Below as seen on 18-01-2018.

PAC 750 XL ZK-KNM at Ardmore 25-1-2018

I was surprised to see a PAC XL 750XL parked outside Oceania Aviation last Thursday when I was at Ardmore.  It turned out to be constructors number 194 which was first registered as ZK-KNM on 28/1/15 and then went to New Guinea as P2-OMC, being cancelled from the New Zealand register on 7/7/15.

It returned to the New Zealand register on 31/7/17 under the ownership of Oceania Aviation Ltd.

ZK-KNM outside Oceania Aviation wearing Central Aviation titles.

It has not been posted on the blog previously.  Can anyone add anything about what it is used for?

Thames Wings & Wheels

Today's Wings & Wheels day at Thames airfield attracted a interesting collection of aircraft for the attendees to inspect, the star being the vintage Rearwin 9000L ZK-AGQ from Tauranga.

Over from Matamata was the DH82A Tiger Moth ZK-BLM

Down from Ardmore the recently restored Cessna 170B ZK-BLT

Locally based at Paeroa, and not often seen,  was the Sportcruiser ZK-JBZ

Thames resident L M Harris Spitfire U/L ZK-JNM

Also Thames based the Cessna 182P ZK-MAK

And lastly from a private airstrip in Mercer,  Cessna 150G N5JP