ZK-ALB (c/n 6655) in its NZNAC days via Gordon Surrey.
When I was a kid I ended up in Te Anau in April of 1963 with my Jiffy Kodak 620 camera.
Unbeknownst to me - until three or four films had been developed and printed - that the Prism was loose in its mount which produced these photographs of aircraft without their lower portions.
As you can see we popped in to see Ian Ritchie and I was given a the full conducted tour.
I also managed a front seat flight in the Cessna 180 ZK-BQJ.
So maybe I should blame Ian for career choice.
Below we have a much better view of ZK-ALB as seen at Invercargill, also in 1963, by Dennis Kelly.
Briefly :-
de Havilland DH89B ZK-ALB (c/n 6655) was built for the RAF as HG656 sometime in 1943.
It was shipped out to NZ and became NZ527 moving on to NZNAC as ZK-ALB from 30-08-1946.
It then served with Trans Island Airways, Coastal Airways, Trans Island again, Marlborought Aero Club, Ritchie Air Service, Canterbury Aero Club, back to Ritchie's, to Tourist Air Travel then Mount Cook Airlines.
It was withdrawn from service on 05 November 1971. In 1974 it was titivated up by Southair at Taieri and flown to Australia via Norfolk Island on 15 June 1974, reaching Essendon on the 17th.
Its NZ registration was cancelled on 10 July 1974 for it to become VH-IAN.
I caught up with ZK-ALB again at Bankstown on 25 October 1976 when it was in racing mode as #154 in the 'Benson and Hedges' Australian Air Race.
I had graduated to a Pentax by this time - but alas the prints have deteriorated some since then.
And below I spied it at Maitland on 23 April 1977.
Its CofA lapsed in 1994 but if came back again - still with Ken Ormond as VH-UTV from 4 June 1999.
Ownership changed to Rob Fox and it is still current today.
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