On 25th August 1920 Capt Euan Dickson flew Avro 504K D6243 from Christchurch to Wellington, with stops at Kaikoura and Blenheim on the way.
The trip took just over 7 hours, with a flying time of 4hrs 40 mins
He thus became the first to fly across Cook Strait, landing at Hutt Park, Trentham.
Dickson was flying for Henry Wigram’s Canterbury Aviation Company and was accompanied by the company’s deputy chairman, C.H. Hewlett, and chief mechanic, J.E. Moore.
He made the return trip back to Blenheim on the 28th.
D6243 was later used for joyriding in the Marlborough area but was destroyed in a fatal crash after experiencing engine failure at Motunau/Greta Valley, North Canterbury, on 30Dec21.
Today, the flight was commemorated with reenactment by Paul Hally and Aaron Patchett with Fox Moth ZK-APT
Avro D6243
He actually landed at trentham racecourse upper hutt.
ReplyDeletehutt park is in seaview where the walsh bros were waiting to do their crossing.
cheers