The DH60 Moth took to the air for the first time at Stag Lane airfield on 22nd February 1925, 100 years ago today.
NZ Warbirds organised a small gathering at Ardmore today to clebrate the event.
It was great to see NZ's only active DH60 Moth, ZK-ADT, up from Hastings to join in.
While there were several other examples of DH aircraft also on outside display, the only Tiger Moth to take to the air while I was there was ZK-AKC, a fairly recent arrival from Dunedin.
Note NAC logo on ZK-ADT. That was added when it attended an annual NAC luncheon at Classic Flyers, Tauranga to illustrate that it was in fact an NAC aircraft in 1947, having transferred from Union Airways. Based at Palmerston North, its main role was to take engineers to aircraft requiring maintenance away from Engineering HQ, which was then at Palmerston North. The hangar was destroyed by fire in October 1953. Following that the Engineering transferred to Christchurch. One DC-3, undergoing passenger status upgrade was rescued and I am almost certain that was AYZ which was later lost in the Kaimai crash. There was only one more DC-3 to be converted. It was AZL and as the facilities were no longer available it served as the baggage aircraft for the 1953/54 royal tour still in RNZAF livery (NZ3554). Following that, NAC converted it to a topdressing DC-3 for James Aviation.
ReplyDeleteI think maybe AZLs hopper was fitted by de Havilland at Rongotai it was parked outside their facility for several weeks in the early 50s
DeleteI can recall reading somewhere that NAC did the conversion (at Christchurch) however the hopper itself may have been installed by de Havilland, I don't know. Then again, NAC was not using DC-3s into Rongotai until the international airport was opened in 1959 and so during the middle 1950s Wellington city was serviced by its four Herons.
DeleteAZL arrived at Rongotai in early July 1953 and was tied down beside DH for several weeks, I've no idea what, if any, work was undertaken on it but have always assumed it had its hopper fitted there. Earlier, in 1951, another DC3, possibly an NAC aircraft, was overhauled in the council hangar
ReplyDeleteIt may be that AZL and possibly another DC-3 earlier was at Rongotai in the early 1950s but in July 1953, AZL, registered to NAC, was destined to become a passenger aircraft and it was only because of the fire in October 1953 that that work didn't proceed. As I mentioned above. the conversion couldn't proceed and so when the Air Force, which was by then down to two DC-3s (NZ3551 and NZ3553), needed one to act as the baggage aircraft on the 1953/54 Royal Tour they asked NAC if they could borrow the redundant AZL. I will check "The Topdressers" to see if the decision date by James to get AZL is recorded. Reverting to the 1951 DC-3 at Rongotai; I wonder if it was the CAA DC-3 ZK-AXS. In Aviation Historical Soc journal Nov 1966 Cliff Jenks stated that on 4 Dec 1950 KN372 (later AXS) was flown from Whenuapai to Paraparaumu and left there. It may well be that de Havillands were contracted to bring it up to civilian standard hence a possible Rongotai ferry flight.
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