The De Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk is eighty years old today 22 May 2026.

 First Flight of the De Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk on 

May 22, 1946 at Downsview, Ontario. 

The Chipmunk was the first post World War Two aviation project by De Havilland Canada. 

The design and construction, from inception to first flight took less than a year. It was designed as an all metal, two place, tandem primary trainer, powered with the 'in house' Gipsy Major engine.

De Havilland Canada built 217 aircraft, with De Havilland UK building 1000, and OGMA in Portugal a further 66 airframes.

The Chipmunk served with the Canadian Air Force, the Royal Air Force and at least twelve other military groups.

The UK built aircraft were for the military so it was the Canadian versions which joined the NZ civil register first with ZK-APN (c/n 021) being listed on 29-07-1947 to the De Havilland Aircraft Company at Wellington Airport and then to the Wellington Aero Club. Then followed ZK-ARL (c/n 061) also for the Wellington Aero Club. 

Our first two "Chippies" - The Poor Mans Spitfire.

Five additional preloved Canadian airframes came from India in the 1990,s - three of then entering the NZ register as ZK-ARM, ZK-CVM2, and ZK-DHC2, with the two others in storage somewhere.

Sixteen ex UK military have been entered onto the NZ register, with ZK-BSS and ZK-BSV appearing in 1957. The others arriving post 1974.

ZK-CPY and ZK-XUK at Ashburton on 25-01-2014.

ZK-CVM with the Canadian blown canopy.

There is also one US registered Chipmunk flying regularly in NZ as N861WP with 

Bevan Dewes.

Earlier Chipmunk posts can be found HEREAs seen on ZK-CPY 40 years ago.

A Couple More Spanning the Years at Ardmore

It was a fabulous weather day last Tuesday when I called into Ardmore to have a look at what was at Avspecs.  It was also very quiet flying wise however I did manage to photo a couple of planes that were out in the sun:

The lovely Ryan ST-3KR (is it a PT 22?) ZK-RYN was out sparkling in the sun by the Warbirds hangar so I thought I would be a bit arty and take the photo into the sun as it sparkled off the aircraft.  It is painted in US Army colours from 1942.  Nice!

Then down at the Avspecs end, David Cranna taxied out in his also spectacular Extra Flugzeugbau GmbH EA 300/LC ZK-XLX (the C stands for Carbon Fibre).  This was the first time I had seen this aircraft so I was pretty pleased to photograph it.  

Later it occurred to me that both the Ryan and the Extra are low wing tandem taildraggers but they are worlds apart in their construction and performance.

Cresco ZK-JOF working from Nelson.

 The Pacific Aerospace Cresco 08-600 ZK-JOF c/n 032 of Otago Airspread Ltd ((Nelson Division)) arrived into Nelson via Taieri and Twizel on the 15th and has been busy working the area to the west since.

In the above photo, from Bill Mannix, it has just arrived back at Nelson at the end of a long days work.

It is hard to believe that this airframe is coming up to 25 years old. In fact the early Cresco's were hatched in the very early 1980's.

ZK-JOF was officially registered on 01-07-2002 to Lonaoks Pty Ltd c/o Pacific Aerospace of Hamiton. It first flew on the 11th and was ferried from Hamilton to Lord Howe Island on 07-08-2002 - then on to points further west. Presumably as a demonstrator. 

It did not join the Australian aircraft register and was ferried beck to NZ on a ten hour flight from Coffs Harbour to Napier on 06-09-2002.

It took up with Andy Stephenson under his Farmers Air label from Gisborne from 13-09-2002. 

Life for it has not been all aerial application work.

ZK-JOF above as seen at Taupo on 03-03-2008.

It spent some time in the meat bombing role. **

Note the large open door, the fuselage side windows., the rear vision mirror, the hand hold rail above the door and the large step below the door.

 Title was officially transferred to the Farmers Air Ltd name from 07-01-2011.

Super Air Ltd of Hamilton took it over on 04-03-2014 until it was bought by Des Neill of Otago Airspread Ltd of Mosgiel after they took over the SuperAir/Phoenix Aviation business in Gore in late 2024. 

The Phoenix Fletcher FU24-400 ZK-EGI, the PAC XL750 ZK-PNX and the modified Fletcher FU24 ZK-CBA went up north to SuperAir and the Cresco ZK-JOF went south in return. 

ZK-JOF is normally Gore based and piloted by Ryan Neill, son of Otago Airspread owner/pilot Des Neill.

It is actually in the Nelson area covering the unserviceable locally based Ravensdown Cresco ZK-LTW which is in the Generation Global hangar receiving some tlc.

** meat bombing is another way of saying parachuting.

Tuesday at Rangiora.

I found three strays at Rangiora on Tuesday last (19th May).

Outside Aerofix was the Guimbal Cabri G2 ZK-HPP3 c/n 1082 - over from Karamea.

The Rans S-6EC Coyote II ZK-KOT c/n 06081887-ES came in from the Kokonga region via Timaru.

 It was acquired by Petre Innes back about March of 2025 and replaces his Zenair CH701               STOL ZK-MIZ2. 

Alpi Aviation Pioneer 300 Hawk iS ZK-TGB c/n 370 up from Timaru. It has been in the hands of Graham Smith since new. 

It carries the script "Pilot - Graham" and "Copilot - Margaret" on their respective side of the canopy.

All three have been covered previously in these pages.

Also at Avspecs - a Boeing B 17G Flying Fortress!

Nearly 2 years ago I posted about the Boeing B 17G Flying Fortress "Yankee Lady" coming to Avspecs and you can see that post HERE  In that post I got it a bit wrong because it turned out that what arrived at Avspecs was only the fuselage and empennage and the outer wings.  The B 17's engines and wing centre section are being restored in the US at Erickson Aircraft at Madras, Oregon and when both parts of the project are completed (hopefully in 2028) the Avspecs team will travel to Oregon to oversee the re-assembly of the aircraft and make it ready for flight.  Last Tuesday I visited Avspecs where the B 17 was sitting at the front of their hangar looking very shiny:

The B 17 was acquired by Charles Somers in 2024 and will be receive a new identity before it flies again.  Charles Somers chose Avspecs because he really liked the detailed restoration work that they have done on many warbirds, and he has four of Avspecs' restorations already in his collection (a Mosquito, Spitfire, Tomahawk and a Dragon Rapide).  He has tasked Avspecs to return the fuselage to exactly how it would have emerged from the Boeing factory in 1944 including working turrets and replica weapons and bombs.

This is the biggest project that Avspecs have ever done and it will be fascinating to see how it progresses.

The Fifth Mosquito at Avspecs!

I had reason yesterday to drive down to Naike to see a man about a microlight, and so I called into Ardmore on the way to see progress on the latest Mosquito restoration at Avspecs.  And progress is good!

This latest Mosquito is a FB Mark VI bomber version and its provenance is that it was built in 1945 by the Standard Motor Company of Coventry in England as TE881 for the RAF and after the war it was ferried to New Zealand for the RNZAF where it became NZ2345, being bought on charge on 28 May 1947.  However it was quite quickly put into storage at Woodbourne.  It was declared surplus in June 1955 having flown only 69.35 hours and was sold to the Williams brothers and then made its way to John Smith at Mapua in pieces and was discovered after John's death in 2019.  (Most of the warbird world's attention was focused on John Smith's other Mosquito NZ2336 which was complete and now has been restored at Omaka).  The boxes of NZ2345 were recovered to Avspecs and now form the basis of their latest restoration as photo'd above on 19 May.  And in April 2025 it was registered ZK-WEL2.

When completed the Mosquito will go to Warbird Experiences Ltd/Fly a Spitfire.com in England.  I was told that it will be completed this year so a few more trips to Ardmore will be in order!

Another Savannah Registered - ZK-CEE/2

Last week another ICP Savannah S was registered, making 48 Savannah's that have been registered here to date.  But this one is a bit different - it is on amphibious floats!

ZK-CEE2 (c/n 16-08-54-0496) has been refurbished at Whangarei by Savannah owner Dave Cull at Whangarei after it was imported from the Solomon Islands in 2025.  Last week it was registered to its new owner, F A Watts of Napier.  Dave told me that the nose wheel (which is a bit difficult to see between the floats) retracts forwards when in flight.

It is a 2016 kit and was flown in the Solomon Islands as I-C664 by an Italian Roman Catholic priest to visit the far flung islands in the Western Solomons for missions purposes, but this was curtailed by Covid so it has very low hours.

Bishop Steve Lowe has provided some information on the previous owner of the Savannah:  He was Luciano Capelli who was the Bishop of Gizo in the remote Western Solomons.  It is his family crest on the fuselage and this has been kept for ZK-CEE2.  Bishop Capelli retired in August 2023 and we can assume his replacement was not a pilot!

Belanca Viking ZK-VIX at Rangiora. Plus ZK-TIE.

The Fernside (near Rangiora) based Bellanca Viking 300 17-30A ZK-VIX c/n 79-30944 was photographed yesterday at Rangiora by Tony McFarlin.

This has been listed with Greg Ward since about March of 2025.

 SEE HERE for previous post on this aircraft.

We also have a better photograph of the Tie Upp Aviation Cessna A152 Aerobat ZK-TIE c/n A1520917.

See Here for any earlier post in ZK-TIE.

Two Nelson visitors today. Saturday the 16th

 Bill Mannix captured these two visitors at Nelson this morning.

The Apollo Air Ltd.'s Beechcraft B300 (350i) Super King Air ZK-APL2 c/n FL-415 as seen on short finals for 02. It had flown Nelson to Westport and back to Nelson. Later it returned to home base at Christchurch.

See here for previous posts on this King Air.

             In from Murchison and parked at Repaircaft was the Murchison Heli Tours Ltd 's Eurocopter AS 350 B3 ZK-IKA2 c/n 3409.

See here for several other posts on this Squirrel.

Tecnam P92-2000RG ZK-MGW

Amongst the visitors to Pauanui today on this stunning autumn day was the rarely seen Tecnam P92-2000RG ZK-MGW.   This was originally imported new in late 2003 and since that time has had 3 different Taupo owners,  the latest acquiring it in 2022.