Above is the Bell 47D ZK-HAD ( c/n 20 ) as seen at Highcliff, Dunedin. The date would be about late 1963 or early 1964. This was built in December of 1947 and initially registered as NC166B and then N166B before reaching NZ and being listed here on 16-06-1957 to Rudnick Helicopters. It crashed (twice I believe) in 1958. It was rebuilt and then transferred to Helicopters (NZ) Ltd on 12-12-1963. It had a wire strike at Waiau on 16-02-1964 but was repaired and finally cancelled in 1965 as exported back to the US where it became N12888 with Utility Helicopters. It is still currently registered to Robert Suess of San Jose.
Below is a colour slide copy of ZK-HAD at Timaru taken before October of 1964.
Below is the Bell 47G-2A ZK-HAL (c/n 2663) outside the Airwork hangar at Harewood and is dated 11-08-1964, which is one day before it became registered to Helicopters (NZ) Ltd.
It had been imported and registered to Airwork (NZ) Ltd on 28-03-1961.
It was lost in a fatal crash on 31-07-1965 at Maungapohato in the Eastern Day of Plenty.
I was working at Airwork at that time and I recall that the engine shop had done a top o/h I think ,on the engine ,a Franklin.
ReplyDeleteIn order to test run it they had to pull boost,so we filled some 44 gall.drums with water and sat them on the skids.--It didnt fly away!
Interesting to see the Domini in the hangar. AKU or AKY,I,m guessing
Dominie--[spelling!] sorry
ReplyDeleteAccepted.
ReplyDeleteGood old days, with heaps of good memories.
Tks for that snippet bobgod.
The pilot for Bell 47G-2A ZK-HAL that crashed was my father, Does anyone know if the site marked at Maungapohato. I have looked but I think I was in the wrong place.
ReplyDelete