Thursday 26 March 2015

I remember when.

No I don't.
Below is the official credit for this photo.
Harry Wigley beside a Miles M11 Whitney Straight ZK-AUK, ex G-AFJX, BD183, G-AFJX, near Fairlie in August 1950.
Whites Aviation Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library. WA-25760-F

Miles M11A Whitney Straight c/n 507 was built by Phillips and Powis Aircraft Company and registered as G-AFJX, with Cof A number 5383, to Brigadier General Arthur Corrie Lewin on 14-09-1938. The General was stationed at Kanda Kamu, Njoro, Kenya and I believe the aircraft was flown down to Kenya and then returned to the UK in July of 1939.
It was sold on 01-07-1939 and listed to John Tweedale of Beaumonds, Lancs on 12-07-1939 until impressed for military service on 18-08-1940 and was allocated to the Royal Air Force with the serial number BD183.
Post its RAF career (1946) it was returned to the UK civil register under its old G-AFJX registration to Dorothy Shuttleworth and Allan Henry Wheeler who traded as Warden Aviation and Engineering Co at Old Warden Aerodrome on 03-03-1947.
It was sold abroad on 21-03-1950.
The rest - as they say is history.
Here is a link to another fine pic:-
http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac2/NZNZ/ZK-AUK.html

And that history is :-
It entered the NZ register on 20-04-1950 as ZK-AUK for Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Company at Timaru.
It then went to private ownership with D H Withers of Christchurch from 22-11-1955 and then to A M Ferguson of Christchurch on 13-06-1956.
A V Martyn of Timaru had it from 07-08-1959 - the first several aircraft he owned over the years.
S C Jones seem to fit in about here before Ivan Strathern of Dunedin took over from May of 1962.
It was ground looped at Christchurch on 26-06-1966 and then passed to V B Murray of Timaru. Its registration was cancelled on 29-07-1968 and I believe it was moved to the Ferrymead Aeronautical Society followed by time with the RNZAF Museum at Wigram about 1981.
It is currently a long term restoration project with Greg MacDonald at Forest Field, who has just finished titivating up the Auster Mk5D ZK-BGU.

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