A look back in time to 1974

With thanks to Graeme Stratton we get a look at a couple of helicopters from 1974.

Above is Hughes 369HS ZK-HFK c/n 110271S at Pinegrove in the Autumn of 1974 with Guy Wilson flying. 

Sadly both were lost on Mount Hawkins in June 1975.

Built as N9063F and listed to the Hughes Tool Company at Culver City in California in January 1971.

It arrived in NZ for Southwest Helicopters Ltd of Taupo and became ZK-HFK on 11-05-1973.

Was this the second 369 in NZ ?

Southwest also operated in the South Island and had a base on the West Coast at Pinegrove between Fox Glacier and Paringa on highway 6.

Above we have ZK-HFK again but with Ron Connell and Warner Adamson.

Parked at the Jackson's Pub on Highway 73 in April 1974 is Eddie McGregor with Hughes 269C ZK-HFZ c/n 23-0188. 

As N8977F it spent a few months in Oregon before being imported into NZ by Dalhoff and King (NZ) Ltd to be registered here on 20-09-1973.

It served with Southwest until January 1979 and soldiered on with several more operators until written off in September 1984.

The Hiller UH-12E ZK-HGJ c/n 2174 of Mountain Helicopters is seen at the Hokitika Gorge in April 1974.

An interesting previous life for this one. It was built for the Canadian Armed Forces as a CH-112 Nomad and came on strength in about October 1961. It went off to Germany with the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Helicopter Troop in 1962. 

It was duly damaged and returned to Canada and became an instructional airframe. It was returned to the air in September 1970 until it was struck off charge on 30-03-1973.

It briefly entered the Canadian civil register as CF-EHQ before popping up in NZ as ZK-HGJ on 08-11-1973 with Alexander Pacific Ltd and (officially) joined Mountain Helicopters of Greymouth on 21-06-1974. 

It was damaged twice in 1979 and went to Whirlwide Helicopters at Timaru and reappeared as a UH12EJ3 Soloy conversion. 

It was damaged near Taieri in February 1982 and sold to the US as spares. It appears on the US register as N7173X from 11-06-1990 with Arrow Falcon Enterprises Inc at Porterville California (the home of Hiller). It was cancelled from the US register on 27-11-2011.