Friday 16 August 2024

Beavers and Beavers #10 ZK-CMU - Update

Continuing with Fieldair Beavers, their twelfth example was ZK-CMU.  Dave Paull posted about this Beaver back in 2010 HERE but we can now add more photos and subsequent history as it is still extant:

De Haviland Canada DHC-2 Beaver ZK-CMU was c/n 1590. It came to NZ courtesy of Hawker Siddeley of Wellington. It was first flown here on 21/7/65 and delivered to Fieldair Ltd of Gisborne on the 23rd.  It is photo'd above outside the Hawker Siddeley hangar at Wellington prior to delivery.

It is photo'd above at Gisborne on 28/12/73 minus tailwheel.  It followed the Company changes to Fieldair Holdings (Central) Ltd, Palmersaton North on 18/11/80 and then to Fieldair Holdings Ltd, PN from 30/3/84. 

It is photo'd in Napier on 18/2/82.   It was withdrawn from use on 28/10/94 and stored dismantled at Gisborne.

It was restored between 1989 and 1990 and listed to Float Air Picton (1984) Ltd of Picton on 06/8/90 as in this photo taken at Picton on 10/12/90 with Flying Dolphin Service tiles..

Later it had Float Air Picton titles as in this photo at Picton in January 1995.

It then went to Frank Wright at Tauranga on 15/5/96 for rebuild and export and its NZ registration was cancelled on  23/7/97  Before that Bob Kerr photo'd at Napier on 16/3/97.

It was exported to the US where it flew for a time as ZK-CMU as in this photo taken at Smithers in British Columbia in August 1997.

It became N97FW with F E Wright of Gardnerville, Nevada on 28/8/87. On 10/12/97 it was relisted to Barnstormer Classic Aviation of Fairford, Connecticut.  This photo was taken at North Canaan in Connecticut in 2003.  It was cancelled from the US register on 15/5/15

It was then exported to Australia where it became VH-OHD for Whitsunday Air Services at Hamilton Island in Queensland on 12/5/16.  It is photo'd above at Hamilton Island on 26/6/16.

On 28/8/18 ownership changed to Tasmanian Seaplanes Pty Ltd of Meadowbank, Tasmania who fly the aircraft marked as Above and Beyond Flights as in this photo taken at its mooring at Hobart on 8/8/21.

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