A momentous day at North Shore airfield yesterday 30 September 2025 saw Bruce Lynch's Miles M 38 Messenger 2A ZK-AKE2 take to the skies for the first time in 57 years, flown by Michael Bach. The following are screenshots from a video taken on the day:
Engine running and Bruce removes the chocks.
Taxying out to the fuel pumps.
Tail up on Runway 21.
And airborne!
You may think that ZK-AKE would have been registered back in 1946 like ZK-AKA, AKB, AKC and AKD, but no: it was built in 1947 and registered G-AKEZ to T Shipside Ltd of Nottingham on 27 August 1947. It had numerous UK owners until its C of A was revoked on 15 November 1968 after which it went as-is to the Torbay Aircraft Museum in Higher Blagdon in Devon (which no longer exists) and where the above photo was taken in 1971. It was exported to New Zealand in 2006 where Bruce Lynch has been restoring it at North Shore for the last 20 years. It was registered to Wingnut Aviation Ltd of Warkworth on 29 May 2024.
