Druine Turbulents of New Zealand (6)

The late 1960's Turbulents - we are getting there!

The photos are from the Keith Morris collection unless otherwise credited.

At Ardmore, 21/5/66.

At Dairy Flat, North Shore, 31/12/67.

ZK-CQC (its c/n is recorded as AACA/14 but I think it must have been AACA/29. Merv Meredith was AACA member number 14 but Abram Water was AACA member number 29). ZK-CQC was a little different - it was constructed by Abram Water in Holland and shipped to New Zealand by him when he immigrated here. He then finished the aircraft in New Zealand and it was registered on 1/7/66. It is photographed here early on in its life at Ardmore. This was one of the first Turbulents to have a bubble canopy and it had really nice lines.

Bram Water went on to form Aero Trading Australasia Ltd and he was instrumental in developing the successful Airmaster variable speed propellor which was proved on Europa ZK-UBD. In this photograph taken at the 1972 AACA flyin at Masterton where ZK-CQC is painted up with Aero Trading signage.

ZK-CQC was sold to N W and K J Lawrence of Frankton on 10/8/73, then to N G George of Hamilton on 17/3/76, and then on to Norm Bottcher and A Keeys of Feilding on 22/2/77.

Norm Bottcher owned ZK-CQC with a co-owners A Keeys and Jim Fordyce in the Feilding area, and he refurbished it and painted it in this very attractive colour scheme, as shown in the photograph taken at Feilding. Norm sold it on 25/1/00 to Ultraflight NZ Ltd of Dargaville, who redesignated as a Class 1 microlight. It was finally sold to Alan Murgatroyd of Kerikeri on 9/11/01 and it is still current.

At Nelson, 9/9/72.

ZK-CVX (c/n AACA/40/1) was built by Ron Muncaster at Nelson and was first registered on 15/11/67. Ron sold it to Robert Trewavas on 14/11/72 and Robert did many flights in it all over New Zealand (Robert Trewavas also owned Turbulent ZK-CBN).

It is photographed in the bove 2 photos at the AACA flyin at Omaka in 1973, on 27/1/73.

Here it is with a new rudder on which it is named Tweety Bird, also at Omaka. on 9/11/73.

At Ardmore, 4/3/78.

 It was then owned by R Smith of Paihia from 13/9/74, D F R McMillan of Kaikohe from 8/2/79, L A Compton of Masterton from 15/4/81, and A P K Turner of Masterton from 6/9/85. It then went to Max Saunders of Wellington on 30/9/88, and he redesignated it as a Class 1 microlight on 23/8/02.

It was sold to Stuart Harris of Rangiora on 23/4/03, who renamed it "L'Enchantresse" as in this photograph taken at Rangiora by Blue Bus. Finally it was sold to Aaron Reid of Fairlie, on 12/10/11.  ZK-CVX is also still current.

At Masterton, 22/1/77.

ZK-CWI (c/n AT14) was the first aircraft built by Max Clear, at Te Kowhai. It was first registered on 17/1/68 and its first flight was in 2/69. This was also a very fast Turbulent and looked very smooth. Max Clear went on to build the Pitts Special ZK-EES and has since developed the Bantam microlight aircraft which have been so successful in New Zealand and also overseas. That is another story to be told!

Max sold it to Ray Knox of Ngaruawahia on 1/5/70 and it then went to D Gunn of Cambridge from 14/4/89,  B W Ford of Matamata from 1/12/92,  D M Taylor of Matamata from 14/3/95,  S B Tiedman of Havelock North from 17/6/97, and back to Matamata with L E Walker from 31/3/99. It was redesignated as a Class 1 microlight on 15/4/99. This photo of it was taken at the 1998 AACA flyin at Matamata, and it shows the good use of the Corby Starlet cowlings and canopy that was originally developed by John Buchanan (for his Starlet ZK-DEO that started life just up the road from Matamata) - quite a few Turbulents have used these components.

ZK-CWI crashed on landing at Waihi Beach airfield on 2/9/01 and it was cancelled on 4/9/01.

Druine Turbulents of New Zealand (5)

The Mid-1960's Turbulents.

During the mid-1960's a few more Turbulents appeared, but other types were also appearing including Taylor Monoplanes, and the first 2 seaters: a Minicab (ZK-CLS) and the first Jodel D 11 (ZK-CKG). But these are other stories to be told.

Again! the photos are nearly all from the Keith Morris collection and I have taken most of them. However some of the photos were taken by others and I do not have a record of who took them.


ZK-CDT (c/n PFA/1631) was built by Jim Muir of Lower Hutt, and was another of the Wellington machines that formed the nucleus of the Amateur Aircraft Constructors Association (AACA). It was registered on 3/2/64 and made its first flight on 19/12/64, flown by Jim who was by now an experienced Turbulent pilot. Jim was AACA member number 13.  Jim was probably the first to install a canopy as seen here in the AACA corner of the DCA hangar at Paraparaumu.

At Palmerston North, 8/1/66.

The rules for early flights sure were different in those days. Jim was anxious to visit friends in Whangarei over the New Year so he undertook a cross country shakedown flight on the following weekend -to Masterton then Palmerston North and back to Paraparaumu! The flight to Whangarei via Stratford, Hamilton and Ardmore went without a hitch. Jim's friend Fred Flowers of Whangarei then came down to Wellington in order to put up hours for his CPL and in the course of the next 4 weeks, Fred put up 80 hours in ZK-CDT!

At Matamata, 6/3/71.

ZK-CDT was sold to M L Keen and B R Halcombe of Te Kowhai on 4/4/68 and then to P J Gaudin of Te Awamutu on 15/11/72. It crashed at Ngahinapouri on 19/11/72 and its registration was cancelled on 28/11/72.

ZK-CGT (c/n PFA/1624) was built by Jack Inder at Dargaville and was first registered on 11/7/66. Jack was also an experienced Turbulent pilot and he built ZK-CGT with a very sharply raked windscreen. It turned out to be a very fast Turbulent, maybe also helped by the lack of weight for paint! This photograph was taken at the opening of Rotorua Airport when ZK-CGT was quite new.

At Rotorua, 25/11/67.

Later Jack thought he should do a colour scheme and this is it - 2 strips of black and red tape!

At Matamata, 6/3/71.

Jack Inder went on to build a Jodel D 11 (ZK-EDG, which is still flying). ZK-CGT went to S P Miller of Napier from 2/11/71, E E Cuttance of Mosgiel from 4/8/73, A D Scott of Christchurch from 27/5/75, and finally Corran Munro and Johm Penno of Dunedin on 22/1/76.

ZK-CGT was painted red and white by the time of the Masterton AACA flyin in 1972 where the above photo was taken.

At Omaka, 27/1/73.

It was involved in a fatal accident at Taieri on 11/9/79 when it struck a mower killing the driver. It was cancelled on 21/12/79.

ZK-CGU (c/n GT RB-10) was built jointly by Robin Hickman, Stan Smith and Robbie Gentry at Wellington. It was completed by Robbie after Robin and Stan were posted to Auckland with TEAL. It was registered on 27/8/65 and was then ferried to Auckland where it was owned by Robin Hickman until 1974 when he sold it to K W Sample of Albany on 30/1/74.

At Hastings, 26/1/74

On 6/9/78 ZK-CGU went to Owen Cashion of Alexandra, where this photo of it was taken.

It then returned to the Auckland area, to TR Robinson, on 11/1/84.  The above photo was taken at Dairy Flat on 16/5/85.

The above photograph of it was taken at the 1988 AACA flyin at Dairy Flat. It then had 2 owners on Waiheke Island: the Graham Gilliver Daly syndicte from 15/7/98and finally Robert Wynne from 10/9/99. It was cancelled on an unknown date.

Question time # 95 resolved

WOW. Resolved on 26 minutes.

Well done Anonymous.

It is indeed an ATR.

ZK-MCU actually.

Flick me your postal address & I will send a snail mail chocky fish.

My email address is in the blog header photo..

Question time # 95

Aircraft Type requires identification please.

Another useful clue :- It is not a Turbulent.

Druine Turbulents of New Zealand (4)

Early 1960's Turbulents.

Following hot on the heels of the Aerocraft aircraft and kits, other homebuilders began completing their Turbulents, from 1961 on, as follows.

Again, the photos are nearly all from the Keith Morris collection and I have taken most of them. However, some of the photos were taken by others and I do not have a record of who took them.

At Ardmore 21/2/69.

The first of these to be registered was ZK-CAQ (c/n PFA/573) on 10/7/61. It was built by John Inglis of Towai and it is photographed here at Ardmore. It was named "Windsong" at this time. As with nearly all the Turbulents it had its share of incidents and accidents including minor damage at Ardmore on 7/1/68 and crashing at Thames on 6/4/69, but was rebuilt each time. It was sold to B N Inglis of Waimuku (a relative?) on 18/10/88.

This photograph of ZK-CAQ was taken at a Matamata airshow in the early 1990's. It then went to N E Wilson of Reefton on 24/5/93, Dave J Stuart of Lower Hutt on 24/8/97 (who re-engined it with a HAPI 1860cc VW conversion - well up on power from the original 1200cc VW!). It was redesignated as a Class 1 microlight on 12/6/98 and then went to R O Byfield of Christchurch on 4/5/05.

It was then sold to Paddy McDonnell of Ashburton on 27/3/86, who refurbished it and painted it in his trademark colour scheme (similar to Corby Starlet ZK-MGM and Avid Flyer ZK-VID). This photograph was taken by Blue Bus at the 1997 SAANZ flyin at Ashburton. Finally Paddy sold it to R C Brown of Lower Hutt on 20/10/07. ZK-CAQ is still current.

At Ardmore 12/2/67.

The next Turbulent to be registered, on 27/9/61, was ZK-CAX (c/n PFA/658). It was built by Gordon Waldie of Lower Hutt and was one of the original core of Turbulents in Wellington which gave the impetus to the formation of the Amateur Aircraft Constructors Association (AACA). Gordon was AACA member number 12. The early AACA magazines wrote up some of the eventful flights of those early Turbulents, and everyone seemed to fly everyone elses planes. Jack Inder took Robbie gentry's ZK-CAE back to Dargaville and Stan Smith flew Gordon Waldie's ZK-CAX to Ardmore.

One interesting story that caught my eye was when two early flyers (no names) in ZK-BWE and ZK-CAX flew down from Ardmore to an air pageant at Taupo on 8 January 1966. A combination of winds and needing to refuel at Tokoroa saw them arrive at Taupo 20 minutes after the airshow had started. Nearly out of fuel and with a strong crosswind they elected to use the new grass vector that was not yet opened figuring that 2 Turbulents could not do much harm. Their arrival coincided with a DC 3 display and it was reported that their arrival "did not meet with official approval and we had some explaining to do"! Then "followed a joyful re-union with Mother Earth and all the other flyers of the Association who had made it"!

ZK-CAX has not had many owners. Gordon Waldie sold it to John Perry of Opotiki who in turn sold it to John Hansen of Te Awamutu on 18/4/74. The above photograph of ZK-CAX was taken at the 1981 AACA flyin at Mount Hutt. John Hansen still owns the aircraft and it is still current, although I haven't seen it for a very long time.

At Waipukurau, 30/12/64.

The next Turbulent to be registered, on 8/3/62, was ZK-CBN (c/n PFA/462) which was built by Merv Meredith at Waipukurau. It first flew on 7/12/64 and Merv was very active flying it around New Zealand, including flying up to the opening of Mangere Airport in 1966 (when 5 Turbulents attended). Merv sold ZK-CBN to Neil Managh of Feilding on 3/12/70 and then it went to Robert Trewavas of Motueka on 23/8/71.

Merv Meredith went on to serve as president of the AACA and to build 2 other homebuilt aircraft: Minicab ZK-DAG and EAA Acrosport 1 ZK-MWM. Tragically he and a friend were killed in ZK-DAG when they got caught in bad weather in the Ruahine Ranges when returning from a fishing trip in the Bay of Plenty.

At Gisborne, 11/10/69.

ZK-CBN crashed at Motueka on 28/12/71. It must have been rebuilt because it was sold to A D Stott of Christchurch on 13/2/73, and later to I G Williams of Whenuapai on 29/3/74. It was withdrawn and reduced to spares, and cancelled on 29/8/75.

However it was registered again on 29/5/95 to the Williams/Thompson/Knox Syndicate of Drury.  This was a case rather like grandfather's axe, as Ian Williams recalled that the only original part from Merv Meredith's ZK-CBN was the rudder bracket, and the syndicate had to build a new fuselage and new wings!  It then sat around for several years before eventually being test flown by Lee Middleton.  It was redesignated as a Class 1 Microlight on 23/4/01.  However it had some problems so it sat around again for many years before being cancelled again on 15/8/12.

Remarkably, ZK-CBN was re-registered again on 30/7/13 to Bill Izard of Kihikihi (the third time it had been registered!), and he had the aircraft repainted as above.  Thanks to David Wilkinson for the above photo, which was taken in Bill Izard's hangar at Kihikihi on 14/1/14.

Sadly this 50 year long story does not have a happy ending, as ZK-CBN crashed at Kihikihi on 5/2/14, injuring the pilot.  From photos of the wreckage, I do not think it will be flying again.

At Kaitaia, 31/12/63.

And the next Turbulent to be registered, in 11/62, was the Rev Ron Keyte's ZK-CDD (c/n PFA/428) which he built at Kaitia. This first photograph of it is very early on in its life when Ron thought that a very small registration would fit nicely with his colour scheme. The colour scheme was mainly a duck-egg blue with white and black. Ron Keyte went on to be an Air Force chaplain at Ohakea where he completed Jurca Sirocco ZK-DAF. Ron Keyte was also tragically killed with a friend when the Sirocco broke up in mid air at Masterton.

At Tauranga, 22/2 67.

Unfortunately the long arm of officialdom descended and these next photographs shows it with a larger (presumably regulation for the time) registration.

By the 1972 AACA flyin at Masterton where the above black and white photograph was taken, it sported a canopy and another version of a smaller registration. It was sold to Chris Reid of Blenhiem on 22/5/72 and was damaged near Renwick on 8/7/72.

It was rebuilt and then had 2 other owners in the Blenheim area: Tony Chaytor from 1973, and the Trarangi Flying Group from 9/3/77. It is photographed above at the 1974 AACA flyin at Bridge Pa.

It was withdrawn from use after its permit to fly expired, and was cancelled on 21/6/84

Turbulent ZK-CAG

A couple more images of Turbulent ZK-CAG, taken at Ardmore on a dull weather day 16th April 1966.
Colours noted at the time were red overall, blue and black trim.
Note that the BP logo only appears on the port side of the rudder.





As an aside, ZK-CAG2 is a complete contrast to the low-powered Turbulent - the Allision engined P-40!

When is a fact - a fact ?

Lurking in the corner of the Timaru Aviation Heritage Museum are the remains of this First Strike Bobcat ZK-EJB. Built by John Lowther and registered on 22-09-1989 to W J Rae to take the place of his Mirage ZK-ESQ. All of the references that I have seen for EJB has its c/n listed as 627-03-A.
Its first flight was on 14-04-1990, and it carries the name "Top Cat" and the pilots name James Rae.

It was relisted to Jim Young of Wanaka in March of 1993 and to Andrew James Bowmar of Tapanui on 26-06-1997.

It was damaged at Cookston on 01-06-1998 and ultimately cancelled on 25-08-1998.

A close look at the firewall shows its stamped c/n as 627-02-A.

***********************************

Added Sunday 2nd May.

I was thinking that there must be at least three airframes involved here, and with a little digging around I find that the c/n 627-01-A was allocated to the First Strike Bobcat ZK-FHA on 04-07-1989 and listed with D E Ewart-Jones of Ashburton. This was withdrawn from use and cancelled on 10-06-1992. So I have no problem with this one. (Alas I have no photo of FHA.)

If ZK-EJB was registered with the c/n 627-03-A, then there should be a 627-02-A.

Sure enough - The Light Miniature Aircraft LM-1 ZK-FWB is listed with the 627-02-A/MAANZ/442 construction number. This was another John Lowther built aircraft and was first registered to him on 19-02-1990. I have a note saying that this aircraft had an engine failure on 04-01-1992 and landed IN Caroline Bay at Timaru (presumably getting wet). Interestingly ownership went to Walter James Rae on 20-03-1992. Some seven owners later this aircraft is in the Feilding area with Paul Svendsen.

Can anybody up that way check out the data plate (maybe stamped on the firewall) on this aircraft please ?

Summary

ZK-FHA was registered with the c/n 627-01A.

ZK-FWB was registered with the c/n 627-02-A/MAANZ/442.

ZK-EJB was registered with the c/n 627-03-A but is stamped as 627-02A.