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Ohakea
1950-51 |
Ohakea
1950-51 |
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DH
98 'Mossie' warming-up
for a 'fly about' |
Line-up
of DH Mosquitos from
some of the 76 allotted to the RNZAF.
Photo taken by an ATC cadet
at an
annual training camp. |
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1936-37.
DH60 Moth ZK-ABB
HB & East Coast
Aero Club.
No IDs of group ?? |
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A
Canadian-built trainer.
"Fleet"
type as supplied to
Canadian aero clubs 1930s,
and promoted by Clyde Engineering
for sale to NZ aero clubs. |
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| How we
looked after our NZ aviation in the
1950s. |
New Zealand's first
jet aircraft.
Gloucester Meteor F111 (NZ 6001)
Ohakea ATC Camp about 1950. |
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Grumman TBF Avenger.
Ohakea circa. 1950/52 |
Loaned then
purchased from the UK for £5,000
($10,000) at the end of WW2.
Sold for scrap ex-Hobsonville RNZAF to
McKechnie Bros. for £1,000 ($2,000)
after a heavy landing
with no back-up spares to repair.
One engine running for about 2 seconds
used 20 galls. It could be heard for
miles. |
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| Rukuhia
airfield 1938. Arnold
Wright's photos. |
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RNZAF NZ-102
Vickers Vildebeeste.
RNZAF's main trainer until
Harvards replaced them.
Also in picture:
ZK-ADV Homebuilt "Tui
Sports" on left.
ZK-ACG Comper Swift - right |
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ZK-ACK DH
60M "Kia Ora" flown
from UK to Australia 1930
by Oscar Garden. Became NZ-510
RNZAF WW2.
Hamilton fog in
background |
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Arnold
Wright the Photographer |
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FROM LAGOON TO AN
AERODROME IN A FEW ‘ SHAKES ‘
Over the years, whenever February the third came
around, many of we HB ‘oldies’ always
remember
the family ‘roundtable’s with very
serious discussions and riveting reflections of
aunts,
uncles’ mum’s dad’s and other
folks experiences.?These
were re-aired again, with possible new additions
to the stories discovered since the
previous year. The subject always being- The
Hawke’s Bay Earthquake
( also known as the Napier Earthquake ) it
occurred at at 10: 47 AM
on Tuesday morning February the third 1931.
It was centered 15 Km
north of Napier. It lasted for two and a half
terribly destructive
minutes and measured 7. 8 on the Richter Scale (
7.9 on the new Richter scale )
and killed 256 people ( 258 in some records ) and
injured approximately 400.
(There are many
books, articles, records, andWeb sites available,
covering the disaster in more detail.)
There are five “pages” covering the
Lagoon to aerodrome project (see Napier
Aero Club
pages).
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| BOTTOM OF
SHAKESPEARE RD PRIOR 1931 QUAKE |
BOTTOM OF
SHAKESPEARE RD FEB/MARCH 1931 |
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below: WRIGHT -
FAMILY PHOTO 'QUAKE HOTEL' MAY AVENUE NAPIER 1931
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LOOKING UP
SHAKESPEARE RD FEB/ MARCH 1931 |
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Ron Kirkup
- East Coast Airways
Beacons Drome |
New Zealand was a
world pioneer of
aerial agriculture.
Early operators designed and operated
their own loaders.
Leaning on the wing of the Moth is Glen
Earl,
who was killed in 1949 while topdressing. |
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| Link to Rukuhia 'Home At
Last' |
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New Zealand Airways
was established by a Mr. Horatio MacKay
in 1928, fully NZ-owned.
By 1935, it operated five three-seat
Spartans and a DH Puss Moth.
Based in Timaru, it ran flight-training
and charter flights throughout NZ,
and intended to provide a passenger
service between Invercargill and
Auckland. |
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Left:
One of the
two Boeing 40H aircraft
they hoped to use on the Invercargill -
Auckland service.
Just visible in the
hangar are three of the five Spartans,
wings folded. |
The New
Zealand Transport Coordination Board of
the day would not issue the line
with a licence, preferring the aircraft
to be British and twin-engined,
and with overseas financial backing. |
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Left:
Boeing
ZK-ADX . Mr. Horatio MacKay,
(2nd from
left),
talking to Harry Lett, (veteran
pilot).
R. Johnstone in the cockpit. |
The
licenses were allotted to two other
operators: Union Airways and Great
Pacific Airways.
NZ Airways only held a licence to operate
the Canterbury/Otago routes.
The company eventually ceased operations,
and all aircraft were auctioned off,
(sadly, at bargain prices). The Boeing
ADX was sold on to Australia for £55,
($NZ110),
becoming VH-ADX. It crashed in New Guinea
in 1939.
The whole episode was a tragedy for Mr.
MacKay, who had committed his finances
to what may have been the first regular
service from Invercargill to Auckland. |
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Left:
Baggage
stowage - a very precarious task,
particularly with the prop flying around
nearby.
Note the
rug in Horatio's hand. |
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After a long
search for a publisher, our
Committee member, Dick Brunton,
has finally had his book printed.
It is a most interesting read,
covering Dick's wartime
experiences in New Zealand,
Canada and Europe.
| More
info about book HERE |
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| He
has a few spare books for sale at
$NZ35 each. Please contact us
with your address..we will pass
this onto him. |
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| ....ARCHIVE
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| ARCHIVE Gallery Page 4... |
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