Just to add "interest" to "INTEREST" (so to speak) .... in regard to this thread topic
From December 1983, until the very early 1990´s, I spent a great deal of my time down at Mechanics Bay .... photographing SEA BEE AIR´s GOOSE and WIDGEON amphibians in action.
It was perhaps fortunate that I did so during this period since, I feel, I caught/recorded the airline at "the very peak" of its operations.
I thought I´d share some of my personal photographic memories from those days as follows .... oportunities for which I´m thankful to SEA BEE AIR pilots John COMMINS, James DUNCAN, Pete PERANO, Murray POPE, and Norm SANSON for affording me ....
GRUMMAN G-44A WIDGEON ZK-CFAZK-CFA also inaugurated SEA BEE AIR´s Tuvalu Islands service from 1982. She was sold to Owen HARNISH, of AKL, during August 1994, and operated by AQUATIC & VINTAGE AIRWAYS, then SALT AIR, prior to being withdrawn from sevice during 2000 and stored at the BOI.
GRUMMAN G-44A WIDGEON ZK-AVMZK-AVM early on the morning of her ferry flight to BNE, via NFK, where she became VH-WET with CORAL WINGS, then P2-WET with HASSIM EXPEDITIONS & ADVENTURES, prior returning to NZ, and her original registration (ZK-AVM), to be operated by SALT AIR under, the ownership of Owen HARNISH of AKL. SEA BEE AIR leased her to STEWART ISLAND AIRWAYS during 1976, then sold her to Peter WALKER of SYD, Australia, and whom leased her to FIJI AIR from 1979 until 1981, when she retuned to NZ for a long period of storage at AKL.
ZK-AVM is currently being rebuilt by AVSPECS, at Ardmore, AKL, and will fly again in the future.
GRUMMAN G-21A GOOSE ZK-DFCZK-DFC at Mechanics Bay AKL, on August 26th 1991, upon the conclusion of her "final flight" and immediately prior to being shipping to the USA, where she became N3116TA, with POLVO AIR CHARTER. She was later written-off as the result of a non-fatal water landing accident near West Caicos Island, in The Bahamas, on December 15th 1992.
GRUMMAN G-21A GOOSE ZK-ENYZK-ENY was leased to Fiji´s SUN TOURS AIR TRANSPORT SYSTEM, from October 1982 untll October 1984, where she became DQ-FDQ. Based at Nadi she serviced Fiji's popular tourist resort islands and provided charter services throughout the Fiji islands group .... and among which also included a mercy mission/medical evacuation from the Tokelau Islands to Western Samoa .... as related within Norm´s book.
DQ-FDQ returned to AKL, its former NZ identity as ZK-ENY, on October 27th 1984, and entered service again with SEA BEE AIR from December 1984.
ZK-ENY was sold to the short-lived CANTERBURY PLANES, during August 1988, and with whom she serviced both CHC Intl airport and the Southern Lakes district from Akaroa Harbour. She was eventually exported to Australia, during November 1989, and became VH-ENY, and later HS-TPI, then HS-TOM, and later HS-TPA .... based at Utapao, Thailand, where she was operated by TROPICAL SEA AIR from November 1990 .... prior to being sold to Klaus Deiter MARTIN of Munich, Germany, during 1995, and with whom she currently remains in storage.
GRUMMAN/McKINNON G-21G TURBO-GOOSE ZK-ERXZK-ERX was equipped with an OMEGA navigation system for long-range over-water operations. Based on the island of Funafuti, she serviced the Tuvalu Islands group, from August 1981 until August 1983, when she returned to SEA BEA AIR at AKL and was briefly operated on the airlines AKL to BOI route prior to being withdrawn from service. It also becme the very first aircraft to visit the island of Rakahanga, in the northern Cook Islands, with a Cook Islands government charter for the opening of Rakahanga Airport during December 1982, and also flew a far afield as Kiribati, and Nauru .... as is also related within Norm´s book.
ZK-ERX was overhauled by AIR NEW ZEALAND and stored at AKL Intl Airport prior her sale to AEROQUEST, of Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and being shipped to Seattle, during November 1984, where she became N77AQ. She remains operational today with AERO PLANES of Hilsboro, Oregan, USA.
SEA BEE AIR GRUMMAN GOOSE FORMATION OVER AKL ON OCTOBER 30TH 1984The return of DQ-FDQ (ZK-ENY) to AKL, on October 27th 1984, coincided with the sale of ZK-ERX during November 1984. This provided a very unique and rare opportunity .... for all 3 of SEA BEE AIR´s GOOSE to participate in a flight formation over AKL, on October 30th 1984 (a real "GOOSE Swan Song"). On this historic occasion ZK-ERX was flown by Murray POPE and Norm SANSON; ZK-DFC was flown by John COMMINS with Ian BUTCHEART (and myself with Penny SMITH as PAX); and DQ-FDQ (ZK-ENY) was flown by James DUNCAN with Pete PERANO (both formation photos by John KING).
Great times, great planes, and equally great people too .... much of which are also well related within Norm´s book
"ALL" photos by Mark R.CRANSTON .... except where otherwise credited.
Mark C
AKL/NZ & BOG/CO
HJG
simviation.com/hjg