The first New Zealand pilot to fly the...

[Dave Homewood]

This thread pertains to prewar, wartime and postwar but the majority of aircraft were in wartime so it's on this board.

I was thinking it would be interesting to find out who the first New Zealander was to fly in specific aircraft types of the RNZAF (both wartime and before and after the war) and the types kiwis flew in the wartime RAF.

For example I know that the first RNZAF Baffin to fly was NZ155 (S1573) flown by Flight Lieutenant Ronald "Nugget" Cohen from RNZAF Station Hobsonville on the 1st of February 1938. Was he the first New Zealander to fly a Baffin though, or were there some flying them in the FAA beforehand?

Another is the first RNZAF Hudson to fly was on the 19th of May 1941 from Hobsonville in NZ2003, piloted by Flt Lt Pete Jury. However New Zealanders were flying Hudsons in the RAF from before the war. Who I wonder was the first kiwi Hudson pilot?

Who was NZ's first Skyhawk pilot? Was it Ross Donaldson, or had someone else done an exchange to Skyhawks before him?

If you have any firsts in type or firsts in RNZAF aircraft, please place them here.

[shamus]

The first pilot to fly a Hind in NZ was Peter Jury (real name, Alan Victor Jury) who test flew NZ1503
on 4th. October 1940

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks. I guess Jury must have been the resident test pilot at the aircraft assembly unit at Hobsonville?

[shamus]

Yes Dave, he was, and also tested Oxfords, Harvards, and Hudsons before joining the GR Sqn.

[Dave Homewood]

Cheers. I interviewed a chap a few weeks ago who was on an electrician the assemby unit there. Quite interesting stuff.

[Dave Homewood]

In an interesting email conversation off the forum, Shamus and I have established that Peter Jury was in fact not the first pilot to fly a Hudson in New Zealand. That first flight of NZ2003 on the 19th of May 1941 was not him. He first flew in a Hudson on the 11th of June 1941, in NZ2002, the second one to fly here. That was his first ever Hudson flight, testing a brand new aircraft after assembly. So, who was the first Hudson pilot? And why have other sources recorded Jury as its pilot?

[shamus]

I can't confirm this, but I understand that Bill Willis was the test pilot at Hobsonville when the first
P40s arrived and that he test flew them all. I interviewed him many years ago but I was only
interested in Hinds then and did not get a copy of his logbook. He lived in Taupo then and may possibly still be there although the chances of that are slim today.