Post by Peter Lewis on Aug 4, 2008 20:57:21 GMT 12
The July 'new registrations' shows that Bob McGarry has now listed his rebuild of Simmonds Spartan ZK-ABK. This is yet another classic aircraft with an extensive NZ history, and brings the number of known survivors of the marque in New Zealand to three - the other two being ZK-ABZ in the Geraldine museum and ZK-ARH with Rod Hall-Jones.
ZK-ABK arrived in late 1929 through the Canadian Knight & Whippet Motor Co.Ltd. of Wellington who were the agents, and then went to New Zealand Airways Ltd., Timaru as a three-seater. ABK was then used extensively around the South Island, and suffered some mishaps such as this one:
When NZAW folded, Syd Lister bought this aircraft at the receiver's auction in 1937, sold it briefly to Leslie T Whitaker, Lower Hutt in 1938 and then re-acquired it soon after. It was finally wrecked when 'Ace' Willmott overshot a landing at Milford, north of Timaru, & wrecked when wingtip hit ground at a date in 1940. The remains were stored by Syd on his farm until being sold after his death to McGarry in 1994.
Restoration pic of ZK-ABK from the NSAC newsletter:
ZK-ABK arrived in late 1929 through the Canadian Knight & Whippet Motor Co.Ltd. of Wellington who were the agents, and then went to New Zealand Airways Ltd., Timaru as a three-seater. ABK was then used extensively around the South Island, and suffered some mishaps such as this one:
When NZAW folded, Syd Lister bought this aircraft at the receiver's auction in 1937, sold it briefly to Leslie T Whitaker, Lower Hutt in 1938 and then re-acquired it soon after. It was finally wrecked when 'Ace' Willmott overshot a landing at Milford, north of Timaru, & wrecked when wingtip hit ground at a date in 1940. The remains were stored by Syd on his farm until being sold after his death to McGarry in 1994.
Restoration pic of ZK-ABK from the NSAC newsletter:
