Transavia PL-12 Airtruk

[avagwhiz]

Confirm both CVD and CWU off same strip about 25 +? k past Pahiatua towards coast-Pongakawa maybe?
CWW was at Taonui not Masterton.It was an airshow and the Rural loader supplied didnt
reach/fit over the PL12 hopper.The guy(teenager) in the orange overalls was late Nigel Arkley from memory-could be wrong was 41 years ago!
CWW was working up the valley between New Judgeford and Upper Hutt and I climbed a hill to get the shots.They were dropping big clumps out of the hopper and one killed a sheep so I gave it away.The PL12 was being used by the Associated Aerial Work lot on trial (based at Martinborough) as they couldnt get anything else and had just pranged an Agricola.
I will give Peter Lewis some Agricola slides in the next lot if he can be bothered scanning them for you all!
DMZ was a real tragedy-happened near Waipukarau from memory and pilot was asphyxiated
by his own weight upside down?
Dennis Heartley? was a "tough bastard" to survive his PL12 accident.The report shows he
was badlly burnt but recovered to fly helicopters later on.

[Peter Lewis]

Dennis Hartley was involved in the crash of Barr Bros PL-12 ZK-CVE near Tukituki River, HB, 13May68.

[Peter Lewis]

Some more random shots from JA:

ZK-CJU of Barr Bros at Ardmore, slide dated September 1975



ZK-CWM of Barr Bros, November 1977 so presumably after it was rebuilt as a PL-12/T320



ZK-DNA of James Aviation at Rukuhia, slide dated June 1974



and at a later date, sprayer rig February 1975



ZK-DMK of James Aviation at Rukuhia, slide dated March 1974



ZK-DVN Farmers Aviation, slide dated September 1975

[dakman]

Thanks for your thoughts on that strip Thomarse
From the later posts from avagwhiz I wonder if he means
Pongaroa ?
Possibly Nelsons strip? as Air Contracts worked there for many years

[avagwhiz]

U are correct Dakman.It was Pongaroa.The strip was on a farm sloping downhill.In those days u got there via a gravel road.I have got quite a few of ag a/c working in the late sixties/mid seventies on slides b4 I went over to colour prints.As I continue to work thru the groupings I will pull out the interesting and different ones.

[avagwhiz]

Peter,DVN was shot somewhere between Whakatane and Mount Maunganui and Hamish Ross
was using it with another one.It hadnt gone to Farmers when I took the shot.They were both working from a roadside paddock spraying.

[alias]

Outstanding pictures JA, and thanks for taking the time to get them on here Peter.

[dakman]

Can I endorse the note from Alias totally ,
Great pics and Peters masters touch on the
posting well done

[arkley]

Agreed!

[Dave Homewood]

Hear hear. I don't find topdressers too interesting but this collection is obviously special and it's great that they have been made public, well done Peter and JA.

[thomarse]

To each, his own Dave......perhaps you should have an "Ag Aviation" thread? ;D

I'm finding these types of threads incredible to be honest - I've been around a while but I've seen some amazing stuff on threads like this, Fletchers, Agwagons etc. I'm wondering now how it should be preserved, because it sure should.

As an aside, I could find an AHSNZ Journal or two from the mid-60s in which the credits for Aircraft Movements and Airfield Reports would include Dakman, Agavwhiz and me so there's at least 150 years of watching dung-dusters between the three of us!

Great forum!

[Peter Lewis]

Photos of ZK-TRP taken by John Anderson added to that aircraft's history.

[The Red Baron]

Interesting little video.military.discovery.com/videos/strange-planes-shorts-the-mangos-design.html

[amsl]

I found a picture I took of VH-UJA at the Schofields Air Show (NSW, Australia) in 1983. As advised by flyernzl in post #58, this is c/n G890 and became ZK-TRT. Hoping this helps with recording the history of the aircraft.

Geoff

[thezookman]

hello ... i think this plane is cool and with all the pics on here ive got a pretty good idea on the details of the plane with the exception of the engine , engine compartment , cockpit and passenger/cargo area .... ive found a couple pics of the pit area but more is always better if anyoone has any .... i would like to try and build a scale model of this plane and put as much detail on/in it as possible .. if anyone is doing a restoration on one pics of that would be great too with something to show dimentions of parts for scale.....
thanks for any help in advance and you can contact me or send me pics through here or my email
jeff
.
.
.
on a side note ... another plane i would like to make a model of is the....... PZL M-15 Belphegor ..... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL_M-15_Belphegor
if anyone would know where to find more pics of this bird .. ive done some searching online but cant find hardly anything on this bird lol so i figured an aviation forum would probly be my best bet for info

[Peter Lewis]

I have now been able to add photos of the short-lived ZK-DMY, thanks to Don Noble.

I think that photographically covers all of the NZ Airtruks, a marathon task. My thanks to all of those who helped.

[arkley]

I just had to share a story I heard recently... I don't know whether to laugh or be horrified (mostly I am horrified so many of my details are sketchy, lol!)

My brother lives near Ardmore and often catches up with people who knew or flew with my Dad and recently he met someone who told him a story about catching a lift with him in an Airtruk from the Great Barrier back to Ardmore. As you know, there's not a lot of room in them and the guy had a dog - a hunting dog I think - either way, with whatever else was in the back/passenger seating, there was no room for the dog in there. So they did what they felt was the next best thing and put the dog in the top hopper. Long story short, when they landed, no dog. So I have these comical visions of a dog sailing out the top of an Airtruk, somewhere over the Auckland Harbour... (and yet am horrified, all the same!!).

[codydaniels]

Hi everyone. I am new to the site. I am looking for detailed photos of panels and rivet orientation for building a R/C PL-12. Does anyone have some helpfull photos they can send me?

Thanks in advance.

[Deleted]

Sam and I just returned from a trip to Lake Rotoiti and about 15min south of Rotorua on SH30 there is a shed with a lovely mural of two PL12s painted on. I didn't stop for pics as the shoulders weren't that big, but one was blue-white and the other orange white, and the foremost one was spreading.

Has anyone else seen this? I'm pretty sure it's the shed on the left side, topmost on the property on this map.

[The Red Baron]

Paintings of the Ross Aviation Airtruks,has been there for many years.