|
|
Post by woody99 on Dec 11, 2009 11:49:34 GMT 12
That's a great photo - Harry Scott completed my CPL and C Cat instructor training in 1985.
Peter McColl lives at Ohope Beach - I dropped by and saw him when home last year. He has retired and has a fantastic apartment at Ohope along with a motor home that he and Faye spend a lot of time away in.
I currently live in Pukekohe only five minutes from Pukekohe East airstrip and see most comings and goings. I spend a bit of time at the strip as I'm the current president of the local flying club that has a 172 based there.
I think BXQ was broken up in the early 80's and DUH was destroyed in a hangar fire at Hamilton. Peter operated DUH when he went out by himself after James sold their aeroplanes to the pilots - early 80's?
|
|
|
|
Post by woody99 on Dec 11, 2009 13:20:19 GMT 12
Here's a few photo's of SFL taken today - excuse quality as I took them with my iphone.    John tells me that SFL was built in 1969 as a -300 and went to Col Pay in Australia. He was about to upgrade it to a 400 but put the 300hp Lycoming (IO540) in it instead. John says that yes, it's the only Lycoming 300 ever to fly and has a relatively young 9000 hours total time. |
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 11, 2009 13:39:41 GMT 12
I believe Rodney Dahlberg was born in and grew up here in Cambridge. My late Dad knew him yonks ago before he joined the RNZAF I think. Is he still around now?
|
|
|
|
Post by furyfb11 on Dec 11, 2009 13:54:57 GMT 12
Dave, I will be having a beer with him in a couple hours.He's still a regular at the Mount RSA.Sadly lost his wife a few weeks ago.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 11, 2009 17:49:24 GMT 12
If he has email please tell him I'd be keen to hear about his RNZAF experiences, especially any aerobatic teams he flew in for my aerobatic team website. Please pass on my website url www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz and my email dave_daasnz@hotmail.com to him if he has the net. It would be nice to add him to the Cambridge Air Force website. Cheers. |
|
|
|
Post by oj on Dec 11, 2009 20:48:44 GMT 12
The 310 HP Geared one was powered by a Lycoming IGSO-480. Someone cooked it (maybe even siezed it) on a ground test run, I think on the Aero Engine Services Ltd. test trailer. So it only had a very short life.
The IGSO-480 and its bigger brother the IGSO-540, were both used extensively in the Piaggio P166 "pig pusher". These engines had an unusual Low-tension ignition system, with the magnetos and distributor system all being at only a few hundred volts, with individual HT coils for each spark plug. It was developed for high-altitude flying conditions to counter the distributor HT flash-over that used to occur due to the greater ionisation characteristics of the thin upper atmosphere in conventional magnetos.
There was a considerable weight penalty in having the LTsystem, as the twelve individual HT coils, clamping brackets and associated LT wiring weighed more than a normal HT system.
The whole concept was wasted on a Fletcher and the LT magnetos were temperamental.
I think they got sucked-in with that particular spec of engine, but there may not have been any other suitable engine available at the time.
OJ
|
|
|
|
Post by fletcherfu24 on Dec 12, 2009 5:04:48 GMT 12
There were 2 310hp Fletchers,BXZ was converted around 1965 when it was flying for Sherwood,and CQB the ex Fletcher demonstrator arrived from the US in 1966 with a 310hp fitted.
CQB's 310 was only used for a short time,and I don't know how long BXZ flew as a 310.
As oj suggests it appears at the time there was a shortage of large horsepower motors available.
|
|
|
|
Post by furyfb11 on Dec 12, 2009 9:29:10 GMT 12
If he has email please tell him I'd be keen to hear about his RNZAF experiences, especially any aerobatic teams he flew in for my aerobatic team website. Please pass on my website url www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz and my email dave_daasnz@hotmail.com to him if he has the net. It would be nice to add him to the Cambridge Air Force website. Cheers. sorry Dave Rod does not have a computer. |
|
|
|
Post by Peter Lewis on Dec 12, 2009 12:25:48 GMT 12
Hi Peter, yes I remember swapping negs with you all those years ago.Yours always looked better than mine.I agree the scene has changed over recent years,it was great to be able to wander into hangars and talk to the engineers who nine times out of ten would answer your questions some times even letting you sit in an aeroplane sadly we will never see those days again Dave M. Greetings Dave - you ever know who will pop up here. Never had a problem with your photos mate. Looks like we have bent the thread a bit - maybe we should start another thread on how things used to be. I have watched with hope that someone will post a photo or two of ZK-BXQ, which was Pete McColls Fletcher in Whakatane. I'm trying to get a bit of an album together of aeroplanes I rode around in as a kid, so if anyone has either BXQ or DUH, that would be great! Cheers Woody ZK-BXQ Fletcher Fu-24 c/n 75 CofA 23Sep60 1/6/1960 Air Parts (NZ) Ltd., Hamilton 29/6/1960 Advance Aviation Ltd., Kaitaia 1/2/1968 James Aviation Ltd., Hamilton conv.950M Last flight 1Oct82. WFU Hamilton & scrapped 1987. at Kaikohe 30Aug1965, Advance titles  at Rukuhia, James titles, circa 1968 ZK-DUH Fletcher Fu-24-950 c/n 194 7/6/1974 NZ Aerospace Industries Ltd., Hamilton 22/7/1974 James Aviation Ltd., Hamilton 17/8/1984 Whakatane Air Spreaders Ltd., Whakatane 28/10/1988 Superair Ltd., Hamilton Destroyed in hangar fire at Rukuhia 1Jun91, reg canc 11Sep1991 I apparently do have a photo of ZK-DUH, but it must be in the unsorted box. Years ago we tried to get a photo of each Fletcher to that time. I think we missed out on ZK-BHP BIQ BIW BOH and CFS |
|
|
|
Post by furyfb11 on Dec 12, 2009 14:36:13 GMT 12
Hi - Id love to see any of ZK-BII when was painted in yellow in BOP rugby club colours circa mid 80s or Superairs ZK-CBA before going turbine Cheers. I have borrowed some photos from Derek taken after BII was painted in Williams Aerial Work Ltd colours early 1982    Derek with looong time loader driver Alan Rose on the left. |
|
iflylo
Pilot Officer
Posts: 53
|
Post by iflylo on Dec 12, 2009 16:19:57 GMT 12
the Fletcher would have a far better reputation both as a pilot's a/c and for safety if the power/ hopper load ratio had been allowed to be a bit more conservative. "Every time they chucked in a few more horses, the a/c became much nicer to fly - but then they'd expect you to chuck a few more cwt in the can" My Fletchers stil have the standard hopper, Dad refused to change it saying what it lacked for in capacity it made up for in performance and it was more then justified too, our undercarriage never ever gave us problems nothing ever broke or broke down, its a Theory I am going to carry over, I wont be putting bigger Cans in them unless I go for a turbine. |
|
|
|
Post by Fletcher400 on Dec 12, 2009 16:56:17 GMT 12
Your a legend Fury- thanks for posting those BII pics!
|
|
|
|
Post by thomarse on Dec 16, 2009 9:07:49 GMT 12
Back to the subject of the geared 310 hp ones.......
So it was BXZ? At least I had the operator right! (Sherwood)
Another question which also involves BHA - were the 310hps the first to wear 3-blade props? The first 3-blade I ever saw was BHA which is why I concluded that she was the 310hp animal.
Further, I always understood that very early in her life BHA (c/n 2) was rebuilt using the fuselage with the c/n of 7, which is why c/n 7 doesn't appear where it logically should - BHF by my reckoning.
What was the real story there? Is BHA still alive and well in Aussie, and if so, wearing what c/n plate? Or is she now CQB which appears on the current NZ register as c/n 7? My aging memory tells me that this one is a US-built ex-demonstrator, perhaps N6505C or similar that may have arrived in NZ as a 6-seater "Utility" a/c?
Cheers
|
|
|
|
Post by dakman on Dec 16, 2009 14:24:06 GMT 12
Hi Thomarse
Re the 3 blade prop on fletchers recall BWC in Air contracts service being fitted so around mid sixties it was based in Pahiatua for some time
Nev Worsley flew it then
hope this helps
|
|
|
|
Post by fletcherfu24 on Dec 16, 2009 18:31:43 GMT 12
3 bladed props were used on 260 and 285 hp motors.The 310hp motor is distinguishable by the higher thrustline and the only photos I've seen of them they had 2 bladed props.
BHA became VH-EOF crashed/destroyed 7/85.
CQB was the Fletcher demonstrator,its quite logical no BH. rego was issued to it if it wasn't in the country at the time,CQB was being issued at the time it arrived.
Knowing the way James mixed and matched aircraft rego's CQB could be actually any Fletcher that ever passed through James hands.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peter Lewis on Dec 16, 2009 21:18:39 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by fletcherfu24 on Dec 17, 2009 12:42:50 GMT 12
Great pics again Peter,I think CCT was the first dual control used in NZ,also an ex Fletcher demonstrator N6507C,Serial No 102 it was probably built at the same time as CQB,it arrived around 1962 and was used by James for pilot training at Rotorua.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2009 17:30:42 GMT 12
Great shots Peter, amazing to see the growth of a single machine over its life. What is CQB up to now? Still out to pasture, or working again?
|
|
|
|
Post by mstokes on Dec 17, 2009 18:26:55 GMT 12
CQB was being dismantled when I visited Super Air in April. It will be reborn with a kerosene lamp in the front at some point I imagine.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peter Lewis on Dec 17, 2009 19:13:05 GMT 12
Pool Guy - you are of course quite correct. ZK-CCT ex-N6507C c/n 102 was the dual Fletcher, it arrived in NZ early in 1963. ZK-CQB was single-pilot, ignore the above comments about it being dual.
Memo to self - don't write about Fletcher history after a half a bottle of Lindauer!
|
|
