AG-DAK Photo's

[kiwibeavers]

I think about 40 miles was about the furthest from base they would go which worked out at an hour a round trip. One ride I went in from Gisborne was to Ruatahunga Station in the back of beyond between Tokomaru Bay and Ruatoria, that took nearly an hour.

Had a taxi ride in VH-CWS today with, from left, 85 year old "Captain" Jack Curtis, Peter Edwards and retired B747 Capt. Gordon Power. Jack still has a full license and loves DC3's. He said he's take one to bed if he could!!

[Dave Homewood]

Apart from Gisborne and Palmerston North, which airports were the AgDaks all based?

[kiwibeavers]

Dargaville, Ardmore, Hamilton, Rotorua, Gisborne, Wairoa, Napier, Takapau, Dannevirke, Palmerston North, Wanganui, New Plymouth, Masterton, Woodbourne, Mangamirie and Tangiwai are the strips that I know of, some being only short term. James may have also been in Whangarei and through the Central N.I. but I'm unsure.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks. Interesting that they are mostly North Island

[kiwibeavers]

Les Marshall worked out of Taupo and Rotorua mostly in the mid 70's in AZA so the previous B&W photo shown here may have been when he was there. Good old Les is still truckin' along but only on the ground now.

[thomarse]

Kahutara in the Southern Wairarapa, and I'm sure James woirked out of Galatea.

In the South, Culverden was the strip that the pilot of AOI (Don Thorp) had complained about - thought the rough surface could be causing damage to the wing roots.

[fletcherfu24]

Just about every aerodrome in the North Island probably had the James DC-3 at some time.As long as it was in James licensed areas,in those days they were restricted by licensing as to what areas they could use the heavy aircraft in,although James had dozens of companies under its wings it may not have been able to operate in some areas if the original license holder couldn;t use heavy aicraft.Did they ever fly off Kaikohe or Kaitaia ?.They used to fly it off Waharoa,it used to topdress farms along the Kaimais from there.
They probably didnt go down the East Coast so as to not annoy Feildair.

[thomarse]

Good grief, I shouldn't have missed Waharoa = one was there (complete with Fiat Bambina) when I was at the Walsh in '67.

AZL I guess?

[Peter Lewis]

Airland was formed as a joint venture between James, Fieldair and Rural Aviation for AgDak/Lodestar operations.
The idea was that under their joint licences they would have the whole country covered for heavy aircraft.

[woody99]

James used to operate out of Whakatane once or twice a year - Bill Petersen was the pilot. They would be there for a week or two at a time. I managed a couple of rides with Bill as a kid, and when I started flying commercially, found one of my skippers on the 737 to be his son.

[alias]

Queenstown, and theres a strip up the road to Mavora lakes that was reputedly used by Daks, it is certainly long enough.

[nzav8a]

ZK-AZA 1979

[kiwibeavers]

Tom, check page 4 of this thread, there's a coupe of the Fiat Bambina and Mini Van being loaded into AWO by pilot Gerry Kluck

[Dave Homewood]

Looking through the July 1985 issue of New Zealand Wings magazine there's a Gavin Woodward photo on page 32 of three Fieldair Dakotas awaiting disposal to their new homes. The caption states that ZK-APK was going to an adventure camp at Mangaweka. That example is still there.

It says ZK-AWO was going to the Awapuni Motor Hotel (wherever that was), and this example is now a mere cockpit owned by Chris Rudge I believe.

The third in the photo is missing its wings and was ZK-BKD, now in Gisborne as discussed here. It stated in the caption it had been sold to the Palmerston North Aviation Week committee. Does anyone know what that committee was all about, what it did with the C-47, and does it still exist?

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Feb 28, 2010 20:00:27 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Looking through the July 1985 issue of New Zealand Wings....

The third in the photo is missing its wings and was ZK-BKD, now in Gisborne as discussed here. It stated in the caption it had been sold to the Palmerston North Aviation Week committee. Does anyone know what that committee was all about, what it did with the C-47, and does it still exist?

It's a pity BKD is now suffering severe neglect at Smash Palace in Gisborne since Phil Parker sold the business several years ago.

Wouldn't it be neat to see this DC-3 removed from there and restored to presentable condition in the early-1960s Mount Cook & Southern Lakes Tourist Co Ltd colours and placed on display at Mount Cook Village. I suppose dreams are free.

[Dave Homewood]

Or taken to the new Air Force centre at Ohakea. That would be cool. In wartime colours, not the poncy postwar colours.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

ZK-BKD wasn't an RNZAF aeroplane at any time during its history.

According to the entry for that airframe (c/n.13521, USAAF serial 42-93592) in the two-volume Air Britain publication, The Douglas DC-1/DC-2/DC-3 — The First Seventy Years, the aeroplane served with the USAAF in the Pacific, Australian National Airlines (VH-ANU), NZ National Airways Corporation, Mount Cook & Southern Lakes Tourist Co Ltd, and Fieldair, but never with the RNZAF.

[Dave Homewood]

Feb 28, 2010 20:00:27 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

The third in the photo is missing its wings and was ZK-BKD, now in Gisborne as discussed here. It stated in the caption it had been sold to the Palmerston North Aviation Week committee. Does anyone know what that committee was all about, what it did with the C-47, and does it still exist?

To answer part of my own question, looking at the September 1985 issue of Wings it seems that ZK-BDK was purchased from Fieldair with the intention of restoration and preservation at Palmerston North airport. There's an artists impression of a typical 1980's museum type building (ie a glazed hangar) with the C-47 inside.

The caption reads: "All going to plan a veteran airliner will be given an honourable retirement at Palmerston North airport during the course of 1986. Air Show 86, to be held in the city next January intends to raise enough money to both restore and house a Dakota to commemorate 50 years of airline flying in New Zealand. Accompanying the aircraft will be a number of displays related to the development of civil aviation in New Zealand. The DC-3, a 1942 vintage USAAF C-47, flew with both New Zealand NAC and Mt Cook Air Services as ZK-BKD before ending its flying days as a topdresser with Fieldair."

So, what went wrong? The musuem apparently exiosts but did the airshow not raise enough money perhaps? When was it sold on? What a shame, maybe now another effort should be raised to get it restored and housed indoors.

[Dave Homewood]

Feb 28, 2010 21:33:28 GMT 12 kiwithrottlejockey said:

ZK-BKD wasn't an RNZAF aeroplane at any time during its history.

According to the entry for that airframe (c/n.13521, USAAF serial 42-93592) in the two-volume Air Britain publication, The Douglas DC-1/DC-2/DC-3 — The First Seventy Years, the aeroplane served with the USAAF in the Pacific, Australian National Airlines (VH-ANU), NZ National Airways Corporation, Mount Cook & Southern Lakes Tourist Co Ltd, and Fieldair, but never with the RNZAF.

Yes, you're right. But we still need a wartime RNZAF Dakota preserved somewhere. All the ones in museums or flying have postwar RNZAF or airline schemes. This particular one, BDK, would look great back in Mt Cook colours, as you say.

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Phil Parker (who opened Smash Palace and aquired ZK-BKD) actually had plans to eventually repaint the DC-3 into the early-1960s Mount Cook & Southern Lakes Tourist Co Ltd livery. It was one of those future “to-do” things on his list, along with trying to source a couple of time-expired P&W R-1830 engines and propellors for the aeroplane, but he sold the business before those particular tasks got to the top of his list and the new owners have basically neglected the DC-3.

Imagine that aeroplane repainted into those Mount Cook colours and on display undercover either adjacent to The Hermitage, or at Mount Cook Airport. It would make a great companion to the Auster skiplane that is already on display there.