1966 Auckland Airport Opening Airshow

[Peter Lewis]

One of a set of amateur slides I recently acquired seems to show the AirNZ DC-8 that was on static display at this show.
Unfortunately, the angle of the shot is nicely placed to conceal the ID of the aircraft:

[planewriting]

While I could be wrong I have an idea at the back of my mind that the DC-8 that did the display was ZK-NZB. It stems from when that aircraft crashed a few months later that the airport opening display was about its only moment of glory. I do see in www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Airshow_History_1960s.html that the aircraft is recorded as ZK-NZA so its over to the forum readers to determine what is correct. The Aviation Historical Society report in March 1966 on the opening does not record the registration.

[Dave Homewood]

Don't ask me where I got ZK-NZA from for my site listing, because I do not recall, but I'm sure I had either photographic evidence or someone else provided that code to me. It could be wrong, not sure.

[skyman]

 Sorting through my collection of photographic slides, I came across one of Air New Zealand DC-8, ZK-NZA, which I  had taken at the airshow. I was one of the fortunate few who flew from Ohakea and back courtesy of a USAF C-97. The ZK-NZA is very obvious in my photo, so there can be no doubt as to which DC-8 was at the Auckland Airport Airshow.
Al

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks Al.

[Dave Homewood]

A piece from The Press dated 24 December 1965 about the airshow's commentator:

British Commentator For Airport Opening

Britain’s top aviation commentator, Mr Charles Gardner, has been made available to the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation to assist in the coverage of the Auckland international airport opening pageant. Mr Gardner has handled the B.B.C.’s television commentary for the famous Farnborough Air shows for many years.

Mr Gardner learnt his trade as a journalist on English provincial weekly and daily newspapers in the competitive atmosphere of the ’thirties. He still maintains that covering a police court in the morning, flower show and an inquest in the afternoon, and writing a feature article in the evening without getting any names and addresses wrong is the finest training there is.

Headline Stories
He first began broadcasting for the B.B.C. in 1935 on the subject of village cricket and when the B.B.C. started its own news reporting unit in 1936, he and Richard Dimbleby were offered, and accepted, the two reporters jobs. Between them they covered nearly every headline story until the outbreak of the war.

Mr Gardner, being a private pilot, specialised in aviation matters, and became the B.B.C.’s war correspondent with the Royal Air Force in France in 1939. He stayed in France until after Dunkirk and later made a number of broadcasts describing Battle of Britain fights, including one from the cliffs of Dover which attracted much attention at the time.

Demobilised with the rank of wing commander and with an 0.B.E., Mr Gardner then rejoined the B.B.C. as its air correspondent—his first jobs being a goodwill tour of the United States with a Lancaster squadron and the successful world speed record attempt by Teddy Donaldson in the dramatic new Meteor jet.

He is the author of several books on aviation matters, holds a first-class navigators ticket, and is an Associate of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a member of the Institute of Navigation, a former court member of the Guild of Air Pilots and a member of the Magic Circle.

He will come to New Zealand on the B.A.C. 1-11 jet airliner which is to visit all main centres before going on a demonstration tour of Asian countries.

[Mustang51]

Geez........think I had best lift my game....and by a lot !

[Dave Homewood]

Nah I reckon you're pretty good Ando.

[pjw4118]

Second pilot on the C141 was Bill Simpson, then as RAF Wing Commander prior to that NZ on 109 Squadron. After retiring he founded the NZBCA

[Dave Homewood]

Was he on exchange Peter? Or just having a jolly?

[pjw4118]

Hi reinlisted with the RAF in 1948 as a Mosquito Pilot (along with another 20 or so ex WWII pilots) and here is the correct page from his logbook (Bill Simpson)

[Dave Homewood]

Wow, fascinating! So he was on an exchange to a T-33 squadron by the looks, and must have jumped in with the C-141 crew when it was heading to NZ?

[pjw4118]

Dave , Bill had a conversion course onto jets with the T 33 as part of his secondment to MATS. He had been involved at Air Ministry in looking at Hercules and the need for the Belfast and was sent to evaluate pure jets as
military transports.

[Dave Homewood]

Oh right. Very interesting. Thanks.

[Peter Lewis]

Earlier in this thread there was some discussion about the identity of the AirNZ DC-8 that was there on static display.
The consensus was that it was most likely ZK-NZA.

However, I have stumbled across this photo,
It is clearly of ZK-NZB, at an air show, and the hangars in the background look very like the Auckland ones.

Possibly there were two DC-8s on ground display at that event, or they changed them overnight?

[planewriting]

Aha! Thank you Peter for producing that photo. Yes, that was indeed at Mangere on the opening weekend. Note the background RAF Britannia C1 XM519. Going by your August 2021 photo (NZA) and the above one of NZB, I will keep an open mind as to which of them did the handling display.
The Aviation Historical Society March 1966 journal records "no report of the actual proceedings was received from anyone". It also states "regular air services were flown by Air New Zealand DC-8s". So, I'm back to relying on my photographic memory of seeing NZB doing the handling display. I do admit "my memory film runs out sometimes" and so I concede my memory could be wrong. I am not too fussed as to whether I was right or wrong however, if anyone (Skyman?) can produce clear evidence of which DC-8 was doing the handling display, then we can put this query to bed once and for all.