Graeme Cossgrove's NZ and Visiting Civil Aircraft

[davidd]

Re Reply #21 on page 2, last photo. This is the first good photo I have seen of "Bumblefoot", although he has been mentioned in several reminiscences (I can never forget that anme- always brings a smile!). However it is the spelling of his owner that causes me concern. It was Dave Allan, NOT Allen.
Dave D

[Dave Homewood]

Why would the US military want to photograph another country's coastline? Was America asked to do it by our Government? Was it a scientific survey or was I more for military value - finding out the best places to send an invasion force, etc?

Yes, the Boeing Cipper I was thinking of in Ireland is a wonderful replica.

[Dave Homewood]

Quite right there David, I should have known it was spelled Allan. Correcting it now.

Bumblefoot is such a great name!

[kiwithrottlejockey]

Jan 3, 2013 11:17:00 GMT 12 davidd said:

I am fairly certain that none of the twelve Boeing 314s built survived in any substantial form, last one broken up in early 1950s I think (PAA last flew services in April 1946, but some smaller airlines attempted to make money with the survivors.) A book I have on the golden age of the PAA Clippers ("Wings to the Orient" by Stan Cohen, 1985) claims that at this time the only remains of a 314 were "a few pieces of NC18602" at the Pacific Museum of Flight, at Seattle, Washington. If there are any complete or semi-complete 314s still lying about somewhere they may be well be worth purchasing before Boeing finds out!
David D

I have a number of books dealing specifically with Pan American aircraft and in particular Pan American flying-boats and none of them mention any of the Boeing 314s surviving intact.

One of the books, “Pan Am, An Airline And Its Aircraft” by R. E. G. Davies (Orion Books, 1987), contains lists of every aeroplane operated by Pan American and its subsidiaries, including when they entered service, when they were withdrawn from service, and in the case of the flying-boats, what their ultimate fate was. All of Pan American's nine Boeing 314 and 314A flying-boats are accounted for, and were either sunk, scrapped, or broken up for spares. The three Boeing 314A flying-boats, which were sold to BOAC while still on the production line, were sold to World Airways in 1948 and were also scrapped.

Other books dealing with Pan American's flying-boats in my possession include....


• “The Chosen Instrument: Pan Am, Juan Trippe, The Rise and Fall of an American Entrepreneur” by Marylin Bender and Selig Altschul (Simon and Schuster, 1982).

• “China Clipper: The Age of the Great Flying Boats” by Robert L. Gandt (United States Naval Institute Press, 1991).

• “Pan American's Pacific Pioneers: A Pictorial History of Pan Am's Pacific First Flights 1935-1946” by Jon E. Krupnick (Pictoral Histories Publishing Company, 1997).

• “Last Of The Flying Clippers: The Boeing B-314 Story” by M. D. Klaás (Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1997).

• “The Long Way Home: Captain Ford's Epic Journey” by Ed Dover (Paladwr Press, 1999).

• “Pan American Clippers: The Golden Age of Flying Boats” by James Trautman (Boston Mills Press, 2007).


....plus a few paperback books.

The Chosen Instrument: Pan Am, Juan Trippe, The Rise and Fall of an American Entrepreneur is a particularly interesting book, running to more than 600 pages, and full of fascinating information. It is in reality a biography about Juan Trippe, but it is also a comprehensive history of Pan American because the two were intertwined. It really exposes what a ruthless operator Juan Trippe was, including the fact that he wasn't above using bribery and blackmail to get what he wanted, including even blackmailing US politicians and high-ranking US Navy personel in some cases. However, he made a lot of enemies in the process, which came back to haunt him later in life. But he also really pushed the boundaries with long-distance oceanic aviation and in the process advanced long-range air transport by a huge amount.

[Dave Homewood]

Whenuapai, Feb 1965


Whenuapai, Feb 1965


The Beverley at Whenuapai again


Aero Commander which later crashed on Mount Ruapehu


Connie at Whenuapai


The reverse says, "Rearwin Sportser. Property of one time Mayor of Te Kuiti, "Timbertoes" Morton, an amputee from WWI and a gentleman of the old school. Mangere 1939."


Reverse says, "Beechcraft B17L taken at Mangere in 1939 by Colin Seccombe, an amateur who became a professional photographer after service in WW2."


Jetstream at Mangere about 1970.

[Dave Homewood]

Flying into Wellington in a Viscount in 1960


The Hovercraft being assembled at Mangere before the airport opened


DC-10 at Mangere

[Dave Homewood]

[Dave Homewood]

[kiwithrottlejockey]

I've been for a flight in one of those aircraft in the last batch of photographs in Reply #67. I was in the right place at the right time and cheeky enough to ask if I could go for a ride. A few weeks ago, I got close to that aeroplane again.

[delticman]

Where is the shot of ZK-CAW taken?

[Dave Homewood]

Is that the South Seas Dakota? I have no idea.

[Dave Homewood]

There are lots more of Grumman flying boats like these if anyone wants to see more.

[philip]

Mansion House Bay, Kawau, I remember them arriving. We used to get so excited and envious of those able to fly in them

[corsair67]

Jan 3, 2013 13:53:40 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Jetstream at Mangere about 1970.

To me this aircraft actually appears to be a Dassault Falcon 20?

[Dave Homewood]

It could well be Craig, I was just looking at the writing on the back. The rego is N368EJ if that helps to pinpoint it.

Seeing something like that must have been unusual in NZ back in the 1970's.

[chinapilot]

Dave - It's a Falcon.

A biz jet in NZ was a very unusual sight then.

Great collection of photos.

[flyinkiwi]

Jan 6, 2013 21:18:33 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

There are lots more of Grumman flying boats like these if anyone wants to see more.

Any historic photo is good but as amphibian admirer and Goose fanatic I would love to see more.