Here and There in the South Island

[flyjoe180]

"Which hobby do you think I should persue dear, Things with Wings or Loose Women and Strong Drink?"

This may not work later in life unfortunately Peter. Then you will be doomed to an existence of show shops and bird sanctuaries. The strong drink may help you get through.

[Peter Lewis]

Our next stop, still in the rain, was Hokitika.

The location of the pre-war Southside airfield is clearly marked with suitable memorial signage



Casting your eyes to the left, the old airfield buildings still hang on to life



Given the met situation, I did not expect much aerial activity at Hokitika's Seaview airport. I was not disappointed. ANZ's Raytheon 1900D ZK-EAR was the only movement



Continuing the historic theme, this airport also hosts a memorial to Bert Mercers's pioneering efforts



The display replica Fox Moth is rather better finished that the Harihari effort, and a further display board provides information for the historically challenged



We then moved on to Wetport (sorry, Westport), a much better than expected meal at an Indian resturant in the main street and a night at their local YHA Hostel. If you find yourself in Westport I can recommend both of these establishments.

The following morning was hair-do-day. The most important day of the week, you understand.
I used the time to check out the Westport airfield. The last time I was there, an air show was underway and the place was packed. No such luck this time. Just me and a few sparrows. No activity.



The memorial plaque  refers to the loss of DH90 Dragonfly ZK-AGP of Air Travel which lost one prop at 4000ft and then ditched into sea 5mls north of Westport 21Dec42 while en route Westport-Nelson



In passing, I congratulate Richard Waugh and his team for their efforts over the years not only in identifying and marking these historic aviation sites but also in energizing other people and communities to do the same. Well done.

[Peter Lewis]

By now we were coming under a bit of time pressure. We had booked our return trip on the ferry to ensure we got back to Auckland in time for M's next lecturing session, and had arranged to stay the night before the ferry trip at our friends place in Blenheim, so tempus was fugiting.

Greymouth was all locked up and deserted (as was the airfield) so we battled on through the rain straight through to Blenheim, stopping only to lunch at Murchison. Fortunatly, the rain ceased a few miles west of Renwick.

There was time the following morning to revisit both Woodbourne and Omaka.

At Woodbourne the Cessna 402C ZK-VAD of Skyline Trust was displaying Ridge Air titles



while Sounds Air Caravan ZK-PDM was awaiting its next scheduled flight



and their Cessna 172S ZK-SAN was parked at Omaka



The displays at the Aviation Heritage Centre do change over time, so that was well worth a revisit.

A Thomas-Morse S-4C WW1 advanced trainer has replaced the Bristol Fighter fuselage in the workshop diorama



while for me the showpiece was the WW1-era Curtiss MF flying boat, a recent acquisition by Sir Peter.



From the display board:

"The beautiful example you see before you  (c/n NC 903 and US Navy A-5543) is one of only four examples known to exist. Manufactured by the Naval Aircraft Factory at its facility in thePhiladelphia Navy Yard it was the 61st built from a batch of 80.

Little is known of this boat's early history but it was almost certainly operated at a Naval Aviation training station and was thereafter released  for sale as surplus some time in the early 1920s. It appears to have been operated for joy rides by William H Long in the Cleveland, Ohio area and was donated by him following refurbishment to Cleveland's  Frederick C Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in June 1945."

The aircraft was recently sold by auction in the USA.

The reported sale price was USD506K and I would guess at a further 100K or so to pack, ship, restore and setup the aircraft at Omaka.

From the auctioneer's website:

"This Curtiss MF

Built by the Naval Aircraft Factory at its facility in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, A-5543 was the sixty-first Curtiss MF flying boat produced in a batch of eighty.

There are no log books and its service history is undocumented, but an effort is underwayto ascertain as much as possible from naval archives and records in FAA dead storage. Almost certainly A-5543 was posted to a naval aviation training station, possibly at Pensacola or Atlantic City. It is thought to have been released for sale as government surplus in 1923 or '24.

Records are sketchy, but it appears that A-5543 had a single owner, William H. Long, who was the owner and longtime operator of the Lorain, Ohio airport.

Long is said to have based the MF at Sandusky Bay, from which he made frequent trips to Cedar Point Amusement Park, presumably flying joyriders and sightseers. With the advent of federal control of civil aviation in late 1926, A-5543 was licensed as a 2-seater and received the Dept. of Commerce registration C903, later as NC903, in compliance with commercial flight regulations at that time.

The engine appears to be the 100-hp Curtiss OXX6, outwardly identical to the ubiquitous OX5.

Long's pilot was an Early Bird by the name of Albert J. Engel, who began flying in 1911. Engel is said to have been the son of a designer employed by the White Co. of Cleveland, builder of luxury automobiles. Albert apparently had the wherewithal to purchase his own Curtiss-built pusher biplane, which cost about $5,000.

Engel acquired another Curtiss-built pusher which he operated on pontoons from Rocky River at the Lakewood Yacht Club, now the Cleveland Yachting Club. He called it the "Bumble Bee" and barnstormed with it from the Edgewater and Willow Beach Parks as well as Chautauqua Lake until about 1914.

Some thirty-odd years later Engel and his friend Bill Long refurbished the MF with new wing fabric and varnished the hull. They subsequently donated their vintage aircraft to Cleveland's Frederick C. Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum on June 21, 1945.

On display for many years at the Western Historical Reserve Society, the MF was retired from public exhibition in recent times. "




We are indeed fortunate that we have individuals who are willing to devote such a large amount of their resources to present these artifacts so that we are all able to view and enjoy.

Back out into the sunshine (at last), some of the locals were coming out to play.

Asso Champion V ZK-OSC was running up outside its hangar



While two of the LMA LMA-1-W breed, ZK-LWP and ZK-RMF, had called in for a refuel





Heading north for the ferry we found these two again, on the ground at the Koromiko strip where they apparently live.

So that's it folks. A quick blat around the some of the less frequented aviation locations.

I must head back soon and spend more time in the Nelson/Marlborough area, as I have not been there for some years.

In the meantime, your faithfull scribe is off to Bali for some R & R.

[suthg]

Thank you very much for a very informative journey diary and obviously well researched before the trip. Great pics and good details. Don't overdo the travelling... Bali, hmmmm envious!

[Dave Homewood]

When you say recent Peter, the Curtiss has been at the museum since 2011, it was there when I visited the museum at Easter that year. I agree it's a real jewel in the crown, and beautiful to lok at under the lights there.

[Peter Lewis]

Recent = Since I was last there.

At my age, Muldoon was recent.