Trademe photo of Lodestar converted into house truck

[planewriting]

Aviation Historical Society member, the late Jim W Sullivan, was one of those people who turned over every last stone in their research. In the February 1970 article on New Zealand Lodestars he recorded. on page 39 the following:

"NZ3510 was sold by the RNZAF to the Civil Aviation Administration on 18 January 1949, but no record seems to exist of the purpose for which it was intended. Perhaps it was to be used for radio calibration work, or for general transport and communications.

Whatever the reason, no certificate of airworthiness was issued for ZK-ASX so that presumably it never flew after its acquisition by the CAA. It stood, more or less derelict at Rongotai and it was broken into on at least one occasion, it is believed.

ZK-ASX was finally handed over to the Government Stores Board for disposal and as no-one was interested in those days in giving elderly, retired aeroplanes a good home, it -as sold for scrap to Mr L B Fawcett in 1951. The registration had been cancelled on 31 October 1950, and the aircraft is believed to have been broken up in 1953".

QUESTION 1 Does anyone know anything significant of Mr Fawcett? Was he an engineer? Who did he work for? Where did he live?

QUESTION 2 While I am on the subject of CAA disposals, does anyone know the eventual fate of their DC-3 ZK-AXS? After its mishap at Paraparaumu I understand the cabin section was used for fire drill at Rongotai. The object, which I've believed was that section, has not been seen by me for many years. Does any-one know what happened to it or if it still exists?

[Dave Homewood]

The only L.B. Fawcett I can see in the Death Register is Leona Barbara Fawcett. There was a Leslie Peter Fawcett though.

In PapersPast there was a Wellintonian in the rugby reports called Leo Fawcett, but usually listed just as L. Fawcett.

[johnnyfalcon]

Mar 26, 2020 15:56:00 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

In PapersPast there was a Wellintonian in the rugby reports called Leo Fawcett, but usually listed just as L. Fawcett.

That might be leaky Fawcett, Dave

[errolmartyn]

Mar 26, 2020 15:56:00 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

The only L.B. Fawcett I can see in the Death Register is Leona Barbara Fawcett. There was a Leslie Peter Fawcett though.

In PapersPast there was a Wellintonian in the rugby reports called Leo Fawcett, but usually listed just as L. Fawcett.

In the 1954 electoral rolls there is a Leo Alfred Vincent Fawcett, 'driver' at 49 Tama St, Lower Hutt.

Errol

[grgrimmer]

The B&W photo is the way I remember it when I used to live down there in the 70's

[grgrimmer]

After three days of now being in the "Lock Down", my wife was just commenting on how we now take notice of every car we hear, and then we both came to remember that when we were young, we could identify every type of car by the sound it made. Living in a small community where travel was rather limited, it extended out to generally knowing which person in town was coming down the road by that sound. Memories....
As we live besides the aerodrome, we now take notice of every plane that takes off (essential services ones), whereas earlier in the week we just ignored them.