Aeroclub colours of the 1930's and 50's

[Dave Homewood]

Often in photo captions of old NZ aircraft, you'll see the term used "in the colours of 'such-and-such' aeroclub".

Did the various aeroclubs of the 1930's in NZ have specific colour schemes? I mean they were generally regional, like the Waikato Aeroclub, Hawkes Bay Aeroclub, Auckland Aeroclub, etc. So, did they usually paint their aircraft in the colour of their province? Or did each club have specific colours they stuck to for recognition means, like say one club might paint its fleet of planes in a particular red and sivle scheme?

I just wonder this in terms of working out the various colours of aeroclub planes that were impressed into RNZAF service - their black and white photos often show a silver scheme with an obvious colour applied in stripes, or two-tone or with details on the spats etc. It would be neat for moellers to know what the colours were.

[Bruce]

Its really difficult to confirm colours off B&W photos! The only aeroclub colours of the 1950s I am aware of was Wellington Aero clubs Cessna 180s which were initally grey with Yellow cheatlines, and a bit later white with Yellow and grey trim. other than that, no idea, although I beleive Waikato aero club moths Prewar were silver with green trim, I cant actually confirm that anywhere.....

[Dave Homewood]

I am resurrecting this ancient thread because now, with the help of Papers Bast, we can learn some of the colours of the old aeroplanes. These are extracts from news articles:

From the EVENING POST,  20 MARCH 1933

AEROPLANE ACQUIRED

An addition to Wellington's air fleet arrived here on Friday afternoon from Auckland and was used at the display on Saturday afternoon. The aeroplane is a Moth, registered as ZK-AAV and it is painted in a red and cream colour scheme, the top of the fuselage and the tail unit being checkered. The Wellington Aero Club bought the machine from an Auckland private owner, Mr. B. G. Tappenden. A new engine was recently installed, and the machine has been thoroughly overhauled. It is fitted with shoulder straps for aerobatics, and a compass, as well as all the standard fittings.

From the PRESS, 2 DECEMBER 1933 (this was ZK-ADE. Later known as NZ574 and ZK-ALG)

WELLINGTON'S AIR AMBULANCE

[From Our Own Reporter.] WELLINGTON, December 1. The work of unpacking and assembling the Waco air ambulance, which has been bought by the Wellington Aero Club, and which arrived by the Port Dunedin on Thursday was begun at the Rongotai Airport this morning. The appearance of the machine as it emerged from the packing case was striking. The colour scheme is red and yellow, and the engine is enclosed in a N.A.C.A. cowling, the first to be brought into the Dominion. Wheel fairings, commonly known as "spats" or "wheel pants" will also be fitted to lessen drag. It is hoped to have the machine in the air within a week.

From the PRESS, 1 JUNE 1935

REBUILDING OF AEROCLUB'S MOTH

WORK NEARLY COMPLETED

The work of fitting a new fuselage to the Canterbury Aero Club's Moth ZK-AAH is now nearly completed, and a very good job has been made by the club's ground staff, Messrs A. Dingle and A. Ingham. An attractive colour scheme has been used in repainting the machine, which should look very smart when it takes the air again, after being rebuilt for the third time. The fuselage has been painted deep scarlet, and the engine cowling and undercarriage have been painted black; this combination makes up the club's colours. Two black stripes have been painted along the fuselage from nose to tail. 

[Dave Homewood]

From the AUCKLAND STAR, 20 OCTOBER 1936

A Miles Hawk Trainer machine for the Wellington Aero Club arrived in Wellington on Saturday in crates on the Ionic and will be assembled this week at Rongotai aerodrome (says the "Dominion"). The machine has been bought to provide higher-grade training for club pilots and is the most efficient training aircraft in the fleet of any club in New Zealand. The Hawk Trainer is a development of the Hawk Major, used by the late Squadron-Leader M. C. McGregor and Mr. H. C. Walker in their memorable flight in the air race from Mildenhall to Melbourne in 1934. The machine they flew was bought by the Wellington Aero Club, but was damaged in a forced landing and written off, being replaced by the Hawk Trainer. The engine from the former machine will be fitted to the new one, as will some of the instruments. A DH Gipsy Major engine of 130 h.p. gives the machine the rather high maximum speed for a training aircraft of 150 miles an hour, with a cruising speed of 135 miles an hour. The landing speed is 42 miles an hour. The machine has an exceptional rate of climb, reaching 1300 ft ill the first minute. Fully equipped for dual instruction, the 'plane also has provision for a second set of instruments, including those for blind flying, so that instructors can take senior pilots through advanced courses, including practice in flying when darkness or weather eliminates visibility. A low-wing monoplane with two open cockpits, the machine has exceptionally clean lines, and a special preparation gives an unusually smooth surface. The colour scheme will be distinctive, with silver wings and tail unit and yellow fuselage with black top, these two colours being divided by a bright red stripe edged with gold. It will probably be some days before the machine is assembled and put through its test flights.

[Dave Homewood]

From the STRATFORD EVENING POST, 24 SEPTEMBER 1934

Air Race Machine Named.
An appropriate name, Tainui, has been chosen for the machine to be flown in the Centenary air race from London to Melbourne by Squadron-Leader J. D. Hewett and Flying-Officer C. E. Kay, of Auckland. The machine is thus called after one of the ancestral canoes of the Maoris, the name meaning literally "the great sea.'' The New Zealand Centenary Air Race Committee, which has entered the plane, has decided to have it finished in international orange with silver wings, the colour Scheme adopted as standard by the Auckland Aero Club.

[davidd]

Ted Harvie had a wonderful photograph album, which included photos of pretty well all the active aircraft in New Zealand in the 1930s, although I think he had a bias towards the Aero clubs. Included in the captions were complete notes on the colour scheme worn by that aircraft. Where is this album now? It must be in the hands of somebody (in the AHSNZ?) or an institution. Perhaps some body has photo copied this wonderful album?
David D

[Dave Homewood]

Hmm, that sounds like a very valuable resource indeed. Perhaps his papers went to the National Archives, or the Walsh Memorial Library?

[madmax]

Hi Dave,
While I'm unable to be specific re "club colours" pre WW11, Wellington Aero Club (WAC) did use Wellington provincial colours  with the addition of red on at least two of their aircraft prior to 1939, those were the Miles Hawk (ZK-AEQ) which you elude to and their second Waco ZK-ADE.

Post war, between 1946 and 1958, WAC used yellow and black colours on five of their DH82s although a standard scheme was never adopted, also Cessna 180 ZK-BKG was painted grey with yellow and black trim but later repainted two-tone green to match its second C180 ZK-BUS.

As I recall several other clubs appeared to semi-adopt Provincial colours, HB&EC Aero Club Tigers mostly had blue lightening flashes on their fuselage sides as did their two Whitney Straights AJZ and AXD and many Canterbury Aero Club aircraft including Miles Hawks ZK-ATD and ATE had red upper fuselages as did their Messenger ZK-ATT. 

The practice of using provincial colours seemed to die-out with the arrival of Piper Cubs trainers in their predominantly red and white colours. 

One exception appears to have been WAC which in the sixties painted Chipmunk ZK-BSV and PA18 ZK-BQN in Wellingtons yellow and black colours.






Cheers Madmax

[davidd]

To add to madmax's list (above) the Canterbury AC also had Dragonfly AFB in the silver scheme with bright red upper fuselage, upper engine nacelles (I think) and a red band on fin with registration letters thereon, although originally it flew for the Club for a while in the remains of its Air Travel scheme (orange fuselage, silver flying surfaces). Their short-lived Piper Comanche (BOO) as well as their Apache (BWJ) were in standard Piper red and white schemes, although I think the latter had two versions at different times. Their Tripacers of the late 1950s and 60s also had Piper factory red/cream schemes. The pre-war GA Monospar Jubilee (AET) had a factory scheme of yellow and black originally (on arrival from Australia), but later apparently adopted red and silver. All their Tigers had schemes similar to the Dragonfly, Messenger and Magisters (Hawk Trainers). Their factory-new Citabria (CRT) arrived in a striking red and white sunburst scheme. Their Austers were a mixed bunch so far as colour schemes went, although these often seemed to incorporate a lot of silver and red. Now that I have drained my memory banks I will take a long rest.
David D

[baz62]

Yes the Austers with CAC all arrived in the standard factory overall silver with red anti glare panel red registration on wings and fuselage all finished off with a red pinstripe flown the fuselage. Oh and Aiglet written on the tail. I think the wheel hub caps were also red. The club had 4 of them (BBT BBZ BCK and BCQ) but don't know if all of them had red markings or if some had blue (the other option). In the 60s after fabric replacement the remaining Austers (BBT crashed after 1 year) were painted in the same red and white scheme as the Cubs on strength. Even down to the Piper chevron on the tail.

[johnnyfalcon]

About 99% of Canterbury A.C. current fleet is red and black (over white). Not sure why...

[flyinkiwi]

I asked Mike Cumming, a life member and former Patron of Waikato Aero Club about Club colour schemes and this was his response:

Joined the Club around 1950 from the ATC and the 3 Tigers were Aifforce(sic) yellow and the two Austers grey or silver. No branding or colour scheme there. I doubt there was any pre War but you could check the Club scrapbook. I left the Club around 1957 to get married and when I rejoined the Club in 1970 the fleet had changed to two PA28s, 2 C172s an AT150 and a Cub. Two Victors were in the process of being sold. No sign of a colour scheme and the only branding was “Air Taxi” on the 4 place aircraft.

The problem with the club scrapbook is that all of the photos of that era (even into the 60s) are black and white.

[thomarse]

Aug 30, 2018 12:13:35 GMT 12 madmax said:

One exception appears to have been WAC which in the sixties painted Chipmunk ZK-BSV and PA18 ZK-BQN in Wellingtons yellow and black colours.

Breathing life back into an old thread, I seem to recall that Wellington's C172 BWW was yellow, black and white too

[ZacYates]

The Wanganui Aero Club's colours are two shades of blue and prewar were shown on the club aircraft with a diagonal finflash (note ZK-AGD survives today with WONZer chbessexboy):
From the collection of the Wanganui Aero Club (est. 1929) by Zac Yates, on Flickr

This blazer shows the colours:
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

[madmax]

I think BWW was initially in a polished metal with red trim scheme prior to a repaint in WAC colours

[Dave Homewood]

An interesting snippet mentioned in a Herald article on the death of Squadron Leader Dave Allan, dated the 13th of March 1940, says, "Flying his beloved orange-coloured Moth, ZK-AAU..."

So obviously ZK-AAU was orange (perhaps with silver wings?). Here is a MOTAT photo of Dave Allan in ZK-AAU, from here:

[davidd]

Why is the Moth in sunlight, while the sky full of clouds, and the ground and sea are as dull as ditchwater?

[baz62]

Mar 17, 2023 15:38:03 GMT 12 davidd said:

Why is the Moth in sunlight, while the sky full of clouds, and the ground and sea are as dull as ditchwater?

If you look at the clouds I think you can see there is a clear part(being black and white the blue looks dull grey), so most likely the cloud shadow is on the water but the sun is shining brightly on the airraft (and the ground below out of shot.

[davidd]

Looks like the sun is somewhere BEHIND the photographer judging by sharp shadow on lower wing of the Moth, including lighted tip of starboard lower plane - what do you reckon?

[The Red Baron]

The Moth has been hand coloured or retouched as they used to do on photos of that era.Theres a lot of photograhic noise in the photo and none on the Moth,which suggests it been hand retouched.The Moth was probably quite blurred in the original print,retouching covers it up.Most photograhic companies and newspapers employed ladies to hand colour and redo photos back then.Cameras and film were also nothing as sophisticated as they are today back in the 'olden days' either....link