Tuesday 24 April 2012

Wanaka Transport and Toy Museum #2

Clearly visible from the highway between Luggate and Wanaka is this Government Aircraft Canberra Mk20 A84-207. It was one of 48 built under licence by GAF in Australia. It first flew on 17-08-1954 - was struck off charge on 27-07-1973; sat around on a pole with Channel 7 in Perth and then stored in the West Australian Aviation Museum until sold and shipped out to NZ in March of 1993.There is a Rolls Royce RA-3 Avon Mk109 engine beneath.



Below we have the De Havilland DH104 Dove 1B ZK-RNG (c/n 04323).
This was built to order for the RNZAF and was taken on charge as NZ1807 on 05-03-1953.
It was sold on 06-11-1984 and listed to the A J Nicholson and P Ratford (Northland Districts Aero Club) and registered as ZK-RNG on 09-11-1984 and first flew in these civil markings on 30-11-1984.
It was leased to White Island Airways for a period during 1988; an ownership change to Gerald Rhodes took place on 02-09-1992, and then a lease to Pionair Adventures Ltd took place in 1998. It still wears Pionair markings as well as NZ1807 markings. added since it inclusion in the museum.

3 comments:

  1. I find the Rhodes collection quite depressing as many of the aircraft sitting gathering dust there were airworthy (or close to it) when acquired - and a great deal of effort was spent in getting the aircraft to that state, then they are locked up...
    examples: the AN2 and C60 were both ferried out airworthy to go onto the NZ historic aircraft circuit. The HiMax was constructed over a number of years to fly. Likewise the Dove and Proctor, although inactive for a brief period had both been restored and wouldnt have taken much to remain airworthy. The place has no appeal to me - its like visiting a prison for aircraft...

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  2. A small correction - ZK-RNG has always had the NZ1807 markings on it so they weren't added since it got to the museum. I've got pics of it at least as far back as 1987 with those markings.

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  3. Ah ha.
    Thanks for sorting me out on that zknz. I have put a line through that statement.


    *************
    For ZK-CKE2.
    Couldn't agree more. All very sad.

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