Civilian Aviation

Hi all,

Managed to persuade the wife to let me visit some of the museums in New Zealand on our trip.

Here's a couple for now. Will add to this post as I get through them.

Auckland War Memorial Museum. Also has a Spitfire present but I'd never seen a Zeke before so focused on that in an otherwise very impressive building.

Japanese Naval Air Force A6M3 Model 22 (Zeke-22) sn 3844 by Dan W, on Flickr

Off-airport at Omaka

Safe Air Cargo Bristol 170 Freighter Mk.31M sn 13126 ZK-CPT by Dan W, on Flickr

Safe Air Cargo Bristol 170 Freighter Mk.31M sn 13126 ZK-CPT by Dan W, on Flickr

Christchurch/ Wigram Air Force Museum
Has some good exhibits but sadly on the day of my visit the vast majority had been shunted out of the hangar to make way for a market! Some very nice gentlemen explained that they run tours to the Conservation Area for a small fee and that most of the exhibits had been moved to the reserve collection for the day. Sadly time constraints meant that a guided tour simply wasn't on the cards so I figure I saw about 20% of the aircraft they actually have on show.

RNZAF Douglas C-47B Skytrain msn 16963 NZ3551 by Dan W, on Flickr

RNZAF Douglas C-47B Skytrain msn 16963 NZ3551 by Dan W, on Flickr

Bleriot XI-2 ‘Britannia’ by Dan W, on Flickr

As I say, more to be added as and when I get through the edits.

I hope they're of interest!

You missed a treat at Wigram, Dan. We went there a few years ago, and visited twice. The second time we did the backlot tour, got talking with the guide and spent almost two hours there. There are some real gems in New Zealand, often in the most unexpected places. It certainly seem to hold more than it's fair share of Wayfarers!

Fabulous! Some great looking aircraft there.

Looking back through my notes, I see that there was another Wayfarer in Founders Park, Nelson. This one was ZK-CLU 'Merchant Buccaneer'. I was told that it had landed on a beach nearby, then been towed to the museum. It was open to visitors as well. With the aforementioned ZK-CPT at Omaka, I bagged two Bristols on successive days. That's a first for me!

WelshD , whilst at Omarka , did you get the Argosy by cafe just NW of Blenheim a/p . Ex BEA series -200 . The wifes dad engineered on the 5 Argosies in BEA , so quite poignant that we stood where he had worked back in '60s .
Lovely shots , we were impressed with Omarka .

rgds condor .