A WW2-era plane seen in the Bay of Islands in 1968 just after Mt Cook acquired NZ Tourist Air Travel Ltd. On Christmas Eve 1970 this plane was lost in a crash. For more see the book The Aircraft of Air NZ and Affiliates since 1940 by Paul Sheehan.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Grumman G-44 Widgeon of the Mount Cook Airlines’ Amphibian Service
A WW2-era plane seen in the Bay of Islands in 1968 just after Mt Cook acquired NZ Tourist Air Travel Ltd. On Christmas Eve 1970 this plane was lost in a crash. For more see the book The Aircraft of Air NZ and Affiliates since 1940 by Paul Sheehan.
I had the pleasure of flying in this very aircraft when it was in Tourist Air Travel colours and still had the original Ranger engines. ZK-BAY and its companion ZK-AVM were originally imported for Amphibian Airways, principally for the Invercargill-Stewart Island service. Great planes, but underpowered with the six-cylinder, 200hp Ranger.
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