CIVIL AVIATION.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 20, 24 January 1936, Page 9

CIVIL AVIATION.

INSPECTOR'S POST. NEW APPOINTMENT MADE. OFFICER'S FINE WAR RECORD. By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WELLGCGTOX, this day. "With the expansion now taking place . in Xew Zealand, an aircraft inspector i has been added to the civil aviation ■ branch of the Defence Department. Mr. 1 R. C. Ivean, who has been until now a member of the designing staff of the Public Works Department, is the first appointment to the new post. Mr. Kean had a notable war record as a member of the Royal Air Force. He joined the 2nd Lancashire Regiment in 1915 and transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916. Later he was an instructor at Brooklands and then Chief Engine Experiments Officer at the Aeroplane Experimental Station, Martlesliam Heath, and became widely known as a pilot and engine expert. At the Armistice Mr. Kean held the rank of captain. He had done 600 hours' flying and had flown 24 types of aircraft from heavy bombers to singleseater fighters. Included in his log book were five German types, as well as British, French and Italian machines. Since the war he has been with the Public Works Department, but recently he has been flying modern machines. Included in his duties will be the periodical inspection of all civil aircraft for the granting and renewal of certificates of airworthiness and the examination of candidates for ground engineers' licenses in any category. His headquarters will be at Wellington. Until now the duties of an aircraft inspection department have been carried out by the Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel, but, with the growth of civil aviation this has seriously interfered with normal Air Force duties. The establishment of commercial air lines and the increasing size of aero club fleets have made it necessary that a permanent inspector should be appointed. This step brings Xew Zealand into line with other Dominions, all of which have staffs of aircraft inspectors.