RETURN OF N.Z. AIRMAN

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27375, 14 June 1954, Page 3

RETURN OF N.Z. AIRMAN

Overseas Flight From ■Harewood In 1947

PASSENGER ON SKYMASTER Captain John Adams, who arrived at Harewood as a passenger on board the Skymaster Philippine Trader, commanded the first civil aircraft to leave Christchurch airport for an overseas destination. At the beginning of 1947 he brought a Silver City Airways’ Lancastrian, City of London, to New Zealand on a charter flight. The return flight began from Harewood at 9.26 a.m. on February 26, and five and a half hour later the fourengined aircraft landed at Sydney. Tasman Empire Airways DC6 aircraft will take the same time between Christchurch and Sydney when the new service begins in two weeks. With Captain Adams on the Skymaster was his 22-month-old son, whom he was bringing to Christchurch to visit his parents, Mr and Mrs R. JAdams. of Glasgow street, Linwood. The child was awakened during the flight when the aircraft was struck by lightning about an hour out from Hokitika.

Captain Adams began flying in 1932 with the Canterbury Aero Club. In 1936 he paid his own way to England to join the Royal Air Force. During the war he won a D.F.C. and an A.F.C. Just before the war ended he brought a Skymaster to New Zealand and flew the Prime Minister, Mr Peter Fraser, back to London by way of the United States. He was still on leave at the end of his Air Force service when he flew the City of London to New Zealand in 1947.

After serving with Silver Airways of London (the company’s main operation is conducting a car ferry across the Channel) from its formation, Captain Adams joined Australian National Airways about three years ago, and now flies Skymasters on the company’s Melbot®ne to Perth route. He hopes soon to go on a course on DC-6’s. Recently Captain Adams completed 14,000 hours in the air. Now he has travelled something more than 2,000,000 miles, but two of his fellow pilots in Australian National Airways have each flown for more than 20,000 hours.