TOPDRESSING PILOTS THRILL THE DUKE

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28154, 18 December 1956, Page 16

TOPDRESSING PILOTS THRILL THE DUKE

The agricultural aviation industry yesterday gave the Duke of Edinburgh more thrills than any other part of his visit to New Zealand. For half an hour expert pilots took every type of aircraft used in the industry into the air at the rate of one a minute, climbed at astonishing angles for a short airstrip, banked on their wing tips, and then swept low over a Hoon Hay hillside to drop superphosphate and lime for top-dressing, grass seed, and fencing materials, and sprayed weedicides. The Duke was most intrigued by the way the pilots “slid down the branches” of trees bordering the airstrip. This was a high belt on the down-wind side and, in their approach to land, the aircraft went out of view, appeared a few feet above the tree tcps. and then dropped their aircraft sharply to land no more than 50 yards from the trunks. The exhibition was staged in atrocious weather, but the pilots were never daunted. Throughout the day a stiff 25-miles-an-hour east wind with frequent rain squalls swept Christchurch. At first it was thought that a static display of machines on the ground was the only prospect. The primary airstrip on the farm of Mr J. F. Cracroft Wilson, off Worsleys road, Cashmere, was abandoned early because of the narrow valley and cross-winds. An alternative strip had been prepared previously on the farm of Mr E. G. Robertson, in Cashmere road, Hoon Hay, and the aircraft were flown in there from Harewood. The Duke arrived during a break in the weather and was able to inspect the machines and meet the pilots before sudden driving rain made him reach for his overcoat and hat. However. be declined an invitation to watch from his car and walked to a little knoll in the middle of the field where he stood a few yards from the aircraft taking off and landing. Thoroughly-dusted Farm

Like a crack from a pistol the first engine fired and then, for half an hour, the locality reverberated with noise. No sooner had one aircraft lifted from the strip than another was waved on by Mr John Brazier, the display controller. In a seemingly endless procession, the small planes took off, swung in a tight circle, and then distributed their loads on the nearby hillside of Mr George Francis —the most thoroughly-dusted farm for miles by the time it was all over The Duke has a long-standing interest in the work of the New Zealand Aviation Industry Association. Soon after the last Royal visit, he scolded British manufacturers for not designing aircraft specially for this work, pioneered in New Zealand. He had not then seen the requirements, but was quick to understand them. The Duke was therefore delighted to see Britain’s answer to his challenge in the Agricola and Percival aircraft, appearing for the first time in the South Island, which he inspected closely on the ground and watched intently in the air. The line-up of aircraft was, in itself, a revealing commentarv on the development of this young industry. The Tiger Moth, with which most early operators started, was at the tail end of the line. Today it costs about £450. The aircraft then moved up in size and cost in this apnroximate order of values: Auster £2500, Piper £3400, Taylorcraft £5500. Cessna £6500. Fletcher £7500, Agricola £B5OO, Percival £10,300. With aircraft and pilots drawn from •11 parts of New Zealand, this display was a contest among makers, men, and machines. Whether they carried superphosphate, lime, crop dusts seed sprays, or fencing materials the entrants seemed determined to excel each other. It was this verve which so pleased the Duke, but he was well aware, too, of the rigid standards for safety.

Each machine started off loaded, made its drop a quarter of a mile away, then landed to be reloaded by a vanety of mobile equipment, and took off for a second run, each complete round taking a matter of minutes. The Duke crouched anxiously when an aircr aft Dumped dangerously on a * old man’s home, sir, the pilots reassured him

Normally most of their work is from perilous hill-country airstrips. The pilots did concede that the weather was “somethin’ shocking.” Colourful Conclusion

For all the driving rain and wind, the display ended in a burst of colour. With the Duke obviously getting soaked, the last aircraft (heavily laden with big posts, intermediate standards, and reels of fencing wire) was waved back off before it took off and simply dumped its load from a standing position. But a tiny plane with a big spraying boom was in the air and it swept past a few yards from the Duke and a few feet from the ground and let go a veritable blanket of dyed spray. At that very moment a complete rainbow in the northern sky framed this dazzling sight.

“Now you are. all in the purple, said the DUke as he entered his car.

The agricultural aviation display created tremendous interest, although it was not open to the public. Cars lined many nearby roads, and on the field were invited quests of many callings, ranging from the Prime Minister (Mr Holland) and Viscount Crookshank, former Leader of the House of Commons, to the High Commissioner for India in Australia and New Zealand (Mr P. A. Menon), who admitted that he “sneaked in the visit” before returning to Canberra after the Colombo Plan conference.

Standing alone through much of the display was an unobtrusive figure. He was Mr E. A. Gibson, the recentlyretired Director of Civil Aviation, who has done more than anyone else for the new industry. Now an aeronautical consultant to the industry, he was presented to the Duke. The association also recognised the great honour done it by the Duke. Members made him a life member and presented him with their badge—a dart-like aircraft symbol in blue enamel with the normal silver trail of fertiliser changed to pure gold as a symbol of new prosperity and a Royal occasion.