VISCOUNT DUE TOMORROW

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28480, 9 January 1958, Page 12

VISCOUNT DUE TOMORROW

Delivery Flight From Britain

The National Airways Corporation was unable to say yesterday whether Its new Viscount aircraft would now make special flights over South Island centres during pilot familiarisation this month before the plane goes into service.

“Everything is in abeyance on that score. The training programme has got to be recast because the aircraft is three weeks late," said the Christchurch manager of the corporation (Mr J. E. Davies).

The turbo-prop Viscount is expected to arrive in Auckland at 1 pan. tomorrow on the last stages of its delivery flight from Britain. It is ’Scheduled to reach its base at Christchurch by 5 o’clock in the afternoon. The plane will come to rest on the “hardstanding” by No. 2 maintenance hangar at Harewood. This is the hangar on the left immediately before the control tower building on a clockwise circuit of the roundabout. Mr Davies said that at this stage the corporation regretted it would not be able to open the Viscount for inspection by the public. The corporation wanted people to see all they could of the plane but could not make it available to them because of the lateness of arrival. The Viscount would be fully occupied with crew training and maintenance familiarisation to ensure it went on trunk service between Christchurch and Auckland on February 3 as planned. View for Visitors

Visitors to see the pfane will not be permitted access to the “hardstanding” but Mr Davies said they would be assured of an unobstructed view from the side of it

The crew and passengers in the plane will be met by the corporation’s Christchurch director (Mr E. T. Beaven). Mr Davies, and the chief maintenance engineer (Mr A. J. Smaill). The Mayor of Christchurch (Mr R. M. Macfarlane, MJ*.) and the chairman of the City Council airport committee (Cr. A. R. Guthrey) hope to be present also. Crew and Passengers

The crew of the Viscount comprise Captains H. C. Walker, J H. Register, and G. Harvey (National Airways), and Captain P. Marsh (representing the makers). Joining the plane at Auckland will be the corporation’s Viscount specialist captain. Captain A. C. Kenning. Five corporation engineers who have been in Britain with the Viscount are returning to Christchurch in it. They are Messrs H. Clarkson, J. Green, L. Herk, A. Isles and T. Mosley. Accompanying them are two engineers from the makers, Messrs G. R. Brand and A. Dare. Special passengers from Auckland will include the general manager of the corporation (Mr J. J. Busch), the general service manager (Mr D. W. Johnston), the engineering superintendent (Mr C. W. Labitte), the chief pilot (Captain N. Ransome), the Dimedin director (Mr G. Jeffrey), the senior air hostess (Miss R. Woodsford), the makers’ agent (Mr K. Cory-Wright), the makers’ Australian manager (Mr A. Wilson), and the New Zealand Press Association correspondent travelling from Sydney in the plane (Mr J. M. Caffin, chief reporter qf “The Press”).

Aircraft Leaves i Darwin

(N-Z. Press Association—Copyright) , DARWIN, January 8. The first Vickers Viscount Corporation aircraft for the New Zealand National Airways left Darwin today after its arrival from England on a delivery flight. The plane is flying to Mount Isa, then on to Brisbane and Sydney before crossing the Tasman to Auckland.