1929 D.H. Gypsy Still Flying

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30634, 28 December 1964, Page 8

1929 D.H. Gypsy Still Flying

"The Press" Special Service AUCKLAND, Dec. 27.

As the scream of jets and roar of fast aircraft filled the air above Wairoa airport, a small biplane waited its turn on the ground to play its part in the programme to mark the opening of a 1600 ft runway.

When the little plane took to the air the fascination of jets was momentarily forgotten and tribute was paid to the oldest aircraft flying in New Zealand.

The biplane is a De Havilland Gypsy 11, built in England in 1929, and now owned by three private pilots at Wairoa.

The Huia, as the aircraft has been named, was con-

structed with wooden stringers. Its wings are covered with fabric, but it has a plywood fuselage, all of original material.

In 1934 Mr S. White, who now lives at Hastings, had served a short-term commission with the Royal Air Force, and wanted to “have a whack” at the flight from England to Australia, so he bought the Huia and set off from England in September, 1934.

Mr White began his flight before the 1934 air race from England to Australia, won by Scott and Black in about 52 hours.

After flying in many types of conditions from September to November, suffering a brief

bout of malaria and discovering a faulty piston in India, Mr White spent 180 hours in the air in his journey across the continents. One of the more arduous periods was the four hours and a half he spent out of sight of land crossing the Timor Sea.

After landing in Australia the aircraft was shipped to New Zealand and then flown from Auckland to Hastings. It has been estimated it cost Mr White £l2OO to buy, fly, and ship the Huia to New Zealand. Before the Second World War, Union Airways, which operated on the East Coast, bought the aircraft for use by its social club. It was brought to Wairoa in 1950.