The first Boeing

Press, 9 March 1984, Page 16

The first Boeing

Sir,—The first two aircraft built by William Boeing and Conrad Westervelt were bought, not by the New Zealand Government, but by a limited liability company, The New Zealand Flying School, Limited, (Walsh Brothers and Dexter) registered on November 11, 1917, with an authorised capital of £15,000 ($30,000). E. F. Harvie’s book “George Bolt, Pioneer Aviator” details the dates of assembly of the two aircraft Bluebill and Mallard, which arrived in Auckland in the Niagara on October 12,1918. It also draws attention to modifications to the aircraft carried out in 1921 by the New Zealand Flying School which were similar to those carried out by the Boeing Company when they built a replica in 1966. The aircraft were used for pilot training and early air mail pioneering, but the point should be made that government support of the enterprise and enthusiasm of private individuals for flying was sadly lacking in the period 1910 to 1930.—Yours, etc., H. A. FOSTER. March 6, 1984.

[We and our travel editor, Les Bloxham, acknowledge the error. He was given the information by the Boeing Corporation in Seattle recently. We will let Boeing have the correct version for its official history—Editor.]