Restored plane to tour country

Press, 19 August 1985, Page 5

Restored plane to tour country

PA Wellington The only surviving Royal New Zealand Air Force plane from the 1930 s will begin a series of flying visits to cities throughout New Zealand this week. The plane, the world’s only remaining Avro 626 aircraft, was fully restored at the R.N.Z.A.F. base, Ohakea, and would visit Hamilton and Auckland on Monday, said the Ministry of Defence.

The vintage biplane will fly from Ohakea and arrive at Hamilton Airport about 11 a.m. After a two-hour stopover, during which it will be open for inspection by the public, it will fly on to the R.N.Z.A.F. base, Auckland, landing at 2.15 p.m.

The pilot, Wing Commander John Lanham, said he would endeavour to fly the Avro over as many population centres as possible, but it was difficult to publish a pre-arranged itinerary.

The aircraft will remain at Whenuapai until Wednesday, when it will return to Ohakea. The Avro will visit Wellington during the week-end of August 23-24, and will leave Ohakea for its eventual destination, the R.N.Z.A.F. Museum at Wigram, via Woodbourne, on August 27. The aircraft will join the museum’s Harvard as the only two flying aircraft in its squadron of aircraft.

The Avro 626 is finished in silver and carries the red flashes of A flight of the Flying Training School at the R.N.Z.A.F. base, Wigram, where it was used. It has been given its original serial number, NZ2O3.

Four Avro 626 aircraft were bought in 1935 to replace Bristol Fighters as all-purpose training aircraft, They arrived from Britain in the Middlesex, and the first flight took place at Wigram on October 4, 1935.