arrives at museum

Press, 24 September 1987, Page 1

arrives at museum

By ml M

DAVE WILSON

Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum technicians were yesterday fussing about a World War II Corsair fighter that has just ar..rtved from ihe United f States museum’s latest acquisition was rolled Into the sunlight at Wigram for the first step in a complex restoration project. The Corsair is a gift from the Walt Disney film company, as a token of thanks for R.N.Z.A.F. assistance in the making of a Disney film at Whenuapai. The only recognisable section of the aeroplane is its fuselage and undercarriage. The rest of the fighter is in several big packing cases. Although the aircraft was shipped from Port Everglades in Florida, the museum knows nothing of the machine’s history and until the relevant papers are located, the question of whether it can be restored to flying condition is still unknown. As the plastic wrapping was removed from the fuselage, experts noted that the corrosion of steel parts and general surface condition indicated the machine

- . ■ - ■. 'had been stored outdoors for some. time. Before restoration to flying standard could be contemplated, the museum would need all the aircraft’s documenta and then the;, technical director of the - Museum, Squadron Leader Sandy Currie. Whatever its identity, the Corsair is the only complete example of its type in New Zealand, and returns to R.N.Z.A.F. hands 40 years after the Air Force retired the last of 424 Corsairs it used during World War 11. The Wlgram Corsair is of a later mark than those used by the R.N.Z.A.F. It went into production in 1947 and features some external shape differences to accommodate engine superchargers. If the aircraft could not be made flyable it might be possible to modify it to R.N.Z.A.F. confF guration and colours as a static display item, said Squadron Leader Currie. Restoration experts would delve deep into the technical

"manuals as a guideline for ration."The technology is not beyond us. We have the expertise to do the job, but nobody In ; the Air *. ..Hqrc,e. tpdayhas,;anyexperience of -woriting- with - aircraft —like tweep New ’ and. fte United States succeed, there could be a former R.N.Z.A.F. Corsair used during World‘War II back in New Zealand skies. Private aviation interests in New Zealand are negotiating to buy back the only flyable example of a New Zealand Corsair. The aircraft, NZ5648, was a static display in Hamilton during the 1960 s but was sold to an American in 1971. After a SUS3OO,OOO rebuild, the Corsair was restored to flying condition and now flies in American markings. A spokesman for the interests hoping to buy it back said it was too early to predict an outcome but a decision could be known in two months. The only other surviving R.N.Z.A.F. Corsair is a machine now under restoration by the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland.