AIRCRAFT INSPECTOR

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 102, 24 January 1936, Page 10

AIRCRAFT INSPECTOR

New Position in Civil Aviation

MR. R. C. KEAN APPOINTED

Consequent upon the expansion now taking place in New Zealand aviation, an aircraft inspector has been added to the civil aviation branch of the Defence Department. The first holder of the office is Mr. R. C. Kean, A.M.I. Mech.E., who has been, until now, a member of the designing staff of the Public Works Department.

Mr. Kean had a notable war record as a member of the Royal Air Force He joined the Second Lancashire Regiment in 1915, and, as a Lieutenant, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps where he learned to fly, in 1916. Later be was an instructor at Brooklands, and then chief engine experiments officer a’ the Aeroplane Experimental Station, Martlesham Heath, and became widely known as a pilot and engine expert., ' At the Armistice, Mr. Kean held the rank of captain, had done 600 hours flying, and had flown 24 types of aircraft, from heavy bombers to singleseater lighters. Included in his log book were Ave German types, as well as British, French, and Italian machines.

Since the war he has been with the Public Works Department, but recently has been flying modern machines He is an associate member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Included in his duties will be the periodical inspection of all civil aircraft for the granting and renewal of certificates of airworthiness, and the examination of candidates for ground engineers’ licenses in any category His headquarters will lie at Wellington. Until now the duties of an aircraft inspection department have been carried out by Royal New Zealand Air Force personuel, but with the growth of civil aviation this has seriously in terfered with normal air force duties The establishment of commercial airlines, and the increasing size of aero club fleets, has made it necessary that a permanent inspector should be appointed. This step brings New Zealand into line with the other Dominions, all of wbich“bave staffs of aircraft inspectors.