She’s all on for young and old in this shot — East Canterbury Aviation’s Skyhawk II ZK-DXL, Burt Greg’s Fokker D-VI Replica and a hint of Tiger Moth
For many, the summer recreational flying season (the locally styled “silly season”) kicked off at Rangitata Island aerodrome (RIA) on Sunday 25 September amid an early clearing of some pretty squally long-weekend (South Canterbury Anniversary) weather. Hosted by the Geraldine Flying Group, about 20 aircraft turned up on the day, including club tin-tops from South Canterbury and Canterbury.
One happy camper admitted having spent nearly three hours “unwrapping” his aeroplane for his first day out for a long time. Lynda Brodie and her regular bevy of barbecuettes were kept busy over the hotplate when her guests were not savouring the glittering sight of a captivating ensemble of sassy-looking aeroplanes. Noted among those poking and peering were local GA luminaries Les Vincent and Jack Mehlhopt.
And keeping the field’s cosmology intact, here’s something special for the it-can-only-happen-at-RIA file: a dozen or so beautifully restored, single-engine classic Morris Minors and Minor Thousands arrived at the popular 76-year-old airpark, causing an audible bout of involuntary oohs and aahs.
Powered by a 27.5hp, 918cc Morris side-valve engine (the prototype was known as the Mosquito and sported a flat-four engine), and having a top speed of 103km/hr (64mph), the stately but innovative four-seat Morrie MM series was launched in Oxfordshire on 20 September 1948. Later models had the 803cc Austin A-series overhead valve engine for fractionally better performance but worse economy at 7.8lt/100km, although from 1956 the Minor 1000’s increase to 948cc improved both top speed and thirst.
More recently described as the British answer to the VW Beetle, production of the Morrie ceased in 1971 after having sold 1,368,291 examples.
- Report and photographs by John Nicolson