DC-3 visits lower Nth Island towns

JONATHAN CAMERON

FLYING HIGH: David Horsburgh with his beloved Amy. The plane was built in 1944 for military use in the Pacific with the US Army Air Force before embarking on a flying career in Australia and now New Zealand.

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David Horsburgh just loves Amy – and that explains why he spends much of his spare time flying her.

Amy is a vintage twin-engined DC-3 aircraft – registration ZK-AMY – that is one of just two such planes left in New Zealand.

Captain Horsburgh's day job is flying Air New Zealand Airbus passenger jets. But whenever he has the opportunity he gets behind the controls of the old plane.

"She's beautiful – it's like flying on a magic carpet," he said in New Plymouth yesterday.

"Modern-day aircraft like the Airbus are all automatic, but the DC-3 is all manual. She's slow and heavy, and she gives you all sorts of feedback when you're flying her."

The old plane, which was built in 1944 for military use in the Pacific with the US Army Air Force before embarking on a flying career in Australia and now New Zealand, is on a six-week Legend of the Skies fundraising tour of New Zealand.

It is operated by the Southern DC-3 Trust, and has been gifted to the Ashburton Aviation Museum. Trustees are hoping the money made during the tour will clear all finance owed on the purchase cost of the aircraft and present it unencumbered to the museum where a special hangar has been constructed.

Yesterday ZK-AMY spent the day at Taumarunui where it took passengers on $100 half-hour scenic flights, and in the evening it was flown to New Plymouth to prepare for a similar day's flying in Taranaki.

Captain Horsburgh said one of his passengers was 99-year-old Elsa Peacock from Taumarunui and her comment after the flight was: "I'm not getting off."

A Southern DC-3 Trust spokesperson said flights scheduled for 10am and 1pm were already booked out, and another scheduled for 2pm was filling fast.

"But if the flights fill, we'll just open some more," she said.

Tonight the plane heads to Wanganui.

The DC-3 is visiting 11 centres in the lower North Island, In conjunction with Farmlands Co-operative. Bookings can be made by phoning Farmlands phone 0800 327 636. Fares are $100 per adult and $50 per child (under 15 years of age). The aim is to have every seat occupied so if there are spare seats available on the actual day, bookings will be accepted prior to going for a flight.

- © Fairfax NZ News