Auckland, New Zealand warbird resorations!

[Gary M]

For a country the size of California and with just 4 million people, New Zealand does some SERIOUS warbird restorations! A few years back I had to opportunity to visit the all-volunteer staff at the Museum of Transport & Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland. The aviation Museum is around the corner from the main Museum and behind it is a fairly large hanger where the Museum restorations are done. In between the buildings are a few aircraft......

Here they are. The Shorts Sunderland was "open" one day so I took a nice long walk throughout it. Inside the Museum, they have a Shorts Solent that once flew for T.E.A.L. between NZ and Austrailia after the war. The Solent is basically an airliner version of the Sunderland. Note the feathered port prop on the Hudson on the right.......





This DH Mosquito was being worked on by a retired furniture maker! No doubt, he knows wood!





They were also working on a T-6 as well as an Avenger. The Museum itself is very "full" already so I don't know what their long term plans are for displaying any new planes when they are fully restored...... I spoke with an older gentleman in there who was working on some tiny parts. He was 91 years old!

[Bug_racer]

NZ certainly is the place to be for warbird restoration . They seem to be pumping out the P-40s like its a production line . All of them an awesome restoration as well ! I look forward to my visits there , the museums are awesome and well worth the flight over !

[avenger2504]

Yes we seem to be rebuilding (and building) all sorts of things here in New Zealand! From new build WW1 aircraft up! Soon to be based here is a new build FW190 which will share a hangar with(same owner) a MKXIV Spitfire (ex NZ Fighter Collection down south at Wanaka). The Spitfire is still to be finished as it has been on hold while the Avspecs guys work on the Mosquito. Cant wait to see them in the air (although the Mossie will be heading for your shores you lucky devils!!)

[avenger2504]

Thanks Gary for the post. Glyn Powell is a favorite of mine. Here's the link to MOTAT http://www.motat.org.nz/
LOTS of great work in New Zealand! Kiwis have collectively revived and resurrected more types lately than anyone else out there, I think. As a group, they're leading the pack now in my opinion. Maybe they're the size of California (pop. 43M), but with only the population of the city of Los Angeles (4M)! Quality, not quantity!

Thanks for that. We be small and far away but for a long time in our history we have had to think outside the box as we had to make do with what we had. Not taking anything away from the restoration shops in the US, the standards in some of those are really something!!

[Gary M]

Just wait until my post of my photos of a combat veteran P-40, Spitfire and an F-86 from the tiny airfield at Dairy Flat, NZ!