I remember when

I remember when Fox Moths worked for a living.

Here we have a view of De Havilland DH83C Fox Moth ZK-AQB c/n FM.49 taken in the long gone hangar at Tauranga in April of 1969.

A Canadian built example - recognisable by the tailwheel and the cockpit canopy - it arrived in NZ at Auckland on 13-10-1947 aboard the Australind. It was registered to the Auckland Aero Club on 25-11-1947 and to the Tauranga Aero Club on 17-12-1955. J Paterson of Tauranga appears on 17-04-1959 followed by W Paterson of Motiti Island from 01-01-1961.

It was damaged on Motiti Island on 28-06-1972 with the remains going to David Lilico of Papatoetoe on 26-10-1972 and then to Miles Robertson of Takapuna on 15-10-1976. I believe Miles did some restoration on the airframe before it went to Colin Smith at Mandeville.

Its registration was cancelled on 20-05-1991. It is still currently under restoration - I believe for John Eaton.