Another Ag machine. Beaver ZK-BMF

We have had something like thirty three De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beavers on the New Zealand civil register and there is a great web site devoted to these aircraft (and others) at http://www.kiwibeavers.com/


Check out the Lawson Field reunion at Gisborne on October the 23-25 2010.

For any serious Beaver lover there is another web site dealing with them all - not Just Kiwi and OZ Beavers.
Go to www.dhc-2.com .
The photo above shows one of the Lawson Field (hence Fieldair) Beavers at rest at Dannevirke in June of 1969.
ZK-BMF was c/n 948 and came to NZ for the agents, De Havilland Aircraft Co (NZ) Ltd of Wellington, in about October of 1956. It was stored for some time before first flying on 04-03-1958 and becoming the demonstrator. It was registered to Fieldair Ltd of Gisborne on 24-04-1961 and remained with them until withdrawn from use in the 1980's. If my notes are correct it was rebuild by Gisborne Aero Maintenance and registered to Frank & Kay Wright of Tauranga on 18-09-91. [Frank is well known for his Beaver rebuilds and has one under way (VH/ZK-AQA) in his hangar as we speak]. BMF was cancelled on 13-08-1992 and exported to pop up on the Canadian register as C-FGAL the next day. It then moved over to the US register as N998CL and then to N712TS on 07-12-2000. At some point it was placed on floats and painted in a lovely blue scheme. Alas on 20-09-2004 it went missing in Alaska with five souls aboard and I believe has never been found.