QUEEN of the Skies

IT’S BEEN A FAIRLY VOLATILE SUMMER to say the least, but not volatile enough to keep our trusty DC-3 Kaitaia from gracing the skies on its popular Summer Tiki tour that blazed through Whakatāne, the Kāpiti Coast, Whanganui and finally Tauranga with partners Classic Flyers NZ.

Bringing this grand dame of the air to the towns and communities Air Chathams operates in is always a thrill and we love to see how passengers rise to the occasion, with many donning period costumes and making it a day to remember.

For some of the more senior flyers on the tour it is a trip down memory lane, while for the youngsters on board it is a fascinating glimpse back into the history of the golden age of air travel. And Kaitaia really is a piece of history.

The Douglas DC-3 origins can be traced back to the early 1930s and its reliable, long-distance reach and large capacity soon began to revolutionise air travel, particularly in the United States. But it was as a war bird that the DC-3 really hit its stride; in venerable C-47 guise it took part in nearly every theatre of the Second World War, playing a crucial role in delivering paratroops on D-Day and even helping to feed a city during the 1948 Berlin Airlift.

With the conflict over, the thousands of C-47s that had helped win the war were pressed into civilian use around the world, and from the Far East to Africa and the Americas the formidable war birds became reliable work horses; so much so that by the late 1940s DC-3s accounted for 80% of the world’s airline traffic.

In New Zealand, the DC-3 did everything from carrying cargo to mapping the nation and dusting crops, but more importantly for many Kiwis it was their introduction to flight. Visit any regional airport worth its salt and they’ll be black and white photographs of yesteryear, invariably with sleek silver DCs parked with their noses pointing into the sky and the future; they got Kiwis up, up and away and that’s probably why the DC-3 still has a place in our collective hearts.

Air Chathams’ DC-3 – originally known to her friends as ZK-AWP – was built in 1945 and joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force fleet at the end of World War II. She spent her early days bringing servicemen back from the Pacific warzone and then flew military supply drops in New Zealand, but she was soon back in action during the Malayan Campaign. In 1952 she once again hung up her uniform and joined the New Zealand National Airways Corporation or NAC, the forerunner of Air New Zealand domestic, and it was at this time that she picked up her civilian moniker of ZK-AWP. In 1963 she underwent refurbishment to DC-3 Skyliner status with larger windows, a better public address system, sound proofing, new carpets, curtains, and name – Kaitaia –and a shiny NAC paint job. And that is the livery she now proudly wears again.

Getting her back to this condition has been a long road however; after leaving NAC, Kaitaia ended up in Western Samoa, worked as a topdressing aircraft, and then – gulp – narrowly avoided being broken up in 1986 when her then owners tossed a coin to decide which of their two DCs was headed for ‘permanent retirement’!

For many years she flew freight – always a DC-3 standby – and her name and ownership changed several times.

Fitted with long-range fuel tanks she crossed the Tasman and flew outback tours around Australia before relocating to Tonga, which is where Craig Emeny, the founder of Air Chathams, found her in a somewhat neglected state in 2009. Craig purchased the aircraft and after an extensive overhaul she returned to service in 2010, with 48,862 hours logged, and in 2012 flew back to New Zealand where once more she became ZK-AWP and was registered to Air Chathams. But hauling freight and dusting crops is no longer Kaitaia’s calling. Instead, she is to be found up where she belongs, out and about in regional New Zealand showing Kiwis what it was like to take to the skies when the going was good.