Aircraft [Auster J/1B Aiglet ZK-BWH]
Maker and role
Auster Aircraft Company Limited, Manufacturer
Production date
1953
See full details
Object detail
Accession number
1986.21
Production period
Description
Auster Aiglet aircraft. Cream coloured body and wing with four orange horizontal stripes running the length of the body, 1 orange horizontal stripe on tail and painted with ZK-BWH underneath, grey propeller with yellow tips, 2 blades.
Complete Auster Aiglet J1B ZK-BWH, monoplane, 4-seater light liaison or observation aircraft. Accommodation: enclosed cabin seating, 2 side-by-side with complete dual controls. Single, double-bladed propeller . Fixed rubber tyres, undercarriage. Welded tube steel with fabric covering. 2 wing struts from the fuselage to the underside of each wing. The engine is forward of the wings. The exhaust is on the underside of the aircraft. The cabin is enclosed with Perspex.
Complete Auster Aiglet J1B ZK-BWH, monoplane, 4-seater light liaison or observation aircraft. Accommodation: enclosed cabin seating, 2 side-by-side with complete dual controls. Single, double-bladed propeller . Fixed rubber tyres, undercarriage. Welded tube steel with fabric covering. 2 wing struts from the fuselage to the underside of each wing. The engine is forward of the wings. The exhaust is on the underside of the aircraft. The cabin is enclosed with Perspex.
Brief History
This aircraft was operated for over twenty years by veterinarian Peter Malone. It gave Malone access to the remotest parts of the Nelson District for what was probably New Zealand’s first ‘flying vet’ service.
Initially Malone leased the aircraft from the Nelson Aero Club, but around 1960 he bought the aircraft from the Club and used it for the next 21 years.
In 1981, Malone, then the Mayor of Nelson, donated the aircraft to the RNZAF Museum at Wigram. It was later exchanged for MOTAT’s Auster NZ1707, which had been part of the Commonwealth Trans-Atlantic Expedition of 1955-58. The aircraft you see here, ZK-BWH, is painted with both its civil number and a fictitious Antarctic Auster number.
Date: 1953
Manufacturer: Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Ltd
Type: Three or four-seat cabin light liaison or observation monoplane
Wing span: 11 m (36 ft)
Length: 7.1 metres (23 ft 5 in)
Engine: 1 x 145HP Gipsy Major V11 four cylinder inverted in-line air-cooled engine
Accommodation: Enclosed cabin seating, two side by side with dual controls
Initially Malone leased the aircraft from the Nelson Aero Club, but around 1960 he bought the aircraft from the Club and used it for the next 21 years.
In 1981, Malone, then the Mayor of Nelson, donated the aircraft to the RNZAF Museum at Wigram. It was later exchanged for MOTAT’s Auster NZ1707, which had been part of the Commonwealth Trans-Atlantic Expedition of 1955-58. The aircraft you see here, ZK-BWH, is painted with both its civil number and a fictitious Antarctic Auster number.
Date: 1953
Manufacturer: Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Ltd
Type: Three or four-seat cabin light liaison or observation monoplane
Wing span: 11 m (36 ft)
Length: 7.1 metres (23 ft 5 in)
Engine: 1 x 145HP Gipsy Major V11 four cylinder inverted in-line air-cooled engine
Accommodation: Enclosed cabin seating, two side by side with dual controls
Marks
ZK-BWH Painted
Media/Materials
Credit Line
Auster Aircraft Company Limited. 1953. Aircraft [Auster J/1B Aiglet ZK-BWH], 1986.21. The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT).
Related topics
Public comments
A staff member who has sighted the interior has confirmed the aircraft is in fact a four seater, with the rear a bench seat. Thank you for your comment, interest in the collection is always appreciated.
- MOTAT Curatorial Research posted 3 years ago.
The Aiglet is a three-seater, not a four seater aircraft.
- Peter Lewis posted 3 years ago.