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Bell Block (aerodrome)
Bell Block was the original site of New Plymouth Airport. History Opened in 1933 with five grass landing strips, the main strip 5000 ft long. Union Airways operated its main trunk De Havilland Express airliners into the airport. A large hangar and maintenance facilities were built for the Union Airways use. During World War II, the RNZAF commandeered the airport as RNZAF Base Bell Block. After the war, the airport was returned to civilian ownership.Wings over Cambridge, RNZAF World War II bases North Island Government airline New Zealand National Airways Corporation continued to use the maintenance facilities after Union Airways were absorbed into the nationalised airline. Lockheed Lodestar and Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ... Skyliner a ...
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New Plymouth Airport
New Plymouth Airport serves the city of New Plymouth, and the surrounding region of Taranaki. It is located on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island and is 11 km from the city centre, on State Highway 3 north to Auckland, and 4 km from the outer suburb/satellite town of Bell Block. New Plymouth Airport is serviced by Air New Zealand with daily flights to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Jetstar Airways commenced daily services between New Plymouth and Auckland on 1 February 2016. Jetstar Airways had originally planned to conduct 27 weekly return flights between New Plymouth and Auckland, however only 20 return flights weekly were offered. The Jetstar flights were operated by Qantas Link's Eastern Australia Airlines. Jetstar cancelled those services at the end of November 2019. From 29 September 2017, Originair began direct flights between New Plymouth and Nelson, New Zealand. On 30 September 2018, Originair launched direct flights between New Plymouth ...
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Union Airways
Union Airways of South Africa was the first South African commercial airline. It operated as an independent company for five years, from 1929 to 1934, before being taken over by the government as South African Airways. History Union Airways were founded by Major Allister Miller, a World War I flying ace, who had recruited some 2000 South Africans for service in the Royal Air Force. The word "Union" referred to the official name of the country at that time: the Union of South Africa. The company was financed by the Atlantic Refining Company, and supported by a small government subsidy. Its headquarters were initially at Fairview in Port Elizabeth, but they later moved to Stamford Hill in Durban. The corporate colours were red and yellow, and the logo was a shield depicting a stylised aircraft. Union Airways was primarily a mail carrier, but from September 1929 it also transported passengers. The fleet originally consisted of five DH60 Gipsy Moths. A Fokker Super Univ ...
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De Havilland Express
The de Havilland Express, also known as the de Havilland D.H.86, was a four-engined passenger aircraft manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company between 1934 and 1937. Development During 1933, talks between the governments of United Kingdom, India, Malaya, the Straits Settlements and Australia resulted in an agreement to establish an Empire Air Mail Service. The Australian Government called for tenders on 22 September 1933 for the Singapore-Australia legs of the route, continuing as far south as Tasmania. On the following day Qantas, anticipating success in contracting for the Singapore-Brisbane leg, placed an order with de Havilland for an as-yet non-existent aircraft to be designated the ''de Havilland 86'', the prototype to fly by the end of January 1934. This order was soon followed by one from Holyman's Airways of Launceston, Tasmania to operate the Bass Strait leg of the service. The D.H.86 was initially styled the ''Express'' or ''Express Air Liner'', although ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ...
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RNZAF
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zealand elements of the British Royal Air Force, becoming an independent force in 1923, although many RNZAF aircrew continued to serve in the Royal Air Force until the end of the 1940s. The RNZAF fought in World War II, Malaya, Korean War, Vietnam and the Gulf War as well as undertaking various United Nations peacekeeping missions. From a 1945 peak of over 1,000 combat aircraft the RNZAF has shrunk to a strength of around 48 aircraft in 2022, focusing on maritime patrol and transport duties in support of the Royal New Zealand Navy and the New Zealand Army. The RNZAF's air combat capability ended in 2001, under the Fifth Labour Government with the disbanding of the A-4 Skyhawk and Aermacchi MB-339 based squadrons. The Air Force is led by an Ai ...
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New Zealand National Airways Corporation
New Zealand National Airways Corporation, popularly known as NAC, was the national domestic airline of New Zealand from 1947 until 1978 when it amalgamated with New Zealand's international airline, Air New Zealand. The airline was headquartered in Wellington. NAC was itself a government-led amalgamation of RNZAF 40 Transport Squadron, Union Airways and a number of other smaller operators, including the country's first commercial air service Air Travel (NZ) Ltd. At the time of its inception (1945), it was equipped with de Havilland Dragon Rapides, de Havilland Fox Moths, Douglas DC-3s, Lockheed Electras, Lockheed Lodestars, and one de Havilland Express which latter was returned to the RNZAF before the official 1947 inaugural start date. Although chiefly a domestic airline, in late 1947 ''NAC'' also provided international services to some nearby South Pacific countries, using converted ex-Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Short Sunderland IIIs, as well as long-range Douglas ...
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Lockheed Lodestar
The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar is a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era. Design and development Sales of the 10–14 passenger Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, which first flew in 1937, had proved disappointing, despite the aircraft's excellent performance, as it was more expensive to operate than the larger Douglas DC-3, already in widespread use. In order to improve the type's economics, Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed decided to stretch the aircraft's fuselage by , allowing an extra two rows of seats to be fitted. The prototype for the revised airliner, designated Model 18 by Lockheed, was converted from the fourth Model 14, one of a batch which had been returned to the manufacturer by Northwest Airlines after a series of crashes. The modified aircraft first flew in this form on September 21, 1939, another two prototypes being converted from Model 14s, with the first newly built Model 18 flying on February 2, 1940. A total of 625 Lodestars of all variants we ...
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Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2. It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear, powered by two radial piston engines of . (Although most DC-3s flying today use Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines, many DC-3s built for civil service originally had the Wright R-1820 Cyclone.) The DC-3 has a cruising speed of , a capacity of 21 to 32 passengers or 6,000 lbs (2,700 kg) of cargo, and a range of , and can operate from short runways. The DC-3 had many exceptional qualities compared to previous aircraft. It was fast, had a good range, was more reliable, and carried passengers in greater comfort. Before the war, it pioneered many air travel routes. It was able to cross the continental United States from New York to Los An ...
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Fokker Friendship
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful European airliners of its era. The F27 was developed during the early 1950s with the intent of producing a capable successor to the earlier piston engine-powered airliners that had become commonplace on the market, such as the Douglas DC-3. A key innovation of the F27 was the adoption of the Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engine, which produced substantially less vibration and noise which provided improved conditions for passengers; another major comfort feature was cabin pressurisation. Innovative manufacturing techniques were also employed in the aircraft's construction. On 24 November 1955, the F27 made its maiden flight; on 19 November 1958, the type was introduced to revenue service. Shortly after its introduction, the F27 was recognised as be ...
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Defunct Airports In New Zealand
Defunct (no longer in use or active) may refer to: * ''Defunct'' (video game), 2014 * Zombie process or defunct process, in Unix-like operating systems See also * * :Former entities * End-of-life product * Obsolescence Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...
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New Plymouth
New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Plymouth District, which includes New Plymouth City and several smaller towns, is the 10th largest district (out of 67) in New Zealand, and has a population of – about two-thirds of the total population of the Taranaki Region and % of New Zealand's population. This includes New Plymouth City (), Waitara (), Inglewood (), Ōakura (), Ōkato (561) and Urenui (429). The city itself is a service centre for the region's principal economic activities including intensive pastoral activities (mainly dairy farming) as well as oil, natural gas and petrochemical exploration and production. It is also the region's financial centre as the home of the TSB Bank (formerly the Taranaki Savings Bank), the largest of the remaining non-governm ...
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