Trevor 'T.T.' Bland RIP

I’m very sad to hear that Trevor “T.T.” Bland passed away this morning.

He was the founding president of New Zealand Warbirds in 1978 and was a HUGE influence in the warbird movement in this country. He was also one of the first people in NZ to start displaying warbirds to the public at events, starting with Harvard ZK-WAR in a pars routine with Ernie Thompson in his Harvard ZK-ENE. This developed into a bigger Harvard team which continues to this day as the famous Roaring Forties team.

Born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand, Trevor was always interested in aircraft and as a teenager he served in the Air Training Corps, during which time he actually got the opportunity to work with No. 2 Squadron Territorial Air Force on their P-51D Mustangs. He joined the RNZAF and became a fighter pilot, flying Vampires. One of his great highlights was being selected to fly as a member of the award winning No. 75 Squadron “Jetobatics” Vampire display team.

He left the RNZAF to travel to the UK and despite not particularly meaning to get back into aviation he found himself joining the RAF. There he went on to fly in the with the Blue Diamonds team in Hunters and Lightnings.

He returned to New Zealand and rejoined the RNZAF. he served overseas with No. 14 Squadron flying Venoms in combat over Malaya, while based at Tengah, Singapore.

Back into civilian life he flew with Air New Zealand, and when the beloved Harvards were being disposed of from the RNZAF he and a group of other pilots formed New Zealand Warbirds Inc., in 1978, to save some of them from the melting pot. As well as flying Harvard ZK-WAR and as an early member of the Roaring Forties team, Trevor will be best remembered by airshow audiences across New Zealand for his displays in the Mustang ZK-TAF and the Venom ZK-VNM. Later back in New Zealand he was one of the first batch of RNZAF Skyhawk pilots.

He was also one of the original pilots in the Warbird Dakota syndicate with ZK-DAK. And he had a stint flying the huge Antonov freighters that were based at Mangere in the early 1990’s too. Sadly the onset of Parkinsons Disease forced him to give up his medical some years ago but he still continued to fly with friends and enjoy the thrills in various warbirds from the back seat. He also continued to keep in close contact with the Warbirds association right the way through, giving up his long-time post as President and slipping into the role of Patron just a few years back.

Trevor has been an amazing inspiration to many thousands of people for many, many years. He’ll be hugely missed, particularly at his home base of Ardmore. My sincere condolences to his wife Kathy, daughter Heidi and his family, and all his friends in the aviation world and beyond. RIP Trevor.