I have just been going through some old issues of Flypast, and on page 8 of the June 1992 issue there’s a nice photo of the Tiger Mustang in flight. You can see where the paint was falling off around the bottom and down a whole strip above the mouth which started to peel so was taken back to the panel lines.

Just thought those with that issue may be interested.

I think that Pete Coleman had collected a lot of the parts himself with a view of getting the P51D back into the air but never did, and all those parts went as a package to the AFC from memory. I will try to look into this.

Yes, John’s Mossie is still there, the most complete example in NZ. The paintwork is tatty, but otherwise in superb condition. He’s restored the interior to beautiful condition (apparently everything was ripped out of it when he bought it). He also has the Mustang, a Tiger Moth, two or three Harvards, three Vampires, two P40’s a Hudson and variuos other pieces of junk all crammed into that shed. Sadly no photos because it was so dark and crammed in the shed I’d doubt much would have come out. Plus he’s a kind of odd chap and I felt awkward about asking him if I could take photos. Nice bloke, very knowledgable, but not your normal run of the mill bloke.

Sadly a lot of his stuff is outside, including all the P40 wings and the Hudson wings. The Mossie is the only thing with its wings on. But at least he saved all that stuff and it has the makings of a great collection. It’ll be interesting to see what happens to them in the future.

Thanks for all this, most interesting. It’s sad to know that these great names are no more. They will live on in all our hearts though of course.

Well done Arm Waver, I was wondering who would spot that deliberate mistake first! Just seeing if you all are paying attention. LOL

Thanks for correcting me, you are quite right.

That aircraft is the personal aircraft used in New Zealand during the war by General McArthur if I recall correctly, and the scheme is genuine. Something like that anyway. Someone will no doubt correct me.

Here is a photo of the other Bf109 I saw at Duxford, this one I do know about. But I just realised looking at this photo taken in December 1993, is that Catalina that is sitting in the background the one that’s now in NZ? It has the same colour scheme that our Cat wore when it arrived (it’s now in RNZAF Pacific colours and looks much better than this older scheme).

I thought our one came from Africa. Was it having maintenance at Duxford?

Great stuff Galdri, that is a truly lovely Dak.

Naive of me I know, but I’d never really thought of Iceland having agriculture in this way. Everything I’ve seen of your country on television (and also when I flew over it en route) looks so rocky and icy. I guess like most countries there is a lot more diversity than the general impression that TV gives. Sorry.

I wonder if any more Ag-Daks are still working away anywhere. They are a rarity these days.