May 1979
AIR PACIFIC, regional flag carrier for a large area of the South Pacific, is about to spread its wings in a big way. The airline, which had its beginnings in 1951 as Fiji Airways flying a De Havilland DH 89, is about to take the ultimate step —into big jet equipment.
GENERAL AVIATION accidents in New Zealand have caused a great deal of heartburn of late. They have given birth to a new magazine; caused the Director of Civil Aviation to say that consultation with the industry is out, that he is going to regulate without representation; and are likely to skyrocket insurance premiums. Yet little is being seen to be done at the grass roots level to assist pilots.
IN THE LATE 1950's when New Zealand's National Airways Corporation introduced the first of its Viscounts, they heralded a new era of sophistication, comfort and speed, and put the airline into the sixties with some of the most modem equipment available for short haul routes. Today, twenty years on, three of these aircraft —since withdrawn from NZ service and dispersed around the world — have been sought out and purchased by a UK based independent airline operator.
Nelson based aviation photography company
 June 1979 |
 April 1979 |
 December 2017 |