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[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Old birds please crowds at Mandeville fly-in

By SONIA GERKEN - The Southland Times | 5:00AM - Tuesday, 23 February 2010



AHH, GREAT: Auckland aviator Guy Clapshaw, with Croydon Aircraft Company
co-owner Malcolm Smith (partly obscured), was all smiles after taking his
restored Percival Proctor for a spin at the Mandeville fly-in at the weekend.
 — EMMA CARLE/The Southland Times.

A plane made famous by New Zealand pioneer aviator Jean Batten and a flashy warbird were among the crowd-pleasers at this year's Mandeville fly-in.

Hosted by the Croydon Aircraft Company at its Mandeville airfield, the fly-in attracted an estimated 1500 aviation enthusiasts over the two days. Among them was a tour group from the United States and the United Kingdom who were flying around New Zealand in their Comanche planes.

Event organiser Maeva Smith said the fly-in had not waned in popularity since it was first held in 1988. "I think people just enjoy the fact they can get up close to an airplane and touch it."

This year proved a bit of an emotional one as engineers farewelled a plane they had restored.

The Percival Proctor, the same type of plane Batten used in her historic flight from London to New Zealand, was flown home to Auckland by her owner Guy Clapshaw.

Mrs Smith said it always felt strange when something that arrived as a cardboard box of bits left — "the guys put a lot of themselves into it".

A P51 Mustang, owned by Robert Borrius-Broek, added to the excitement above the airfield, as well as treating motorsport fans when it buzzed Teretonga on Sunday, she said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/3361588/Old-birds-please-crowds-at-Mandeville-fly-in