Message #81540

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Downed plane ready for repaint

The Press | 5:00AM - Monday, 03 May 2010


“GUARDIAN OF WIGRAM”: The RNZAF North American Harvard which sits on a plinth at the Air Force Museum
is lifted off for a spruce-up. — DON SCOTT/The Press.

A plane that sits on a plinth near the Air Force Museum in Christchurch took its biggest flight in 10 years yesterday.

The aircraft, an RNZAF North American Harvard, is due for its once-a-decade spruce-up. It was lifted by crane and hauled by truck to a hangar at Wigram.

Warrant Officer Dan Thomas, who is co-ordinating the project, said that nothing "out of the ordinary" was expected to be wrong with the plane.

"You'd expect a bit of decay, so we're going to repair any damage and repaint it true to its original colours," he said.

Two staff will work on the project for six months before the plane is returned to its position as "the guardian of Wigram".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch/3648905/Downed-plane-ready-for-repaint