Sunderland & Solent @ MOTAT, Auckland, NZ

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

S.25 Sunderland GR Mk.5 | SZ584/NZ4115 — Saturday, 4th December 2010....


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[Kiwithrottlejockey]

S.45A Solent Mk.4 | SH.1559/ZK-AMO “Aranui” — Saturday, 4th December 2010....


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[India Four Two]

Nice pictures, Kiwithrottlejockey.

I saw AMO at MOTAT over twenty years ago. I'm glad to see they are doing some restoration work. It's such a shame they cannot put all the aircraft under cover.

When did the Sunderland arrive and from where?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

The Solent has been undercover for more than 20 years. They put it on a freshly-laid concrete pad, then errected a display building around it, and put lots of other display aircraft inside the building, including an Avro Lancaster bomber. The Solent underwent a full restoration and the interior of it is in pristine condition.

However, the building was fairly cramped for an aeroplane as big as a Solent flying-boat and the top of the tail-fin was right up in amongst the roof framing. They pulled the Solent out of the display hall earlier this year and they had to temporarily brace the roof, then cut part of the framing away to remove the flying-boat.

The Sunderland has been at MOTAT for many decades. It was retired from the RNZAF in 1966 (the year before they retired the last of their Sunderlands), but I'm not sure when it was moved to MOTAT, but it would have been before the end of the 1970s. It has always been outside all that time, although a lot of restoration work has been gradually carried out on the interior.

If you look in those photographs, you will see a huge new display hall being built (the brown building in the background of some of the photographs). The size of that building is massive, and will at long last allow MOTAT to put ALL of their aircraft under cover. I understand they are looking at suspending the two flying-boats from the roof frames, although low enough so the public can have access to the interiors of the 'boats via steps. The new display hanger will be finished sometime next year, with all the aircraft intended to be in it by August.

In the meantime, the Solent is undergoing some maintenance on the hull, including re-skinning part of the keel. Presumably the exterior of the Sunderland will be fully restored once it is undercover next year.

In the meantime, those two big flying-boats are like beached whales in the middle of a construction site.

[India Four Two]

That's great news. I'll look forward to visiting MOTAT next time I'm in Auckland.