Fletcher in Darwhine..
 

Just looked out me office window and saw a Fletcher on final for 11.
It gotta stinger doo dah on the tail anyone know what it is?
Nice to hear the old DC3 rumblin around in the dark last night fellas keep it up

RE - fletcher
 

Universal Tracking Systems - jandakot
Mainly for low level electromagnetic survey. gold, copper, magnesium, or more uranium ?
Survey heights flown anywhere from 50 - 200 agl/ DGPS light bar and recording gear. Quite a bit to it.

Cheers
Multi:ok:

Oh...oh uranium for sure now that Clare has backflipped on "NO NEW MINES"
Har har

Can imagine wot fun it would be in a Fletcher gettin chucked around in thermal turb all day :yuk:

Fairly stable at LL with a great stol wing design. i0720 piston 400 hp @100lts p/hr. Good fun!!
The new Crescos are even better !!
multi:ok:

Har har yer talkin to someone that flew one nearly 40 years ago....

Long time between pit stops:8

Kerriste you that old Tinny .. :p



If only 40 years ago it would have been a retirement job for Tinnie!!!

:} :}

Woomera

P.S. Musta been either far more, or slightly less than 40 years ago Tinnie. 40 years ago you wuz on C185's! :E

Would that be similar to the twin at Perth this PM with some sort of antenna/boom on the tail??? (Obviously not the same one unless they can fly Darwin to perth in 3 hours.. :E)

Was wondering what it was for.. figured some sort of survey/surveillance.... :D

Tinny is having trouble logging on but he said to tell you there are far more OLDER buggers lurking in here than him.
He is just a sprout.
He looked in his log and found may 26 1966 Fu24 J Phillips ZK-CLM 45 min dual an 45 min solo circuits endorsement
So he apologises it wasnt 40 years ago at all.

Tinpis,

Did CLM have dual controls?? or was it just a very cosy check out with John Phillips?? Memory recalls CCT being the only dual FU24 in those days, the only one James had anyway.

Prospector

Tinnie. You stuffed your login email address. Old and senile???

Email me and we'll sort it out.

I think.........

:{

Woomera

Maybe an Aero Commander? There are some of them around the place on survey operations.

Tin the silly old bugger has cocked up his log in
However he says it was a dual Fletcher one of TWO prospector James had the other.
Ended up with James eventually.

http://www.dave.wise.btinternet.co.uk/DWFletcher.htm

ADL-01 FU24 10/65 ZK-CLM reb by Adastra (ex ZK-CBH alloc 9/61 ntu cx 10/65) inc parts from ZK-BHM/BHN/BIG/BOC to 24A-950M 8/78 c/n changed to 34 (2/89) 9M-AYR

Figures are for the Fu-24A

* Accommodation 1-2
* Dimensions
o Span : 12.2m (42'0ft)
o Length : 9.7m (31'10ft)
o Height : 2.85m (9'4ft)
* Weight
o empty : 907kg (2,000lb)
o max : 1,588kg (3,500lb)
* Power Plant : 260hp Continental IO-470-1
* Performance
o max speed : 230km/h (143mph)
o max climb : 900ft/min (274m/min)
o ceiling : 17,000ft (5182m)
o range : 597km (371miles)


oh yeah 900 fpm climb if you were sucked into a thunderstorm!! Tin.

And the first Fletcher ever built in NZ is still flying, with lots of hours in its logs.

ZK-BDS Robertsons Air Service?

That would be a painfully long flith to DN with numerous fuel stops. You say it has a range of 370nm. It would surely be fitted with ferry tanks??

I once flew one from Cairns to Geraldton. The hardest bit was getting wac charts for central Australia. They told me they were available at Kalgoorlie. I needed them to get to Kalgoorlie.It was necessary to improvise. When we finished the Geraldton job, I flew it back to bankstown. We had a DC3 tank in the cabin.

Kindly sent to me by Dave Wise
Interesting to see how these old birds get around.

ZK-CLM was a Fletcher FU-24 with a complex background.

It was built by Adastra at Tauranga from parts of several damaged
aircraft. The main part was ZK-BIG c/n 34 new 10/55 crashed 4/66, but
also included parts of ZK-BHM, ZK-BHN, and ZK-BOC.

It was given the construction ADL-01. It was first reserved as ZK-CBH
in 9/61, but this was not taken up and it was registered as ZK-CLM in
10/65. F/f 20.8.65 at Tauranga and owned by Adastra Avn Ltd.

Sold to James Avn Ltd, Hamilton 8/78 and modified to FU-24A-950M, with
400 hp Lycoming IO-720-A1A and dual controls.

Operated by Farmers ATD Co Ltd, Invercargill 1982 and last flown 2/84.
Sold to Pacific Tiger Ltd, Hamilton 2/89 and c/n changed to 34 (that
of ZK-BIG).

Flown to Malaysia 2/89. Regn cancelled 9/89 as exported to Malaysia as
9M-AYR. Was confirmed active in 10/92 but current status is unknown.

Don't have any photos myself. Suggest you contact
the Aviation Historical Society of NZ
web-site: http://ahsnz.tripod.com/

or Pacific Wings Magazine
website: http://www.nzwings.co.nz/

Dave W