Even the long runway at Trefoil Island is too short and rough for most twins, so the Drover must have been pretty capable in that regard. Austers and 185s were often used on Trefoil, and 206s when the strip was slashed and smooth. (And the Mutton Bird rookery didn't extend into the strip.)

That said, didn't a Drover come to grief on Trefoil in the 70s, ended up, I think, in a shed in Wynyard?

Always thought a Twin Pioneer would have been useful machine around the Hunter Group.

Twin Pin - the "Flying Oil Spot"?

Probably would, but the crew would need a tent and a box full of cut lunches to get there - provided they carry enough oil for the Alvis Leonides 531 radial engines!

:} :}

Good machine for short strips but very dated now.

pithblot

The Trefoil Island Drover would have been VH-FDS

Rgds

Trefoil Island has claimed many aircraft over the years.

One of the old Heron skippers used to tell the story about the brand new C207 and a brand new CPL being sent down to do the mutton bird season, to show the locals how to do it!

Unfortunately it ended in a bent airframe, damaged ego, an unhappy insurance company and a hefty bill left unpaid!

Didn't Schutts have a Drover on line or for sale in the early 1970's?

There was a Drover operating for Mercury Bay Airservices doing a scheduled run I believe from Whitianga to Mangere, with other stops as required enroute. The main driver's name was Dave ????. Was back in the middle seventies, appeared to be a fairly well patronised run for a few years.

When DH(A) did the design work on the Drover, was it based around using any components from the Dove?

Was the production run designed around only twenty or so airframes, or was planned for a larger production number?

Prospector.
The Mercury Bay Drover I believe was ZK-DDD. flown by Dave Wyborn. Drovers fate unknown. Dave moved on to ATC Rotorua and Auckland.

tail wheel,
You are so unkind.
re the Twin Pins and their Leonides, they weren't THAT bad - compared to, say, Wright 3350 aircraft.
"Fill 'er up with oil and top up the gas, will ya?"


I also, would like to hear how much (or little) the Drover had in common with the Dove.




p.s. Twin Pin VH-EVB is still going strong.

From GEOFF GOODALL'S AVIATION HISTORY SITE

Chief Designer Bill Downes acknowledged the parent company’s DH.104 Dove design provided the basic concept from which the Drover evolved

"Basic concept" could mean anything I guess, although I'm sure if Dove components were used it would have been mentioned here.

de havilland | 1948 | 0562 | Flight Archive

Other references in "Flight" say the Drovers structural design was based on Dove principles.

Folks,
And Sy has enough spare parts, including a spare aeroplane, to keep it going for ever.
Tootle pip!!

Flt.Lt Zed,
Thanks for that info.

LeadSled,
Not to mention a collection of Alvis Leonides.
The magnesium alloy prop supply is a worry, though.
One can hear them sizzling after being wetted.


Brian, thanks for the link to Flight archives re the Drover.

That would be one of the two Twin Pins that was at Coolangatta 20 years ago. I recall the covers over the tyres to strop the rubber rotting from the oil drips! :}

Where is the remaining Twin Pin now?

An amazing STOL aircraft.

Fred Knudsen is a name I havent heard in a long while.
I didnt know he'd lost part of his foot though. I knew he'd had an ejection resulting in a broken back, the reason he was a fitness fanatic. He competed in triathlon events and cycled to the airport every day. Unfortunately I had only a few flights with him as my instructor but I learnt a lot from those flights and from talking to him. Im not 100% but surely he's passed away by now.

Taily,
AFAIK, VH-AIS was parked on Bradfield private airstrip (Lockyer Valley, QLD) 3-4 years ago looking a bit neglected.
A bit of a shame because she'd had a bit of money spent on her some years back.


Sy would be sure to know the current state of things with AIS.
I'll make a point of asking him

Re my last, I had a brief chat with Sy and he confirms VH-AIS is still sitting at Bradfield strip "rotting away".
In view of it having had over a million dollars spent on its most recent refurbishment, that's a real shame.
I understand she's jointly owned by Air Atlantique and a Qld. resident.
Hope that helps.


Re the Drover Mk3's tailplane dihedral mod, I wonder if that helped with the directional stability problem. I'm told they used to 'wander' quite a bit.
Anybody know about that?

Thanks Fris B.

Any idea about the gate guard outside the aviation museum in Alice Springs?
I think it's painted in RFDS colours (or FDS colours?) but was not used by them in Alice.

Thanks for the input on the Twin Pin folks. Good thread drift :ok:

The Drover on the pole at CAAM is VH-FDC. It was originally with the RFDS, but based at BHI. Interestingly it is adorned with 'John Flynn', but I'm pretty sure that was FDR.

A few thoughts on the Drover from the JT OFG - Old Fliers Group....

Editing Courtesy of Steve Rogers, Co-ordinator OFG.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHPP5pYQgac

Cheers,
And if you are in or near JT on the last Friday of the month, any month except December, around mid-day upstairs in the RACWA lounge, for a get-together, a beer and a meal.....:ok:

VH-FDC.....my painting....

[IMG]http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/...droverscan.jpg[/IMG]