The first thought that went through Glenn Thompson’s mind when he opened the shipping container door was: ‘‘I thought there was supposed to be a Tiger Moth in here’’.
‘‘It was almost a pile of junk, fuselage-wise.’’
The 64-year-old aviation engineer said the only recognisable items in the container were the wings.
The rest was a load of boxes filled with various bits and pieces.
It was hard to tell it was a de Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth, he said.
A year later, Mr Thompson has almost finished the rebuild of the 1942 Royal New Zealand Air Force biplane, and it is hoped the vintage aircraft will take flight again next week for the first time in more than 25 years.
It was then flown to the Taieri Airfield where it was used to train RNZAF pilots.
When it became surplus to air force requirements, it fell into civilian ownership, and had several different owners before it was bought by Wanaka Helicopters owner Simon Spencer-Bower in 1974.
‘‘It had been crashed before I got it, but the previous owner repaired it and got it flying again.’’
Mr Spencer-Bower said he flew it all around the country.
It even had cameo appearances in several films, including Kiwi Magic: A New Zealand Adventure, starring Billy T James.
‘‘I flew it until I retired it - that was about 25 years ago - having worn it out, basically.
‘‘It languished in my hangar for a period of time.’’
More recently, he had begun to feel there was no point in owning the biplane if it was just going to sit in a hangar.
‘‘It’s worth nothing if it’s just sitting in the back of a shed, but if you restore it, it’s there for everyone else to enjoy in future generations.’’
So it was dismantled, put into a shipping container and sent from Wānaka to Taieri Airfield for Mr Thompson to restore and rebuild.
Mr Thompson said the engine had been overhauled in Australia, and he had spent about 1000 hours putting the frame back together.
‘‘It’s been stripped right down to the last component in the fuselage, it’s got a new floor on it, new deck ends, and other bits have been either replaced because they were damaged or worn.
‘‘It’s also got modern radios installed because originally they only had a piece of pipe between the pilot and the passenger, and you spoke into a funnel and it came out in the passenger’s ear.’’
He said it would be ready for flight trials next week, in which adjustments would be made to the plane’s controls.
Despite restoring aircraft for 46 years, Mr Thompson said there was always a mix of ‘‘nervousness and pride’’ when planes went on their first test flights after he had worked on them.
Once it is certified, the biplane will be flown to Warbirds Over Wanaka to be put on display.
Mr Spencer-Bower said after that the plane might be advertised online, offering flight experiences for aeronautical fans and history buffs.
