Classic Flyers took a flight down memory lane on Wednesday with a double reunion.
Former staff from the National Airways Corporation (NAC) – New Zealand’s national domestic airline from 1947-1978 before it merged with Air New Zealand – reunited at the Mount Maunganui museum.
Tauranga pilot and flight instructor Phil Hooker, who these days operates gyrocopter flights at Classic Flyers, took to the skies with Trevor Ancell – Hooker’s training captain from Freedom Air, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand.
Ancell taught Hooker how to fly Boeing 737s about 24 years ago.
Roles reversed
On Wednesday, the roles were reversed; Hooker showed Ancell the ropes of operating a gyrocopter, which is a helicopter that uses autorotation and an unpowered rotor to take flight, while an engine powers a helicopter’s rotor.
The two men last flew together on August 9, 2001 – Hooker had the logbook to prove it, which dated their trip from Hamilton to Brisbane and back again.
Trevor Ancell and Phil Hooker before the National Airways Corporation reunion at Classic Flyers comparing logbooks from their last trip together in 2001. Photo / David Hall
Hooker said their gyrocopter flight was a “trip down memory lane”. “He [Ancell] taught me something 24 years ago, so today I’ll teach him something.”
Ancell and Hooker reunited with big smiles before heading straight to the runway – their natural habitat.
When they returned to ground control, Ancell said the flight was “more amazing than I expected”.
Hooker even let him take the reins, teaching Ancell to fly the gyrocopter.
“It’s so amazing to actually catch up with Phil after all that time, and I didn’t realise that he was still actively involved in flying so many different types of aircrafts,” Ancell said.
Ancell inquired about the gyrocopter trip while planning his trip from Auckland for the NAC reunion, unaware of Hooker’s involvement. Hooker gave Ancell a call and said: “Trevor, it’s Phil.”
NAC in 1964
Ancell started with the Wellington branch of NAC in 1964, initially flying the DC-3, the Viscount and the 73.
He said the NAC was a great training ground and turbulence and strong winds never bothered the Wellington team.
Phil Hooker showing Trevor Ancell around his gyrocopter before taking flight. Photo / David Hall
When winds reached 50 knots, they used to think “it’s going to be a fun day flying”.
“We did six take-offs and landings a day, whereas an international pilot might have done four or five.”
Recycling of knowledge
Classic Flyers CEO Andrew Gormlie said the museum had been hosting NAC Reunions and preserving aviation history since 2007.
He said Ancell and Hooker’s reunion represents a “recycling of knowledge – expressing and demonstrating the history of aviation”.
“Aviation has been a part of our national growth fabric. We’re a couple of islands way down in the South Pacific. Kiwis can’t go anywhere generally without flying.
“Centres like ours are becoming fewer and further between, but they’re generally getting bigger. They grow quietly and develop good roots.”
And those roots lead to enduring connections such as Hooker and Ancell’s.
Bijou Johnson is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.