Croydon Aircraft Company
Encyclopedia
The Croydon Aircraft Company is an aircraft
company in New Zealand
. Its main activities include restoring vintage aircraft, providing scenic and aerial experience flights in vintage aircraft, and providing pilot training in vintage aircraft.
It runs the Old Mandeville Airfield, in Mandeville, New Zealand
, where it is located.
Aircraft on site and stored in the adjacent museum include several Tiger Moth
s and other aircraft in the de Havilland
family, such as the Fox Moth and a very rare de Havilland Dragonfly
. These aircraft are regularly flown.
A replica of the Pither Monoplane was constructed and flown by CAC.
Recently a Beechcraft Staggerwing
restoration was completedhttp://www.captainbiff.com/ and other Staggerwing restorations are in progress. A replica of the de Havilland DH.88
Comet is under construction.
The company is owned and run by Colin and Maeve Smith. In 2011 Colin Smith was made a member of the NZ Order of Merit for his services to the aviation and tourism industries.
A popular fly-in and open day is hosted the eighth weekend of every year. Vintage cars, steam vehicles, old stationary engines and, of course, aircraft are on display. Joy rides in vintage aircraft are a feature of the day.
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
company in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Its main activities include restoring vintage aircraft, providing scenic and aerial experience flights in vintage aircraft, and providing pilot training in vintage aircraft.
It runs the Old Mandeville Airfield, in Mandeville, New Zealand
Mandeville, New Zealand
Mandeville is a settlement in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand.Mandeville is 17 km north west of Gore. Dunedin and Invercargill are the nearest cities.-External links:* *...
, where it is located.
Aircraft on site and stored in the adjacent museum include several Tiger Moth
Tiger moth
Tiger moths are moths of the family Arctiidae.Tiger moth may also refer to:*de Havilland Tiger Moth, an aircraft; an aerobatic and trainer tailwheel biplane*de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth, an earlier monoplane produced by de Havilland...
s and other aircraft in the de Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
family, such as the Fox Moth and a very rare de Havilland Dragonfly
De Havilland Dragonfly
-References:*The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft . London: Orbis Publishing.*Hayes, P & King, B. de Havilland biplane transports. Coulsden: Gatwick Aviation Society ISBN 0 95304132 8...
. These aircraft are regularly flown.
A replica of the Pither Monoplane was constructed and flown by CAC.
Recently a Beechcraft Staggerwing
Beechcraft Staggerwing
The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane with an atypical negative stagger , that first flew in 1932.-Development:...
restoration was completedhttp://www.captainbiff.com/ and other Staggerwing restorations are in progress. A replica of the de Havilland DH.88
De Havilland DH.88
The de Havilland DH.88 Comet was a twin-engined British aircraft that won the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race, a challenge for which it was specifically designed...
Comet is under construction.
The company is owned and run by Colin and Maeve Smith. In 2011 Colin Smith was made a member of the NZ Order of Merit for his services to the aviation and tourism industries.
A popular fly-in and open day is hosted the eighth weekend of every year. Vintage cars, steam vehicles, old stationary engines and, of course, aircraft are on display. Joy rides in vintage aircraft are a feature of the day.