Welcome to
The de Havilland
Aircraft
Association of South Africa
|
|
Welcome to |
|
de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth |
|
Registrations carried: |
|
|
|
Post-War History of DH.82A Tiger Moth
ZS-DNI ZS-DNI, a
DH.82A Tiger Moth, is today the longest remaining Tiger Moth in one
family in South Africa. ZS-DNI was constructed by Morris Motors, Cowley, Oxford,
England with construction number 84454 and Engine number
83313.
28 April
1941 delivered by the RAF to
SA. 27 August
1941 Allotted to 4 Air Depot 27 August
1945 transferred to 6 Air School 2 November 1945
transferred to 15 Air
Depot. 24 August 1954 still
stored at 15 Air Depot
transferred to Snake Valley 10 March 1955
Auction Sale # 363 at 15 Air Depot
Doc flew
ZS-DNI for 3 years and when the propeller became unserviceable, he stored
ZS-DNI in a barn on a plot he owned in Rivonia. During 1959, Doc went on a
working tour of South Africa, still unable to obtain a new prop. During
this time ZS-DNI remained in the barn, untouched, unscathed, patiently
watching many generations of cows and chickens passing
through. During August
1966, Doc decided he wanted to do aerobatics in his old love again. For 14
months Doc, now 51, rebuilt and recovered ZS-DNI with the help of his wife
Doreen, who did most of the stitching, and a very good friend, Pieter
Oosthuizen. This all happened under the watchful eyes of Bok Strecker and
Harry Sharman. With the final coat of paint, ZS-DNI's new colour scheme
had undergone significant changes to what it was previously, namely now it
was light blue with cream decking.
In 1967 the
new prop arrived from England and ZS-DNI was airborne again. During this
time many articles appeared in the local and national newspapers as this
was a major happening in Randburg, previously a small suburb of
Johannesburg. For many
years Doc and his 3 sons, Theo, Cliff and Andre enjoyed the thrills and
ecstasy that ZS-DNI had to offer. One fateful
day, Sunday 9 July 1972, Doc and Theo (who had already gone solo in the
Tiger for 6 months) were returning to the old Baragwaneth airstrip when
the Tiger caught fire. Doc immediately cut the motor and put the aircraft
into a huge sideslip. Having now seemingly killed the flames, Doc wanted
to glide the last 800 metres or so to Baragwaneth. Unfortunately they did
not have enough height and Doc was forced to pancake on top of the trees
in a gum plantation in the vicinity of Uncle
Charlies.
ZS-DNI once
again moved back to the barn in Rivonia where it remained until Doc's
death in February 1987. The ownership of ZS-DNI has now moved to his 3
sons in equal shares with the proviso of never being sold. With many
people wanting Doc and his sons to part with ZS-DNI, the sons decided in
1989 to rebuild ZS-DNI to its former glory. DNI was to get a total rebuild
from front to back, and to this end the propeller was the first item
purchased. The Strecker brothers (Cyril, Willie and Toffie) were drafted
to do the rebuild and stripped the fuselage down to the last nut and
bolt. Frames and engine bearers were repaired and repainted.
New control boxes were built. Dents were removed from the oil
tank. New decking was assembled and
glued. All controls were stripped and
overhauled. New blank spars were imported and machined
locally. New ribs
were made. The cockpit section
assembly started in November 1989 and progress thereafter was swift.
The fuselage was completed with the engine top overhaul around October
1991. At the same time the tailplane, elevators, fins and rudder
was assembled, covered and sprayed. Unfortunately the budget had now been overspent by
about 100% and coupled to the fact that the van Rensburg brothers had
started a new business, any additional capital generated had to be
channelled to the new business. The rebuild of ZS-DNI had to be stalled.
ZS-DNI was stored in the Strecker's hangar at Rand Airport until the
project could be started again. In May 1994,
with the new business established, Andre went on a shopping trip to
England with the sole purpose of purchasing all the wing hardware as this
was badly rusted over the years. Coming back from England with his hands
full of spares, the Streckers could start assembly of the wings. The
assembly of the wings was completed in January 1995, the covering and
spraying in April 1995, and the rigging of the wings in June
1995. ZS-DNI now
has a unique colour scheme, you either love it the minute you see it
or..... you get used to it and then you love it. The whole aircraft is
white except the undercarriage which is black. The wings and fuselage each
have 4 subtle starbursts of blue, red, orange and yellow on both sides,
top and bottom, that start at the front of the wings where they join the
fuselage. The colour scheme was an important milestone for the brothers as
all 3 brothers had to approve it. This was one aspect where a majority
vote (2 out of 3) would not suffice. Official
Rollout was on Sunday 9 July 1995, 23 years to the day since the accident.
Soon thereafter a radio was installed and the first flight was done on
Sunday, 24 September 1995 by Hannes Roets at Rand Airport. Jeff Earle
subsequently did climb performance tests after which DCA approved all the
relevant paperwork and certified ZS-DNI safe for flight. Andre did
his conversion to type rating with Leon Bornman and Hannes Roets after
which it was blue skies all the way. A
video and subsequently a DVD in both NTSC and PAL formats was made of this
trip, which is available for purchase from the
Tiger Moth Club of South Africa with profits benefiting
the club.
Soon after
the 'Safari', Cliff and Andre van Rensburg flew down to Margate for a few
days which was for the annual EAA Convention and air show in a loose
formation with Barry Keyter. On the
return leg of the trip, which as usual on the return leg of these annual
Margate trips, they encountered bad weather en route and had to land at a
private strip close to Pietermaritzburg and complete the trip to
Johannesburg by car. Jeff Earle
kindly ferried Andre and Barry down to Pietermaritzburg the following
week-end in his Piper Twin Comanche, where-upon Andre and Barry could
bring their Tiger Moths 'home' again. Needless to say, the return trip in
the Tiger Moths was more than twice as long as the ferry trip in the Twin
Comanche! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 old Baragwaneth with JLJ (Doc Japie) van Rensburg.jpg)
 - 1996-03.jpg)
