Kaitaia Primary kids take flight

ALL SET: Children, teachers and crew, ready for take-off. PICTURE/JULIA THORNE

Most would not have left the ground before, and none would ever have clambered aboard a 1940s DC3, but that all changed last month for more than 60 special pupils at Kaitaia Primary School, thanks to the Warbirds Association and Child Flight.

Their experience began before they even set off for the airport, with a lesson from Waikato University's Professor Kathryn Pavlovich about feeding their curious minds and stretching their perspective of life.

"Curiosity ramps up dopamine in our brains so we soak up what is around us like a sponge," she said.

"This can build up our attention span and open up new possibilities for us all."

More than 60 youngsters then took off, flying over their home town, the coastline and countryside.

Six-year-old Korah Tipene tries out the co-pilot's seat in the Warbirds DC3 that took her and some of her fellow Kaitaia Primary School pupils for a scenic flight last month. PICTURE/JULIA THORNE

The Child Flight Charitable Trust, supported by one anonymous donor, Z Energy and school fundraising, offered the flights as part of its goal of getting 220 special needs children into the air before Christmas.

And if the children were thrilled, their principal, Brendon Morrissey, wasn't far behind them, saying the experience helped meet what he described as a constant struggle to provide disadvantaged children with care and educational support.

The 1944 DC3 had seen wartime and civilian service in Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, New Guinea and Australia.

The aircraft then became part of the Warbirds fleet in 1987, after she was purchased by a group of pilots and Warbirds members and brought to New Zealand for an extensive rebuild.

ZK-DAK is now one of very few DC3s around the world that are fully maintained and operated, her captains and crew all being current or former airline or Air Force pilots and cabin crew.