Memories of thrill ride last 79 years

An old black and white photo that appeared in Saturday's Times-Age sent Carterton octogenarian Ron Hutchings' mind whizzing back 79 years and led to him rummaging around his home to find a memento of his childhood.

The Wairarapa Archive photo was of the aeroplane Faith in Australia, an Avro Ten, that visited Wairarapa in January, 1934 and took a few kids for joy rides, including Greytown schoolboy Ron Hutchings.

Mr Hutchings, now 87 and a long retired dairy farmer, has good reason to remember the flight as it is the only time he has ever been in an aeroplane and what's more, the little plane put on a pretty good performance; tumbling into a substantial air pocket as it flew above Dry River, Martinborough.

Faith in Australia was crewed by pilot Charles Ulm and co-pilot G U Allen.

Mr Ulm was a pioneer aviator who was a contemporary of Charles Kingsford Smith and had flown Faith in Australia on a record-breaking England to Australia flight in 1933.

That flight by today's standards would have been a crawl as it took the little plane six days, 17 hours and 56 minutes to reach its destination.

Ron Hutchings said his mum and dad, Bill and Ivy Hutchings, were farming at Battersea, near Greytown at the time Faith in Australia visited Martinborough, before calling at Hood Aerodrome, Masterton.

"They must have heard about the joy riding flights and took me along. I think one of my brothers, Noel, and my sister Betty may also have gone on flights," he said.

Mr Hutchings found the flight ticket after seeing the Times-Age photo and was amused to read Mr Ulm's acknowledgement on the back of the ticket praising Wakefield Castrol motor oil.

The pilot had penned on the back of the ticket: "If there were a better oil than Wakefield Castrol I would use it", and signed his name.

The flights left from land on which Martinborough Golf Course is now situated.