TO THE SKIES: Matt Newton flew this Ercoupe into New Plymouth on Saturday, 67 years after his father flew it home from England.
A tiny plane made a homecoming to New Plymouth on Saturday 67 years after it first landed here.
Decorated World War II pilot and Urenui farmer Harold Newton flew the 75 horse power Ercoupe monoplane home from England in 1947.
At the time it was the smallest plane to have flown across the Tasman Sea.
Three generations of the Newton family were at New Plymouth Airport to see the plane land.
And in a case of history repeating itself, bad weather prevented Harold's son Matt Newton landing on Friday night, so he headed north to Raglan.
His father Harold had also been unable to land and had detoured to Auckland.
Harold sold the plane in 1948 and decades later it was bought by Auckland man Peter Beck who spent 10 years restoring it, Matt said.
And now it is back in the Newton family.
Harold Newton, who flew Wellington Bombers and Mosquitoes in World War II, came back to Taranaki after the war, to find the farm "forlorn", Matt said. He decided to return to England to his girlfriend, only to find she had moved on.
He discovered wouldn't be able to fly home for two years, and the only way to get to New Zealand was to work on a ship, which he didn't want to do, Matt said.
So Harold bought the aircraft from a trade show in Belgium.
Son Ed said it took his father 17 days, stopping at British airfields, to fly home. He could have made it in 15, but spent two days in Malta.
He took out the spare seat and installed a fuel tank. The extra fuel doubled the weight of the plane, but enabled Newton to fly for 15 hours at a time.
Harold flew down to the south of France, across to Africa then over to India and down to Indonesia, before flying to Australia and then across the ditch, which was the longest stretch of sea during the trip.
Matt, a helicopter pilot, and Ed bought the plane, which will now remain in Taranaki with the family.
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz
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