WHEN: Thursday 23 July 2026 – 5:30pm for 6:00pm .
WHERE Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, Level 15, Datacom Centre, 55 Featherston St., Wellington.
SUBJECT: ‘Back in Time 110 Years, Operation and Flying of WWI Aircraft’ by John Lanham
If a friend offered you an opportunity to drive his (or her) 1915 Model T Ford there is a fair chance that you would not know how to start it, let alone drive it round the block. The same holds true for modern pilots presented with an aircraft from the 1914-18 period. Even a very experienced modern pilot would not be capable of flying such an aircraft safely without appropriate training. Think of engines where the cylinders whirl round a stationary crankshaft. As Javier Arango, the well-known American builder, restorer and pilot of WWI aircraft put it beautifully in his book ‘The Nature of World War I Aircraft’………..’ they spoke a different language, which we do not understand’.
John has flown over 25 distinct aircraft types from the period and has begun to understand that language. Tonight he will tell us a little about the difficulties and rewards of operating and flying ‘those flying machines’..