Engineering:North Tui Sports

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Tui Sports
General information
National originNew Zealand
ManufacturerFred North
Number built1
History
First flight4 January 1934

The Tui Sports is a New Zealand light aircraft of the 1930s, named after the Tūī bird.[1] It is small single seat aerobatic single bay biplane of fabric covered wooden construction, with a streamlined circular section fuselage, powered by a Szekely 3 cylinder engine.[2]

The Tui Sports was built by Fred North at Dannevirke and first flown by Allan McGruer from a field near Whenuapai on 4 January 1934.[1]

History

Plans for the plane are dated to 5 May 1931.[3] Originally intended as a one-off construction, its success encouraged Fred North and the Dominion Aircraft Company to prepare for production in Auckland. However, New Zealand's declaration of war against Germany on 3 September 1939 resulted in these plans being postponed and latter scrapped. The Tui Sports crashed on Ōhope beach in 1941.[2]

References