Episode Details

Guest: Rob Booth

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 2nd of March 2025

Published: 13th of May 2025

Duration: 30 minutes, 18 seconds

In this episode we hear a presentation given at the Wings Over New Zealand 20th Anniversary Forum Meet at NZ Warbirds Inc., Ardmore, by Rob Booth, a former Warbirds pilot and owner. He is talking about the Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 ZK-SFR, which he and fellow NZ Warbirds pilots Steve Taylor and John Greenstreet brought into New Zealand in 1986, and had restored to fly. Later Grant Biel bought into the syndicate when Steve and John dropped out.

The restoration was carried out at Ardmore by Bruce Coulter, who was assisted by Warren Denholm (then of Gulf Aeronautics, now much better known as owner of Avspecs Ltd.).

The aircraft was very popular on the New Zealand airshow scene through the 1990s, during which Rob was the main display pilot of the Sea Fury.

Listen Now