The introduction of regular N.A.C jetprop Friendship flights to Gisborne has created much interest with the increasingly air-minded residents of the city.

Last month, Photo News paid a visit to N.A.C's engineering headquarters at Harewood international Airport, Christchurch.....a complex 15-acre plant housing massive workshops, intricate testing equipment, some 100,000 spare parts valued at over £2,000,000, and more than 650 highly-trained engineers.

Burdened with the responsibility of maintaining the corporation's fleet of D.C.3, Friendship, and Viscount aircraft, the workshops are equipped with some of the most modern facilities in the Southern Hemisphere.

Maximum safety and dependability of the aircraft is the first consideration of the organisation.

Records of the flying hours of each aircraft, and of its hundreds of components, are kept at the base, so that they may be called in for inspection and overhauled before their permissible flying time is exceeded.

Every item, from the fuselage to the smallest nut and bolt, is thoroughly examined, and replaced if necessary, before the aircraft is cleared for flying.

Engines are completely stripped, inspected, reconditioned if necessary, and extensively tested for maximum power and performance over a period of about three days.