JOURNEYING WITH AVIATORS IN NEW ZEALAND by Roy Sinclair. Medium format with card covers, 290 pages and a good selection of black and white photos. Published by Random House in 1998.

“During much of 1997 Roy Sinclair went journeying, with notebook and camera, to unearth some of the remarkable New Zealanders whose lives have been enriched by aeroplanes. On his travels, he discovered an unsung aviator whose sole trans-Tasman flights failed to make the New Zealand record books; and another whose flying career spanned almost the entire development of civil aviation from Tiger Moths to Boeing 747s…

Sinclair talked with enthusiasts who restore yesterday’s biplanes, and others who fly them…To these, Sinclair has added stories collected earlier – of the world’s last surviving intercontinental aviator of the 1930s; a veteran flying instructor with twinkling eyes; and a lucky crash-landing in 1950 on Franz Josef Glacier – and introduces a group of former aviators who have lovingly restored one of the world’s last four-engine Solent flying boats...”

This scarce local book is in excellent, shop-shelf condition and comes from a smoke-free home where it has lived its entire life.