1963: Auckland Flying School
September 28, 2024
By AHNZ
Today in history, 28 September 1963, Jim Bergman established New Zealand’s first flying school since the old pioneering days of Wigrim and Walsh in the 1920s.
Those schools had been promptly taken over by The State which left aviation innovation and participation to atrophy. Bergman rested his case on the everything which is not forbidden is allowed principle and simply started up a school which soon led to the proliferation and strength of aviation in New Zealand.
Not until December of the same year did the Director of Civil Aviation pounce.
But government people take long holidays, especially at Christmas. By the time The State got Auckland Flying School in a room to talk they were faced with “….an organisation that had been operating successfully for 3½ months, had already flown nearly 1000hr, soloed 11 students and had qualified staff and management, I think they were running scared.”
This was Anarchy and it worked. Much like the development of television in New Zealand (1962) actions were taken by private, free, people without government help and in the face of government obstruction.
“Up until the early 1960s (someone will correct me if I’m wrong with this date) pilots who trained with aero clubs could get a refund of part of their costs from the Government. Thus any commercial flying school could not compete. As far as I can tell, the original iteration of the Auckland Flying School Ltd dates from around 1963. Jim Bergman was behind this business. AFS is listed in the 1964 edition of Whites, with a fleet of two C150s and a 172. He expanded into the Paraparaumu-based Central Flying School Ltd and Christchurch Flying School Ltd. and a bit later the Palmerston North Flying School. NZ Aerosales run by Paul Legge then set up a flying school around 1965 at Paraparaumu as an add-on to their aircraft sales buiness. The earliest date I can find for the Ardmore Flying School is 1974, but Liz could have been leasing aircraft from other operators prior to that time.” – Peter Lewis, Wings over New Zealand Aviaiton Forum (2023)
“Just to expand on the Auckland Flying School aspects, Jim Bergman’s own writings say the School commenced operation on the 28th Sept 1963. I joined them a year later and he expanded firstly into Christchurch with the Christchurch Central Flying School in mid 1965. On the 5th & 6th of January 1966 I moved to Christchurch to be the instructor in charge of the Christchurch Central Flying School…” – kevsmith, ibid
“An application by the Auckland Flying School will be considered by the council on Monday night. The co-director of the Auckland Flying School (Mr J. S. Bergman) said in Christchurch that he had hoped to begin training operations from the airport next Saturday, and had brought two Cessnas down. Yet after negotiations begun eight weeks ago with the airport authority he had not received permission to go ahead.” – Press (1965,) Papers Past
“In 1963 it appeared that there was no approval or licence required to carry out flight training in New Zealand except for the instructors themselves. As far as I was aware, there had been no flying school since the Walsh brothers’ WWI New Zealand Flying School seaplane/floatplane operation at Mission Bay in Auckland. At odd times instructors I knew had undertaken flying training in private aircraft which was, except for the scale, the same thing as I intended. At the time, however, to operate air transport one had to go through a very involved Air Services Licensing Authority hearing and also prove a need, but nothing in this appeared to apply to operating a flying school. ” – Approaching that Final Approach, Aviation News (2014,) 3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com
“Sir Arthur Nevill, the first man to have been the leader of both the military and civil division of New Zealand aviation, will retire today…With Sir Arthur Nevill’s retirement the title of Director of Civil Aviation will disappear. His successor, Wing Commander 1.. F. P. Taylor, will be Director of Operations and Technical Services.” – Press (1965,) Papers Past
By June 1964 the position of Director of Civil Aviation was disestablished. Only later in the year did the National 2.0 Government scramble to catch up with taxing and regulating the new emerging industry that was already away and flying.
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Image ref. John Hansen Page Collection (1965,) Belwood Studios, MOTAT. AHNZ enhanced (2024)
Ref. Approaching that Final Approach, Aviation News (2014,) 3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com
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