Eagle Beech

Beech 1900D ZK-EAC at Auckland on 30 September 2008.

While many Eagle Air pilots will have Beech 1900 ZK-EAC in their logbook not too many will have the company's first Beech, the first of Eagle's airline fleet. Beech 58 Baron ZK-ECA, Eagle Air's first Beech, was registered to them on the 10th of March 1975. Over the next months the company made several unsuccessful applications to the Air Services Licencing Authority to operate services from Hamilton to Palmerston North and Wanganui. While not gaining a licence or operate a scheduled service the compnay did manage, by what the Licencing Authority described as "doubtful" means, to establish a twice-daily air taxi service with a published timetable between the three centres starting in October 1975. With the withdrawal from these routes by Capital Air Services in 1977 Eagle was granted its own licence and subsequently purchased its first Chieftain and the Eagle began to soar.

Beech Baron ZK-ECA at Wanganui on 21 February 1985

PS - I know "Beech 1900D" should read "Raytheon 1900D" but who calls them Raytheons?????