Record Breaking Ann Johnson & Ka-6 "FiDo"

Story by Ann, Ian Dunkley and others 

The story of FD is so intertwined with my experiences; Except for two seaters, nearly all my flying was done in the two gliders we owned - FD & GO. Main reason being the reluctance of the male population to encourage a mere female to enjoy the joys of flying and, when I really think of it, the only other woman who was competitive, Rosemary Gatland, had access to a private glider. Something else that caught my eye recently was the old photos of really well dressed people that attended functions and even the dress on the A/F was quite sartorial at times. Even Noel was quite adamant that I should not wear trousers and shorts until it became apparent that skirts were not very practical.  I am getting all my scrap books onto disks which I will be glad to share.

FD was won in a raffle. She was a prize to the person who sold the winning ticket to a main prize. There were several people who went ballistic, the one I remember was Eric Gosse who was spotted at Whakapapa selling flat out. We took a partner, Lew Hale who was one of the original members who formed the Piako Gliding Club. Lew came from Te Aroha  to see her last week and was thrilled with her rebuild.

I had my first flight in her in November 1966, 42 minutes, in thermals with good conditions – a 30 hour female pilot!!  Our competitive bent in 1967 became apparent when we completed Silver C 16 hours later followed by gold and diamond heights which was the beginning of many records we held together. 1968 – 1970 we set National & local records for 100k, 200k, straight line distance, and further altitude records.

1971 disaster struck during the February champs where we met a sheep and it ended up on my knee. I thought that was the end of my girl but like the phoenix she  flew again in October. By this time Lew sold his share to Barry Hamilton.

Dec 1972 saw us at altitude again, topping 28000 feet and nearly equaling the world gain of height at the time. 1973 saw us cross country again and we got ourselves the first 300K triangle and our gold ‘C’ was completed, the first for a woman, and I am still proud to say that it was a conforming triangle and I did it in wood!

In 1974 we parted, Barry moving to Whangarei, and us buying a ASW 15. Barry I think, sold a share to Paul Rockell and I had happy tales of her there. Another owner about that time was Barry Brewerton.

She was sold to the Kaikohe Club and they loved her dearly. They were happy for me to have her so she could be repaired for show and I think will be delighted when they see the result

The interesting thing was the retrieval from Kaikohe was done by Barry Hamilton and Paul Rockell. It took a bit of organizing but it all worked out even if we had to abandon her trailer in Whangarei which is, I believe, is becoming a shed! Waste not want not.


"If the Kaikohe pilots hadn't been so careless I wouldn’t have rescued her, and C/F & VK wouldn’t own her. So maybe we should thank them!...  Gary Hoekstra, the repairer, is now a very important part of the FD story and I whole heartedly agrees. 
Another $100 donation unsolicited arrived today from Lew Hale. The whole project has been funded by donation and any left over will be used for further projects that I undertake with the museum. So far I understand that I have change out of $800"
Ann Johnson