WONZ 284 – Grace Hills

Guest: Grace Hills Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: 5th of September 2023 Published: 23rd of September 2023 Duration: 35 minutes, 26 seconds Dave Homewood talks with Grace Hills in this episode to mark the annual international Girls In Aviation Day! Grace is an aircraft technician in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and she is also a private pilot. She learned to fly at Ardmore and through the Walsh Memorial Scout Flying School at Matamata, and she undertook the RNZAF’s School To Skies programme that led to her current career. Whilst working on modern helicopters in her day job, she has also enthusiastically become involved in historic aviation. She flies Tiger Moths and a Nanchang, and she has turned her hand to helping with the restorations of the John Smith Mosquito and John smith’s Tiger Moth at Omaka, and Brendon Deere’s North American P-51D Mustang at Ohakea. Grace is also the secretary of the New Zealand Association of Women in Aviation. Quick Links: •  The Royal New Zealand Air Force •  RNZAF School To Skies •  Girls In Aviation Day •  Girls In Aviation Day on Facebook • New Zealand Association of Women in Aviation • New Zealand Association of Women in Aviation on Facebook Grace in the John Smith Tiger Moth, which runs and taxis but does not fly. Grace in a Harvard. Grace preparing the Nanchang for a flight. Grace working on Bill Reid’s Avro Anson. Grace with the famous John Smith Mosquito at Omaka, which she helped to restore.