NZ Movers and Shakers

For Inquiry and Writing We had to write about a New Zealand Inventor I write about the Inventor Henry Wigley who Invented the Ski Boat :

Henry Rodolph Wigley

Henry Rodolph Wigley a New Zealander also the inventor of the ski plane with retractable skis as well as being the first person successfully land the plane after a couple of tries but he did it.

Henry Rodolph Wigley was born on the  2nd of February 1913 in   Christchurch, New Zealand.His parents Jessie Christie Grant and his Father Rodolph Wigley .When he was a teenager he started pilot training and joined RNZAF (Royal New Zealand Air Force) at the outbreak of World War, he helped out  by being a pilot. Their family were innovators, entrepreneurs and pioneers of tourism in New Zealand. His father, Rodolph formed one of the first commercial aviation  companies in  New Zealand. He was the first person to drive a motor vehicle to Mt Cook and he helped introduce skiing into the South Island, he was also the Captain of the New Zealand ski team in 1936-1937.

On september the 22nd, Henry Wigley was the first person to make a  grass - snow flight with his plane which he named Auster. The world's first plane with retractable skis, Wigley spent many years perfecting the skis before his flight from Mount Cook village to Tasman Glacier. On his second approach Timaru Herald reporter Doug Drake said’ the pioneering aircraft made a perfect landing, but then when he was taking off again the snows drag was bigger than he expected and the plane struggled to reach 72 kmph. But then it hit a bump which tossed it upwards long  enough you could call it airbourne. Wigley repeated that landing two more times that  day, then within a year later the mount cook Company ski plane business was up and running.When his father died he took over his company (Mount cook Tourism ) and then used the ski plane as a taxi, up the mountain and back. The plane become a key symbol of the Mt Cook tourism.

His Ski plane was the Auster ZK Box, a four seater light aircraft which use to be on the ceiling of Queenstown airport but now on display at the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre Museum . Mount Cook Ski plane and helicopters are still up and running today . Also today as well as a ski plane there is also a seaplane which was actually invented before the ski plane it was invented in March the 28th 1910 by Henri Fabre. Which is sort of the same as ski plane except instead of landing on snow it lands on the water. Some people don't think ski planes as much but in the United states it is a popular sport .

So in the future if anyone wants to Invent or Innovate something, I think that Henry Wigley would be a great person to be Inspired by. And if you come down in a Crash then keep on trying until you  land right .

Written by Sarah