Miles M65 Gemini 1A LN-TAH went on display in the terminal building at Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik in southern Norway at the end of October, 74 years after it entered service with Sørfly A/S at the same location. The historic Miles twin, which first flew as G-AKKA at Woodley on 13 October 1947, has been restored over the past few years in a workshop in a local barn by a team lead by Frithjof Johan Ruud. Although a static restoration, no detail has been overlooked, and the Gemini has a fully fitted-out cabin, with every instrument installed.
Sørfly was a general aviation operation, set up in 1946, its office being in a Luftwaffe barrack block built during the occupation with the aircraft housed in a wartime Luftwaffe hangar. Initially equipped with three Auster Autocrats for sightseeing work, the arrival of the Gemini two years later saw the start of scheduled services, under contract to DNL, otherwise known as Norwegian Air Lines. This continued until 1951, when DNL took over the service. The Gemini was also used on photographic work and as a target tug for the Royal Norwegian Air Force, but in 1956 that contract was also terminated, the air force requiring tugs with far better performance than the Gemini could provide.
The airline was shut down in 1962. After time with a couple of private owners, the Gemini was donated to the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology in Oslo during 1982, being transferred 10 years later to the Sola Aviation Museum.
