Two military visitors to Christchurch 10-07-2025

 Two military aircraft on finals for Christchurch on Thursday the 10th July from Tony McFarlin.

This Minnesota Air National Guard Lockheed C-130H 96-1007 c/n 382-5427 arrived in from Wellington, being ex Hawaii and the USA.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force Boeing P-8A Poseidon (Boeing 737-8FV) NZ4802, c/n 67018 first flew on 10-02-2022 as N788DS. It was delivered into Ohakea s N4802 on 20-03-2023.

It arrived in from Ohakea, did a couple of approaches and dithered around out in Pegasus Bay before heading home to Ohakea again.

Sport Helicopters of NZ - American Sportscopters Addendum - ZK-HJU

Back in November 2022 I posted about our American Sportscopters and in which I noted that we did not have photos of the Ultra Helicopters examples ZK-HJI3, ZK-HJU2 and HJX3  that were only registered here for a few months in 2009/10.  You can see that post HERE.  Recently a photo of one of them has appeared thanks to Janic Geelen:

Here is ZK-HJU2 (c/n 2040).  Not the flashest of photos and looking at the background is it even in New Zealand?  maybe someone can come up with photos of ZK-HJI3 and HJX3 (and also ZK-HIY3 - we can but live in hope!).

Homebuilt Helicopters of NZ - Mini 500Ks Addendum - ZK-HOZ and Others

Back in October 2022 I posted about our Revolution Mini 500K homebuilt helicopters of which we have had 8 registered.  You can see that post HERE

In that post I noted that we did not have a photo of ZK-HOZ2.  Well, now we do:

ZK-HOZ2 (c/n 0034)was registered to Colin F Hopkins of Papatoetoe on 8/5/96 and it is photo'd above at Ardmore.  It was withdrawn as Cancelled on 8/6/01.  Does anyone know why?

We also mentioned another Mini 500K that was short lived in the Motu area and that we didn't have a photo of which is ZK-HEW2 As it is the last Mini 500K we don't have a photo of, can anyone provide a photo?  Last Call!

The reason why we only need one more photo of Mini 500Ks in New Zealand (ZK-HEW2 as above) is because Mini 500K  ZK-HPN3 is still untouched in its kit in Christchurch, although it registration is still current.

Aircraft registration. Special paint schemes etc.

Following on from the blog post on the Cessna Bird Dog ZK-LAO on the 7th of July

(see  NZ Civil Aircraft: Cessna O-1A Bird Dog ZK-LAO )  

And in answer to several question about registration markings :-

Check out the CAA rules on this matter on this link

 https://www.aviation.govt.nz/rules/rule-part/part-47/subpart-c/#P47.104

Christchurch today 08--07-2025.

 A couple of photos from Tony McFarlin taken on the Aero Club side of Christchurch International Airport today 08-07-2025.

The Beechcraft B24R Sierra 200 ZK-DVD c/n MC-292 dropped in from Nelson and Woodbourne.

It has been previously mentioned in dispatches See Here

This Cessna 172R ZK-TAJ2 c/n 17281011 joined the Ardmore Flying School Ltd at Ardmore on 30-08-2001 and remained listed to them until a brief listing to Nicolai Moore from September 2022 until returning to the Ardmore Flying School in December of 2023.

About March of this year it was transferred to Roc On Aviation Ltd of Wellington.

Piper PA44-180 Seminole ZK-SWL

Noted at Ardmore this morning was the latest addition to the Southern Wings training fleet, Piper PA44-180 Seminole ZK-SWL.      Originally built in 2015 it was exported to Australia in November of that year and was operated as VH-OXP by Moorabbin based Oxford Aviation Academy.     

It was delivered to NZ on 7 May via a direct 7hr 40min flight from Canberra to Auckland.

 

Cessna O-1A Bird Dog ZK-LAO

Making a very brief visit to Pauanui airfield this afternoon was the Cessna Bird Dog ZK-LAO, an O-1A model c/n 21692 which was registered to the LAO Syndicate of Auckland in May 2024.

It was originally built in July 1951 under a US Army contract as serial 51-4807 and supplied to the Thai Army under the Military Assistance Program as serial 4807.    After service it lay derelict in Thailand for some years until 2013 when it was shipped to NZ for restoration.

 

Two Christchurch arrivals on Saturday the 5th.

 Tony McFarlin captured these two jets arriving into Christchurch on Saturday.

Bombardier Global Express (BD-700-1A10) N7CG c/n 9075 of Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc cruising in.

A 1980 2000 example built as C-GHEI by Bombardier Aerospace at Downsview, Ontario, Canada.

It soon became N316GS followed by N1812C, N182U, N595E and then N7CG in December of 2024.

More familiar was the Boeing 737-86N (BCF) ZK-TXF c/n 36804 of Texel Air Ltd.

For more on this aircraft see here

Its first revenue service in NZ was on 19-04-2025.

Jean Saint-Germain Raz-Muts of New Zealand (Only One)

The unattractive sounding Raz-Mut was designed by Jean Saint-Germain of Drummondville in Quebec in 1976.  I reckon it was also unattractive looking!  It was designed as an easy to build and easy to fly ultralight but in New Zealand our sole example was registered as an Amateur Built Aircraft under the auspices of the AACA (Amateur Aircraft Constructors Association).  The fuselage construction was based on the Bensen B8 gyrocopter and the wings were of all aluminium construction and the empennage was aluminium with fabric covering.  An example was flown at Oshkosh in 1977 with a 1700cc VW engine.  The Raz-Mut was marketed as a kit.

Empty weight was around 173 Kg (380 pounds) and the MAUW was 363 Kg (800 ponds).  The performance was not spectacular with a cruise speed of 60 knots and a stall speed of around 33 knots.

We have had only one Raz-Mut constructed in New Zealand as follows:

ZK-LGW (c/n AACA 574) was built by Laurie Grant of Warkworth (hence the registration I assume) and it was registered to him on 2/3/83.  It was powered by a 1834cc VW engine.  Laurie was an ex WW II Spitfire pilot and a founding member of the Rodney Aero Club at Kaipara Flats airfield.  Laurie assembled his Raz-Mut at Ardmore where Bob Kerr took the above photo in December 1982.  I think it test flew at Ardmore but on 23/5/83 Laurie attempted his first flight at Kaipara Flats where the aircraft stalled on climb out and crashed, injuring Laurie Grant.  It was not rebuilt and was cancelled from the register on 28/9/90.

Homebuilt Gliders of NZ - Aviastroitel AC 5M Update

Back in 2012 I posted a series on the blog about homebuilt gliders of New Zealand, at which time I reckoned there had been 19 of them.  However I have recently discovered another one, being the Aviastroitel AC 5M MZ35 ZK-GPF2:

ZK-GPF2 (c/n 016) was built from a kit in America by William C Ballard of St Petersburg, Florida and registered to him as N516R on 9/10/01. It flew for around 16 hours in America before it was cancelled on 9/11/05 and shipped to New Zealand.  It was registered here as an Amateur Built Glider on 21/12/05 to Neville R Swan of Auckland (Neville Swan has owned several amateur built gliders).  It was re-designated as a Class 1 microlight on 5/5/06.  It is photo'd above at Whenuapai on 3/3/07.  On 22/9/07 its ownership changed to Thomas O'Rourke of Auckland and on 3/1/11 one of its propellor blades hit the air filter and was damaged, resulting in a forced landing near Whenuapai with quite a lot of damage when it hit a fence post.  However it was repaired and is still current with Thomas O'Rourke.

And to more completely update my original post on Aviastroitel AC 5M MZ35 gliders (see HERE), below is a much better photo of our other example ZK-GPO:

Since my 2012 post it has been sold, on 10/12/14, to Lee Middleton of Wellsford.  I understand it is for sale.

Thanks to Peter Lewis for the photos.