Beaver ZK-CTJ and a Reference to Beaver ZK-CYD

In my previous post on Beaver ZK-CPE I stated that it was the last Beaver from the heyday of aerial topdressing in New Zealand.  But Hawker Siddeley had another Beaver as a demonstrator aircraft at the end of 1965.  Unfortunately for expensive topdressing aircraft like the Beaver, the price of wool crashed in 1966 and many topdressing aircraft were mothballed or retired as farmers looked to make savings.

ZK-CTJ (c/n 1596) was registered to Hawker Siddeley Ltd at Wellington on 28/10/65.  It was for a time fitted with a hopper as in this photo at Wellington in November 1966 but I do not know if it ever carried out any topdressing work.  Does anyone know? It was eventually leased to Mt Cook Air Services Ltd who operated it in a passenger configuration and for some time on retractable skis as in the photo below.

On 16/11/68 ownership was transferred to Hawker Siddeley International (NZ) Ltd and it was cancelled on 11/6/69 after it had become 5Y-AIW for the Desert Locust Control Organisation at Nairobi in Kenya.  It was seen painted as such in Wellington in March 1969 and together with ZK-CYD (c/n 1615) which became 5Y-AIW for the Desert Locust Control Organisation, they flew from Wellington to Auckland on 28/5/69 and then on across the Tasman Sea departing Auckland on 29/5/69.  Did they then fly on all the way to Kenya - Delticman has advised that yes indeed they did both fly all the way to Kenya.

5Y-AIW ex ZK-CTJ at Bankstown, Sydney in July 1969.

ZK-CYD (c/n 1615) was registered to Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd of Wellington in November of 1966.  I understand that it was to be for Fieldair but the wool price crash meant that this did not proceed.  I don't think it ever was a topdressing Beaver.  It was cancelled on 11/6/69 after it had become 5Y-AIW for the Desert Locust Control Organisation of Nairobi in Kenya, being presented to Kenya by the Canadian Government..

5Y-AIV ex ZK-CYD at Bankstown, Sydney in July 1969.

This Beaver has gone on to become N1966B in the US being first registered there on 24/11/92 and where it is still current.

More Rounding Out of New Zealand's LM 1 Cub Replicas

Back in January 2010 I did a post on Rounding Out our LM 1 Cub Replicas and that post can be found HERE  Now more than 14 years later I have become aware of another Light Miniature LM 1U scale Cub replica that was not on my original list (a case of you don't know what you don't know):

ZK-FSZ (c/n MAANZ/418) was built by R D Livingstone of Timaru and was registered to him on 17/3/89.  It is photo'd above at Timaru on 17/2/90 and looks very nice.  It was sold to A D Malcolm of Christchurch on 13/9/91 and cancelled as withdrawn from use on 5/1/95.

Beaver ZK-CPE

The third single example of a Beaver in the fleet was ZK-CPE for Wanganui Aero Work:

ZK-CPE (c/n 1603) was registered to Aircraft Holdings Ltd of Wanganui on 25/1/66 but was operated by Wanganui Aero Work as can be seen in these 2 photos taken outside the Hawker Siddeley hangar ,in December 1965 prior to its delivery

It carried the name Moawhango for WAW who named their aircraft after rivers in the lower North Island.

On 15/5/74 ownership transferred to Airwork NZ Ltd of Christchurch, although ti was delivered in April as can be seen in the above photo taken at Timaru on 10/4/74.

It was then repainted in a similar scheme to Beaver ZK-COV which was also operated by Airwork.  Here is ZK-CPE at Timaru on 23/3/76.

It suffered an accident at Molesworth Station on 1/9/78 when it overturned after a forced landing and here it is at Kaikoura on 13/4/79 with the registration on the fuselage.

Somewhere along the line it was repainted again into the blue and white scheme, but still as a topdresser with Airwork, as in this photo taken at Rangiora on 5/1/81.

Ownership transferred to Virgo Fisheries of Kaikoura on 9/7/82 and it is photo'd above in freight configuration at Kaikoura on 20/11/83, and below back at Wanganui on 15/7/84. 

Then on 16/10/85 ownership transferred to Ross B Jowitt of Auckland and it was then rebuilt over a several year period at Ardmore, with a suggestion that it reappeared painted as a USAF L-20A/U-6A.  Did this happen?  If so has anyone got a photo of it?  It was cancelled from the New Zealand Civil Register on 23/10/98 and shipped back to Canada.

 

In Canada it was registered C-GTCF on 11/12/98 to TC Leasing Ltd of La Ronge, Saskatchewan.  It has had several owners since and is operated on floats as can be seen in this photo taken at the tortuously named Lac a la Tortue airfield in Quebec on 11/4/06.

This pretty well ends my series on topdressing Beavers of New Zealand from the heyday of aerial topdressing, but there are a couple of developments still to come, which I will chronicle next.

Slingsville at NZKF Today 28-9-2024

There aren't too many Slings flying in New Zealand but more are on the way, being built from kits.  However there were two Slings in the sun at NZKF this morning:

One of the New Zealand Sling agents, Alex Kandoorp had flown up from Feilding in Sling 4 TSi ZK-SLN in 1 and a half hours! with a 30 knot tailwind.  He came to do some work with Arjen Visser on his Sling 4TSi which you can see in the hangar.

Then Darren Price taxied out in his Kaipara Flats based Sling 2 ZK-SLG and headed off for lunch at Dargaville.  Its beginning to feel a bit like summer.

Beaver ZK-COV

 

Beaver ZK-COV (c/n 1602) was registered to Auster Air Services Ltd of Timaru on 19/11/65.  It was the second of the single Beaver in the fleet aircraft that a were registered in late 1965/early 1966 in a flurry of activity at Hawker Siddeley at Rongotai.  It is photo'd above and below outside the Hawker Siddeley hangar prior to its delivery in November 1965 looking very smart.

By 1970 it had this different script, as photo'd at Waimate on 13/11/70.

On 16/5/74 its ownership changed to Airwork (NZ) Ltd of Christchurch but it kept the Auster Air Services titles with the addition of  "An Airwork (NZ) Ltd Division" in small letters as in the above photo (click to enlarge the photo for the detail).  This photo is also at Waimate, on 11/1/75.

Tragically it crashed near Cave in North Canterbury on 1/3/75 not only with the loss of the pilot but also with the loss of an 8 year old boy who was going for a flight.  It was cancelled from the register on 10/4/75.

Sling 4 TSi ZK-MKV/2 at Kaipara Flats

 

Andrew Dix is now flying in his Sling 4 TSi ZK-MKV2 and he recently called in to Kaipara Flats to give a hand to Arjen Visser who has his own Sling 4TSi quite close to flying (more than 80% done and 80% to go).  Andrew could be a huge help as he built his Sling 4 at the Sling factory in South Africa under the factory assist programme.

Thanks for the photo Arjen.

Bill Mannix on Nelson today - 26-09-2024

 Bill Mannix captured these three aircraft at Nelson today 26-09-2024.

The Ted Smith PA-60 Aerostar VH-UYV2 c/n 60-0486-157 was parked outside the Generation Global hangar. 

Built as N8020J it became VH-UYV2 on 13-04-1978.

 It flew into Nelson from Sydney on 01-06-2024.

Update 29-09-2024

VH-UYV departed Nelson on 29-09-2024 direct to Sydney and then on to Orange.

The Beechcraft T-6C Texan II NZ1403 c/n PM-41 came down from Ohakea (along with NZ1407) for a play around and then returned to Ohakea.

This was delivered into Whenuapai from Brisbane as N2841B on 21-08-2014.

Into Nelson from Wellington, via a circuitous route around Blenheim, was the Cessna C525A CJ2A Citation ZK-XXK c/n 525A0411 of Wellington Jet Charters. It returned direct to Wellington later.

Its earlier history can be seen HERE

Also on the field was the Bombardier BD-100-AA10 N300NZ which flew in from Queenstown on the 20th.

Belated Christchurch International visitors

 Whilst checking my spam mail today I found three wayward reports from Tony McFarlin of recent Christchurch arrivals.

Our new Lockhead C130-J Hercules NZ7011 caught on approach on 11-09-2024.

It has previously been mentioned HERE

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On the 21st the Gulfstream Aerospace GVI (650ER) N916AA c/n 6505 cruised in.

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On 22-09-2014 the Royal Australian Air Force's Alenia/Leonardo C-27J Spartan A34-010 c/n 4189/AUS10 arrived in town.
I assume somebody loves it !

It flew in from Launceston, Tasmania and then later continued on to Ohakea.

Two Avspecs Mosquitos Flying in the US

Last weekend saw an interesting formation flight at the Planes of Fame Central Coast AirFest in Santa Maria which is a couple of hundred kilometres North West of Los Angeles, CA.  It was the first time that two Avspecs restored DH 98 Mosquitos had flown together and they were spectacular!

Mosquito FB VI N474PZ ex ZK-BCV leads the ex Glynn Powell Mosquito T 43 N2308Z ex ZK-PWL2.  Both have previous RNZAF identities so there is a double connection to New Zealand.

Here is a video of the Mosquitos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5swJXcoMEo8

Cessna 180C ZK-BVV updated

 The Cessna 180C with the construction number of 50829 was allocated the US registration of N9329T with the Cessna Aircraft Company at Wichita, Kansas on 18-05-1960. 

Sold before completion to Rural Aviation Ltd of New Plymouth this US registration was not applied and the aircraft was test flown as N11B. 

This was a well worn US registration used by Cessna on numerous aircraft for test flying purpose before being exported.

Its US registration was cancelled on 23-06-1960 and it was shipped to New Zealand aboard the Cannonbank.

It was registered to Rural Aviation Ltd of New Plymouth as ZK-BVV on 31-05-1960 but didn't get its CofA until 27-09-1960 and was then used in the agricultural role. 

It is seen above at Bell Block Airfield, New Plymouth in Nov 1960.

Below - also at Bell Block but a little later on. Still with Rural Aviation titles on the door but minus the Cessna 'Chevrons" on the upper cowling.

It was damaged landing at Waverley on 19-01-1961when it went down a bank during a thunderstorm.

It was moved on to Aerial Sowing (Canterbury) Ltd of Amberley from 07-05-1962 

We see it above in the large hangar at Nelson on 05-12-1963.

The photo above was taken outside the Wellington Aero Club.

Exact date unknow.

 Central Aviation Ltd of Roxburgh acquired it from 24-03-1964 but it was damaged that September.

Rural Aviation (1963) Ltd sorted it out and listed it from 27-10-1964 and it carried Bruce Chegwidden's name on a simpler paint scheme.

It is seen above at Pahiatua in February of 1965 with large Rural markings on fuselage.

 It next moved down to Stratford to join Airspread Taranaki Ltd of Stratford from 20-09-1967.

I believe its last ag flight was on 15-02-1968 and it was listed to Rex Aviation (NZ) Ltd at Ardmore from 01-03-1968.

Photo below with Airspread Taranaki of Stratford markings I suspect was taken in early 1968.

Two months later it was registered to General Finance Acceptance Ltd and went out on several leases.

These included B W Ovenden of New Plymouth, followed by The Taranaki Flying School.

At New Plymouth Airport on 06-03-1969 minus its hopper but still with its under-wing attachment points.

On 07-12-1969, it was overturned at Ardmore.

Next hire was to Auger Aircraft Ltd from 19-05-1970.

Here we have it at Dunedin's Momona Airport on 11-11-1970.

It was damaged in a forced landing near Palmerston on 05-05-1971 and during repairs had STOL mods fitted by Rex Aviation Ltd, only to be damaged again on 21-07-1972 near Morrinsville.

Noted at Ardmore in another new paint scheme on 11-10-1972.

The next operator was the Mangapa Land Company of Auckland from 16-02-1973.Above we have an interesting shot of ZK-BVV somewhere in the North Island and I suspect sometime around the mid 1970's showing it wearing spats.

And then it went back down South to Ron J Auger at Mosgiel from 25-09-1974.Captured at Momona on 08-09-1974.

And below again at Momona but in April 1975.

We then see a series of owner/operators including Allan S Drinkrow of Auckland from 04-08-1976.At an unknow site in August 1976 as captured by CMM.

On 18-03-1978 I potted it back down at Momona.

Then

A W Blair of Eskdale, near Napier from 18-07-1978
Pask Air Service Ltd at Hastings 18-01-1979.

In February of 1990 Bob Kerr noted it at Hastings.

Then we see 

David M Gribble of Putaruru from 02-12-1992.

I D Hayton at New Plymouth from 23-09-1992.

Then Bill H Innis from 23-10-1993 at Coromandel.

I next caught it on the tie downs at Christchurch Airport on 21-04-2000.

Next up was Frank R Wright at Mount Maunganui from 25-06-2014.

Ben Patterson nailed it at Hokitika on 09-10-2015.

                                                     So it never got Frank's 'blue paint scheme'.

Then Alastair R Midgley of Timaru took it on from 07-08-2017.I then noted it at Omaka during the fabulous Cessna 180/185 gathering on 27-05-2022.

It then went to its current owner James D Butler of Tikokino, near Waipapa from 24-06-2024.

Beaver ZK-BXJ

I have so far posted about our topdressing operators that had several Beavers in their fleets, and now there are three operators who each had one Beaver.  The first of these was Barr Brothers who operated Beaver ZK-BXJ from October 1965:

The 1054th Beaver off the production line at Downsview Ontario in 1957 was delivered to the US Army as a L 20 model on 25/2/57 where it operated with the serial number 56-0364 (later being re-designated as a U-6A) until it was struck off charge in August 1962.  On 2/8/62 it was registered N74085 and on 30/6/65 it was registered to State Airlines Inc of Charleston, North Carolina.  It was cancelled from the US register on 20/8/65 and exported to New Zealand.

ZK-BXJ (c/n 1054) was registered to Barr Brothers (Hawkes Bay) Ltd of Waipukurau on 8/10/65.  It is photo'd above prior to delivery when it has Barr Bros Ltd script (no HB).  Like Fieldair's Beaver ZK-BXN the registration was out of sequence.

It is photo'd above on 28/1/66 where it has a very small (HB) added to the titles.  It can also be seen that the dayglo painted tail had not stood up very well to the rigours of topdressing only a couple of months after delivery.

It later acquired sloped and tapered Barr Bros (HB) Ltd script as well as a red painted tail as in this photo taken at Waipukurau on 8/7/71.

Then later on it had this "lollipop" script, also at Waipukurau but on 23/10/72.  On 2/6/73 it collided with a topdressing loader while landing into the sun at Tutira, North of Napier, and it was badly damaged.  It was cancelled from the NZ register on 9/7/63 and the damaged aircraft was sold "as-is" to Australia.

Where it was rebuilt and registered VH-IMC2 on 3/4/74 to Aerial Agriculture Pty Ltd of Bankstown where the above photo was taken in November 1985.  It seems to have been on and off the Australian register a couple of times ending up still with Aerial Agriculture Pty Ltd but at Armidale.  Finally it was cancelled from the Australian register and exported back to Canada....

Where it became C-FYNT for Les Placements J S G P Inc of Laval-des-Rapides in Quebec on 14/6/96.  It has had several owners, all in Quebec over the years, The above photo is at Sainte Veronique on 30/8/06.  

And here it is on wheels at Saint-Matthieu-de-Beloeil on 9/4/07.  On 23/9/08 it had an accident when it had to set down in trees in poor weather when it was float equipped, but no-one was hurt and the aircraft has been rebuilt.  I believe it is still current.