From the shoe box. My taxi to town.

 Whilst ratting around recently in the bottom of one of my shoe boxes of odd non specific photos I found this grotty olde Kodachrome slide.

Taken at Kontum in the Central Highlands of Vietnam about early 1974.

It is the Air America C47A "559" c/n 20025 doing the courier run and was my lift down to Saigon.

The 559 serial comes from its ex USAAF serial of 43-15559.

I believe it is now 'preserved' and mounted on concrete blocks at Lop Buri in Thailand.

If you are in the know about the lingo of the time 

"This was one photo the Plumbers didn't find when I shot thru".

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Rotec Rallys

The next type of microlight to be registered here was the Rotec Rally.  This was designed by aeronautical engineer Bill Adaska and was developed from a hang glider in 1977.  It was produced by Rotec Engineering Inc of Duncanville, Texas.  The single seat Rally 2 appeared in 1979 and the Rally Sport was a strengthened version that was aerobatic which appeared in 1983.  The wider and longer span 2 seat Rally 3 appeared in 1981.  They were pushers with the engine mounted above the wing and the control column came down from above and the throttle was a twist grip - you can see the column in the advert below.  Roll control was by differential spoilers which can also be seen..

The Rally was constructed of aluminium tubing with dacron covers.  It was cable braced from a central kingpost and was a taildragger.  The specifications for the Rally 2B (with those for the Rally 3 in brackets) were:  length 16.8 feet (17.3 feet), wingspan 31 feet (38 feet) and wing area 155 square feet (190 square feet).  The Rally 2 was powered by a Cuyuna 430R or a Rotax 377 engine of around 35 HP while the Rally Sport and the Rally 3 had Rotax 503 engines of 48 HP.  With their various engines, the Rally 2B cruised around 40 mph while the Rally Sport was a bit faster and the Rally 3 was a bit slower.  The stall speed is quoted as 20 mph. 

We have had 15 Rallys of various marks registered here and one was re-registered with a new registration.

ZK-FCH at the Poerua River Mouth, near Harihari in Westland in 1987, flown by Lindsay Molloy.

The first Rotec Rally to be registered in New Zealand was a 2B model, ZK-FCH (c/n MAANZ/106) that was registered on 12 Aug 1982 to New Zealand Aeronautical Services, Christchurch, then 15 Nov 1989 to Lindsay B. Molloy, Harihari.  Cancelled 16 Mar 1992 as withdrawn from use and for spares.

ZK-FCI (c/n MAANZ/107)  Rotec Rally 2B  Registered 12 Aug 1982 to New Zealand Aeronautical Services, Christchurch.  Ground loop after heavy landing in a gale at Waharoa 19 Jan 1983. Damaged by said gale.  Cancelled 22 Jun 1992 as withdrawn from use. 

ZK-FGO (c/n 25302)  Rotec Rally 3 (2 seater) with a 48 HP Rotax 503 engine.  Registered 17 Feb 1984 to P. J. Silcock, Haast.  Flew into high voltage power lines while flying into setting sun at Kokatahi, near Hokitika 28 Oct 1985,  Then 12 Aug 1992 M. J. Moynihan, Hokitika.  Cancelled 27 Aug 1997 as registration revoked.

ZK-FHD (c/n 25470)  Rotec Rally 3  Registered 5 Aug 1985 to H. A. (Alex) Taylor, West Dome Station, Mossburn.  Cancelled 20 May 1993.  Recorded as withdrawn from use and scrapped, some parts with Russell Brodie at Rangitata Island.

ZK-FHY (c/n 25461)  Rotec Rally 3.  Registered 14 Mar 1984 to A. C. West, New Plymouth, operated by Stratford Aero Club.  Engine lost power due to loose spark plug and force landed near Stratford 2 Mar 1986.  Then 28 Aug 1987 G. Chivers, New Plymouth ($9,000).  Swung on landing and ran into ditch at Stratford 18 Oct 1987.  Cancelled 15 Mar 1994 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-FIG (c/n MAANZ/238) Rotec Rally Sport at Rangiora on 21/9/00.

ZK-FIG Registered 27 Mar 1984 to Marshall P. H. Freer, Rangiora, then 19 Dec 1989 A. R. Dalley, Oxford Cancelled 13 May 1999 as withdrawn from use. 

Re-registered 19 Jul 2000 to B. van der Velden, Rangiora Cancelled 20 Aug 2002 as withdrawn from use.

Re-registered as ZK-EIG2 (just one piece of tape as ZK-FIG had been taken!) 12 Apr 2005 to Russell K. Brodie, Rangitata island.  Cancelled 2 Oct 2008 as withdrawn from use.  Stored at Russell Brodie's NZ Microlight Heritage Museum, Rangitata Island.

ZK-FKT (c/n 25545)  Rotec Rally 3  Registered 27 Mar 1985 to J. G. Perry, Turangi.  Crashed at Turangi 21 Apr 1985.  Cancelled 10 Aug 1989.

ZK-FOC (c/n 72318)  Rotec Rally Sport.  Registered 26 May 1987 to K. Wilkinson, Motueka, then 27 May 1994 Neil M. France, Auckland. then 6 Aug 1994 L. F. Mabey, Palmerston North, then 12 Oct 1994 C. I. Aitken, Stratford.  Cancelled 13 Oct 1997 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-FON (c/n 25448)  Rotec Rally 3.  Registered 16 Jul 1987 to A. R. & L. D. Dalley, Oxford.  Cancelled 24 Aug 1995 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-FVJ (c/n MAANZ/435)  Rotec Rally Sport.  Registered 15 Nov 1989 to Wright Products & Services, Mount Maunganui, then 28 Jun 1990 D. C. Inwood, Christchurch.  Cancelled 31 Jul 1998 registration revoked.

ZK-PWJ (c/n 25476)  Rotec Rally 3.  Registered 27 Mar 1985 to P. W. Jones, Kokatahi, RD 1, Hokitika Cancelled 1 May 1992 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-RDJ (c/n MAANZ/236) Rotec Rally 3.  Registered 9 Feb 1984 to Aero-Hire Ltd, Ohope (John R. Eades) Cancelled 8 Apr 1992 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-ROT (c/n 25585) Rotec Rally 3 at Waitohi.

ZK-ROT Registered 27 Mar 1985 to Clayton Farming Co Ltd, Clayton Station, Fairlie (John D. McFarlane & Donn J. Armstrong).  Cancelled 9 Mar 1990 withdrawn from use.

ZK-SIM (c/n 010650) Rotec Rally 3.  Registered 27 May 1985 to R. J. Sim, Heriot Crashed at Heriot 16 Jan 1986 then R. J. Sim moved to Paekakariki.  Cancelled 7 Apr 1992 as withdrawn from use and scrapped.

ZK-WAC2 (c/n 25568/MAANZ/416).  Rotec Rally 3.  Registered 14 Dec 1988 to Martin G. Farrand and Paul E. Morrison, Warkworth.  Paul Morrison modified this Rally to have a standard control stick and throttle, and I think others may have been similarly modified.  ZK-WAC2 crashed into bush after in-flight incapacitation of the pilot at Matakana near Warkworth (2 killed) 14 Apr 1991.  Cancelled 1 Feb 1994. 

Amphibious Savannah ZK-CEE/2 at Dargaville

The unique in New Zealand amphibious Savannah S ZK-CEE2 flew into Dargaville for lunch last Saturday:

We have previously posted about this aircraft HERE and HERE

Ex TVAL Vintage Aviator Albatros Dva-1 for sale

 I noticed recently that one of the Ex TVAL Albatros Dva-1 is up for sale. This aircraft was built as ZK-ALB and was exported to the UK IN 2018 as G-WAHT owned by Oliver Wulff and operated by the Shuttleworth Trust at Old Warden.

                                                  Photo courtesy of AirHistory.net

Previous blog post with more info can be found here ZK-ALB / G-WAHT

 The sales page for this aircraft can be found here

 

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Ultraflight Systems Trikes

As I have previously alluded to there were 3 early types of trikes registered in New Zealand within a few weeks of each other in March/April 1982.  These were the Ultrasports trike from the UK, the Delore trike from New Zealand and the third type was the Ultraflight Systems trike that was also manufactured in New Zealand, by Steve Edridge at Hamilton.  By my reckoning we have had 9 Ultraflight Systems (or UFS) trikes registered here and at least one that we know about was unregistered.

ZK-EXW (c/n MAANZ/038) First registered as an Edridge Ultraflight trike (fitted to a Vampyre hang glider wing) on 13 Apr 1982 to Steve R. Edridge trading as Ultra Flight Systems, Hamilton.  Cancelled 21 Jul 1992 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-FDK (c/n MAANZ/142)  UFS trike fitted to a Vampyre hang glider wing.  Registered 21 Sep 1982 to D. G. Firth, Wellington, then 24 May 1983 D. N. Allen, Blenheim. Cancelled 21 May 1998 registration revoked.

ZK-FDY c/n MAANZ/158) Ultraflight Systems trike fitted to a Vampyre 162 hang glider wing.

Registered 19 Oct 1982 to Troy Griffin, Te Puke (later Christchurch), then 19 Jun 1986 W. Tauaki, Mount Maunganui ($4,500), then 14 May 1990 G. Clifton, Auckland, then 9 Sep 1994 N. J. Whittles, Auckland.  Cancelled 28 May 1996 as withdrawn from use 

Re-registered 14 Aug 1996 to G. K. & M. Skilton, Warkworth.   Cancelled 1 Sep 1999 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-FLO (c/n UFS-1)  UFS trike fitted to a Meteor hang glider wing.  Registered 25 Oct 1985 to D. G. Spencer, Aokautere, then 22 Apr 1991 Mitchell & Robins Syndicate, Palmerston North, then 7 Jan 1994 B. J. Neville, Taupo.   Crashed on landing at Wharepuhunga, 30km from Te Awamutu 10 Dec 1995 Cancelled 8 Dec 1996.

ZK-FWD (c/n MAANZ/443) UFS trike fitted to a lancer 4L hang glider wing.  Registered 6 Mar 1990 to G. Clifton, Auckland.  Exported.  Cancelled 28 Jul 1997.

ZK-FWE (c/n MAANZ/444)  Ultraflight Systems trike fitted to a Lancer 4L hang glider wing.

Registered 12 Mar 1990 to Tony D. Morrison, Ohaupo.  Destroyed.  Cancelled 22 Aug 2002.

Re-registered  12 Nov 2002 to Tony E. Pinny, Te Awamutu fitted with a  Vampyre 162 hang glider wing, then 8 Mar 2003 Marc M. H. La Grand, Hamilton, then 28 Sep 2004 Peter W. Sparrow, Blenheim, then 18 Jun 2005 John D. Osmers, Takaka.  Cancelled 11 Jan 2013 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-FWQ (c/n MAANZ/447)  Ultraflight Systems trike fitted to a Vampyre 164 hang glider wing. Fitted with a 28HP 1-cyl Robin EC25PS engine.  Registered 6 Jul 1990 to Kevin B. Paulsen, Auckland, then 15 Jan 1991 S. J. Rodda.  Cancelled 23 May 1995 as withdrawn from use at Waimauku.

ZK-FWU (c/n KH2/MAANZ/449).  Ultraflight Systems trike fitted to a Swift hang glider wing.  Registered 26 Jul 1990 to K. R. Hoffmann, Waitakere, then 7 May 1997 Gary Vissers, Tokoroa.          Cancelled 8 Sep 1998 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-MLO (c/n U.F.S.H).  Uktraflight Systems trike fitted to a Moyes Mega hang glider wing.  Registered 20 Jun 1986 to P. G. Moloney, Feilding, then 4 Dec 1992  P G Mouat, Palmerston North, then 1 May 1997 David G. Spencer, Palmerston North, then 19 Apr 2000 Glen Robins, Kimbolton, then 28 Apr 2004 Sabin A. N. Hallard, Mosgiel, then 15 Jun 2005 Glen Robins, Feilding.  Cancelled 12 Dec 2007 as withdrawn from use.

That's it for trikes for a while and I will go on to more traditional fixed wing microlights.  

 

A Couple of WW 2 Twins at Ardmore 1-9-2026

There were two twin engined WW 2 aircraft at Ardmore when I visited on Tuesday 1 September:

The ex NZ Warbirds DC 3 ZK-DAK2, manufactured in 1944 is registered to Flight 2000 Ltd (Fly DC 3) but I think it is going to Australia.

And the other twin was the 1945 DH 98 Mosquito FB Mk VI (ex TE881/NZ2345) that is destined for Fly a Spitfire in the UK.  This is being painted at Avspecs and I was told it will be finished by the end of September or early October.

Gulfstream GVI C-GGVI cruising into Christchurch.

Tony McFarlin was on site at Christchurch International today to capture the Gulfstream GVI (G650ER) C-GVVI c/n 6331 arrival.

 Built in 2018 and initially serving as N100A with Exxon Mobil Corporation out of Dallas, Texas following delivery on 13-11-2018. 

After sale it became C-GGVI with Noro Ltd of Toronto, Canada from 28-12-2023 and is operated by their inhouse Fairflight Company.

Cessna A152 Aerobat ZK-TIE

  The Cessna A152 Aerobat c/n A1520917 entered the US register as N4960A and was listed with Superstition Air Service Inc of Mesa, Arizona on 10-11-1981. 
Gerrard Feller of Los Alamitos, California took it on from June of 2012 followed by Ted Schye, initially of Fort Peck, Montana, and then out of Billing, Montana from March 2018. 
The final US owner was William Hagerman of Lincoln, Illinois from April of 2021.

It is seen below, ex container from the USA, being uplifted for road delivery to Rangiora Airfield.

Its NZ certification was caried out by Aerofix Ltd at Rangiora with it becoming ZK-TIE on 28-01-2025 for Tie-Upp Aviation Ltd - who also operate the Pipistrel Alpha Trainers ZK-TGS and ZK-FTD2 plus the diesel-powered Piper PA-28-161 ZK-LYD.

Above we see its old US registration letters.

Above is the first rendition of its NZ registration lettering.

Below the final version.

It is IFR equipped.

Below it is on short final with property development in the background.

Wisk Aero eVTOL Mule ZK-UZA at MOTAT 28-8-2026

I was only at the MOTAT aircraft hall 3 months ago but today I had the opportunity to visit again with a group from Warkworth and there was a new addition on display:

Th eVTOL aircraft ZK-UZA that was registered in New Zealand as a Zephyr Airworks Mule on 3/10/17 and flew as a proof of concept craft under the New Zealand Government's Airspace Integration Trials programme which facilitated the testing and development of advanced unmanned aircraft.  I saw its sister ship ZK-UZB flying at Tekapo on 9/9/19 but I had never seen ZK-UZA, which was cancelled from the New Zealand register on 13/4/21 as withdrawn from use.

Both the Zephyr Airworks Mules were examples of the fifth generation eVTOL aircraft from the company which started in as Zee Aero in 2010 with backing from Google co-founder Larry Page and at the time they were flying in New Zealand the Wisk company was jointly owned by Boeing and Larry Page's Kittyhawk Aircraft Company.

Wisk has gone on to develop its sixth generation eVTOL aircraft in the US and this is now flying.  It is planned to be used in an unmanned air taxi service in several cities across America and also in Brisbane.

This is the sixth generation Wisk eVTOL aircraft and you can see the lineage derived from ZK-UZA.

And here is a video of it flying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MIdAgDX7WI&list=PLvSlX-KbrTxFnXvg_nD4aHRYEbztRC3Il&index=1

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Delore Trikes (3) - ZK-JQC to ZK-XTC

This is the final bunch of Delore Skytrikes that were built by Terry Delore in Christchurch.  The first trike, ZK-JQC2 nicely illustrates the potential chameleon nature of these machines, having been an unregistered example that after registration flew with a several different wings:

ZK-JQC2 fitted here with a high performance P&M GTR wing.

Smoking on!  And below at Rangiora fitted with an Enterprise wing.

 

ZK-JQC2 (c/n DRA001) Delore Skytrike possibly originally fitted to a Moyes Mega hang glider wing

Registered 21 Aug 2006 to Doug C. Anderson, Rangiora.  Cancelled 4 Dec 2012 as withdrawn from use. 

ZK-JRA (c/n MAANZ/289)  Delore Skytrike fitted to a Vampyre hang glider wing.

Registered 31 Oct 1984 to Ash-ford Motors Ltd, Hamilton (Brent A Smith) Engine failure and force landed at Hillsborough, Auckland.19 Nov 1992.   Cancelled 30 Aug 1994 withdrawn from use.  

Re-registered 20 Jul 2000 to John D. Finlayson, Hamilton Cancelled 24 Mar 2003 withdrawn from use.

ZK-JRS c/n MAANZ/346)  Delore Skytrike fitted to a Vampyre 185 hang glider wing.  Registered 24 Oct 1985 to J. R. Stewart, Auckland, then 23 Apr 1987 Anton J. Lawrence, Auckland.  Cancelled 27 Aug 1997 registration revoked.

ZK-JTT (c/n D/04336) Delore Skytrike.

Registered 18 Sep 1997 to Wadeson & Haines Syndicate, Rotorua, then 5 Mar 2001 Colin E. Taylor, Rotorua.  Cancelled 27 Aug 2010 registration revoked.

ZK-MIC (c/n MAANZ/371)  Delore Skytrike fitted to a Vampyre 185 hang glider wing.  Registered 27 Nov 1986 to R. A. Meech, Nelson. then 18 May 1989 K. C. Martin, Nelson. Crashed at Nelson 13 May 1989.  Fell from about 50 feet and landed heavily at Nelson 14 Jul 1990.  Cancelled 21 Dec 1990.

This Delore Skytrike was probably built Sep 1982 or shortly thereafter and owned by Tommy Namais, Auckland.  It was unregistered at that time but probably had the MAANZ number of 134 which was quite an early MAANZ number from around late 1982.  It was registered some 11 years later. 

Registered ZK-MOO (c/n MAANZ/134)  Fitted to a Foil-155 hang glider wing.  Registered 29 Oct 1993 to E. F. Harvey, Seddon.  Cancelled 19 Oct 2000 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-RCH (owners initials) c/n MAANZ/084)   An early Delore Skytrike fitted to a Lancer 4L hang glider wing.  Registered 13 Jul 1982 to R. C. Hanley, Auckland, then 10 Jul 1984 B. C. James & J. M. Budget, Auckland, then 19 Aug 1987 D. J. Smith & P. Bruning, Swanson, Auckland.  Crashed at Pikes Point 31 Mar 1991 Cancelled 2 Jul 1993 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-RON (c/n MAANZ/180) Registered 13 Dec 1995 to Ron Ashman of Hamilton.  See my earlier post on Skytrike ZK-FEI which was registered on 30 Nov 1982 and returned to ZK-FEI on 24 Oct 1996.

ZK-XTC (c/n MAANZ/053)

Although this is the last Delore Skytrike in alphabetical registration order it is one of the earliest trike unit designed & built by Terry Delore, Christchurch It was fitted to a Moyes Kite Mega Major II hang-glider wing.

Unregistered Chris H. Dyer, Christchurch. Peter F. Dyer, the owner’s father who had a wealth of experience flying light aircraft lost control after take-off and hit a barn near Aylesbury 10 Apr 1982 

Registered ZK-XTC 31 Aug 1982 to Christopher H. Dyer, Christchurch, then 25 Mar 1987 Byron J. Kelly, Springs Junction.  Cancelled 31 Jul 1998 registration revoked.

That is the end of the series on Delore Skytrikes which were a New Zealand built microlight success.  They were one of 3 trike microlight types registered early on and quite close together in March and April 1982, the first being the Ultrasports trikes that I have already covered and after the Delore trikes the next was the Ultraflight Systems Trikes which were built in Hamilton.  I will get on to those soon.