Wellington from Alister of zkarj.co.nz #1

 Here we have the first of two posts from Allister working Wellington Airport from a different perspective.

Into Winter from Allister of zkarj.co.nz

 

Allister on 27th June, 2026

I thought it had been a while since I posted, but I see it was only in May. Go me! This post does a little bit of a catch-up, but not quite up to today. (See the following post for the reason). Below Carefully concealing its registration behind a winch, BK117B-2 ZK-HES4 does a short hover-taxi before departing. From memory, it had come down from Taranaki to Wellington Hospital before positioning to the airport, presumably for fuel. See HERE for a previous posting on ZK-HES4. I hadn’t seen the Cessna 525B CitationJet CJ3 ZK-RJZ for a while. The registration refers to the owners — Robert Jones Holdings Ltd. The founder, Bob Jones, passed away about a year ago. It is currently operated by Wellington Jet Charter Trust. This cute little Grumman American AA-1B Trainer, ZK-DKX, was a rarity. I’ve seen the closely related Traveller before, but not this model. It has been registered to Gallett Properties Ltd of Nelson since August of 2005. I got probably my best study yet of Wellington’s new Life Flight Trust rescue helicopter, Airbus Helicopters H145 D3 (basically the descendant of the BK117 line), ZK-IXS3. See HERE for a previous mention of ZK-IXS3. I’ve seen Wellington Aero Club’s Piper PA-38 Tomahawk, ZK-WAC3, often enough but this was a perfectly timed shot. And finally for this post, I got another chance to see QantasLink’s green-liveried Airbus A220-371 c/n 55253, VH-X4A. I was close to the runway with a long lens, so went for this tight shot.

The second post will cover Allister's photographic efforts at Wellington Airport.

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Skycraft Scouts (2) - ZK-EWL to ZK-EZN

Starting on all our registered Skycraft Scouts in alphabetical registration order: 

ZK-EWL (c/n MAANZ/025)

Registered 19 Mar 1982 to Wayne B. Affleck, Kawerau (who was one of the North Island distributors), then 28 Jun 1982 J. Dohnt & M. C. Salt, Te Puke, then 5 Jul 1985 N. Baymires, Te Puke, then 15 Jun 1990 F. Robinson, Drury (18HP 1-cyl Fuji Robin 330 engine).  Cancelled 29 Aug 1994 withdrawn from use.

ZK-EWM (c/n MAANZ/026)  Registered 19 Mar 1982 to Wayne B. Affleck, Kawerau trading as Affleck Aviation, Auckland, then 28 Jul 1983 Aitken Farms, Te Kuiti, then 5 Aug 1983 G. J. & J. L. Aitken, Te Kuiti.  Cancelled 28 Jul 1994 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-EXI (c/n MAANZ/162)  Registered 19 Oct 1982 to B. C. Williams, Mount Maunganui.  Cancelled 19 Jun 1997 as withdrawn from use.  

ZK-EXN (c/n MAANZ/161)  Registered 26 Oct 1982 to P. M. Duncan, Timaru, then 15 May 1984 J. G. Hutt, Fairlie.  Cancelled 24 Feb 1992 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-EXQ (c/n MAANZ/157)

Registered 28 Oct 1982 to E. H. Coates, Ngatapa, Gisborne, then 21 Feb 1985 C. J. P. Vissers, Auckland Cancelled 27 Aug 1997 as registration revoked.

ZK-EXV (c/n MAANZ/048)  Registered 8 Apr 1982 to D. S. MacKenzie, Christchurch, then 13 Jul 1982 K. E. Dash, Kumara, then 31 Aug 1983 D. Y. Roberts, Hokitika, then 17 Jun 1992 R. J. L. Bradey, Kumara.  Cancelled 27 Aug 1997 Registration revoked.

ZK-EYJ (c/n MAANZ/052)  Registered 25 May 1982 to D. D. Tabor, Gore.  Cancelled 27 Aug 1997 registration revoked.

ZK-EYK (c/n MAANZ/049)

Registered 25 May 1982 to S. R. Brodie, Rangitata Island, then 20 Mar 1984 D. M. A. & M. S. McMillan, Temuka, then 29 Jan 1988 H. W. Bradley, Ashburton. Spark plug lead came off in flight and pilot force landed due to power loss near Bunnythorpe 1 Jan 1990.  Pilot hand prop started engine but slipped and prop hit his ankle.  then 5 Oct 1996 D. M. A. McMillan, Temuka.  Cancelled 26 Sep 2000 as withdrawn from use.  Re-registered  7 Apr 2003 to R. K. Brodie, Rangitata Island.  Cancelled 2 Oct 2008 as withdrawn from use.  Preserved at Rangitata Island.

ZK-EYO (c/n MAANZ/068)

Registered 9 Jun 1982 to E. L. Clode, Orepuki, Riverton.  Cancelled 11 Mar 1992 as withdrawn from use.  Re-registered 27 Jan 1998 to M. H. J. Maria, Waitakere Exported to ?  Cancelled 15 Jul 1999.

ZK-EYR (c/n MAANZ/066)  Registered 9 Jun 1982 to D. M. McElrea, Heriot.  Cancelled 18 Aug 1995 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-EYT (c/n MAANZ?055)  Registered 9 Jun 1982 to R. C. Nordstrand, New Plymouth  Cancelled 18 Jun 1998 Registration revoked.  

ZK-EZN (c/n MAANZ/085)  Registered 4 Aug 1982 to R. Mark Farrant, Rotorua, then 7 May 1990 R. Heslop, Waihi Beach.   Cancelled 24 Feb 1992 as withdrawn from use.  Re-registered 11 Jul 1992 to R. Heslop, Waihi Beach, then 11 Jul 1995 B. J. Neville, Taupo.  Cancelled 17 Aug 2000 as withdrawn from use.

Topdressing DC 3s (4) - ZK-AWO

 The next topdressing DC 3 was ZK-AWO:

Photos at Napier on 17/11/69 (above) and at Wanganui on 6/4/75 (below)

Douglas C-47B-35-DK (c/n 16732/33480)

Built by The Douglas Aircraft Co, Oklahoma City, OK with 2x 1200HP 14-cyl R-1830-92 Twin Wasp radial engines as 44-77148 

15 Jun 1945 USAAF but diverted under “lend-lease”  Exported to New Zealand 

NZ3548 7 Jul 1945 RNZAF 1 ASU Hamilton 

RNZAF 40 Sqn, Whenuapai 

Mar 1946 RNZAF 41 Sqn, Whenuapai.  Struck Off Charge 1 Jul 1952 

11 Jul 1952 NZ National Airways Corp Converted for civil use 23 Oct 1952 

ZK-AWO 3 Nov 1952 NZ National Airways Corp, Wellington named  “Putaitai” Converted to freighter at Christchurch 29 Sep 1958 

Last service 5 Sep 1966 @ 24,109 hours Flight Time 

21 Mar 1967 Airland (NZ) Ltd, Palmerston North Converted to topdresser First Flight 15 Oct 1968 

20 Feb 1978 Fieldair Ltd, Palmerston North named “Putaitai” 

18 Nov 1980 Fieldair Holdings (Central) Ltd, Palmerston North 30 Mar 1984 Fieldair Holdings Ltd, Palmerston North Last flight 1 Mar 1984 @ 32,846 hours Flight Time (8,737 hours topdressing) 

Cancelled 29 May 1985 

After some time in storage the bulk of the aircraft was scrapped at Feilding in the early 1990s.  The nose section was acquired by Chris Rudge of Aviation Adventures Ltd.  He upgraded it and it is now on a trailer at Pukaki airfield for promotional purposes.

ZK-IQP at Rangiora on Tuesday the 23rd.

 My afternoon tea was pleasantly disturbed on Tuesday at Rangiora by the beat of the rotors and the sweet sound of a Lycoming O-360 of the Canadian Home Safari ZK-IQP c/n 0629N which has been listed with a West Eyreton syndicate since August of last year.

This Safari was imported partly built from the US and it was registered to Alan Coubray of Manakau on 14-01-2008.  It was advertised for sale on TradeMe in mid-2009 and on sold to Otorini Farms of Otorohanga in September of 2010.

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Skycraft Scouts (1)

 

Although I have postulated that Pete James’ McCullough powered Easy Riser was the first microlight to fly in New Zealand, in 1978, it is possible that an early version of the Skycraft Scout could lay claim to be the first microlight to fly here.  It would be great if someone out there with a very long memory could shed some light on our first Skycraft Scouts.

The Skycraft Scout (also sometimes called the Wheeler Scout) was designed in Australia by Ronald Wheeler of Sydney who put a motor on his earlier design Tweetie hang glider in 1972.  Wheeler was a yacht builder and he used yacht fittings and sailcloth in his design.  This was well before John Moody put an engine in his Easy Riser in the US in 1975.   Scouts had 2 axis controls for rudder and elevator and used a form of wing warping for control of the roll axis.

The specifications for the Scout Mk 3 are as follows:  length 17 feet 1 inch, wingspan (5.20 metres), wingspan 28 feet 9 inches ((8.77 metres) and the wing area was 109 square feet.  It was a very light machine with the empty weight being just 130 pounds (55 Kg) while the MAUW was 310 pounds ((141 Kg).  The Scout Mk 1 started off with a 14 HP Pixie Major engine but the Mk 3 had increased power with a 21 HP Robin engine as well as other improvements.  With 21 HP the cruising speed was 47 mph and the stall speed was 20 mph.   

Because of their small fuel tank they were around the patch flyers and that is probably why we don't have photos of many of them (and thus the following posts will have quite a lot of lists).  

What we do know about Scouts in New Zealand was that they were imported by a Dunedin firm L M Wright and Company and they reckoned they sold around 80 examples of which about 50 were registered.  Of course before 1982 microlights did not have to be registered in New Zealand.  So there were a whole lot of unregistered Scouts out there, some of them potentially before 1978 but we really don’t know.  The first examples were registered in March 1982.

This is a Tweetie hang glider flying in New Zealand,

and you can see that Ron Wheeler didn't have to do much to it to turn it into a Scout!

Of course the Scout is a single seater microlight which produces its own problems for people learning to fly one.  I remember a friend of mine telling me of his early experiences in flying a Scout at low level with his instructor shouting directions to him while riding a motorcycle alongside!

One unregistered Scout that I know about was flown at various locations on the Otago Peninsula in 1989.  This Scout was around when Geoff Williams was building and flying the last of his series of unregistered homebuilt aircraft. 

The Otago Peninsula Scout getting airborne from Blueskin Bay in 1989

 This picture was captioned “the Scout crashing again(!) at Hoopers Inlet”

Interestingly there has been a recent mini resurgence in Scout restoration with Ross Brodie at Rangitata Island restoring and registering ZK-FJI in February 2023 and at Wanganui Jonathan Mauchline has restored and registered 3 Scouts being ZK-RWW, ZK-JJN and  ZK-SLF (the last two were previously unregistered ones).

Eurocopter AS 350 B2 ZK-IDW/2 Today 23-6-2026

Number 2 grandson is farming in the Waikato and today got to ride in Total Heliwork Ltd's Eurocopter AS 350 B2 Squirrel ZK-IDW2 today to show the pilot where to spread the fertiliser, and he sent me this photo:

Because of the sun's reflection you can only just make out TOTAL script on the engine cowling above the cabin.  The helicopter is now in new colours from when it last appeared on the blog.

Thanks for the photo Ollie.

Te Kowhai in the 1950s?

Another couple of aircraft that Mark Pattenden photo'd at Te Kowhai last weekend.  You could be forgiven for thinking that you were back in the 1950s!

The 1948 Luscombe 8E Silvaire Deluxe N1529B from Tauranga

And the 1952 Cessna 170B ZK-JCG3 from North Shore.

I am pretty sure that Te Kowhai airfield did not exist back in the 1950s.

Cessna 182R ZK-CNR at Te Kowhai

AOPA held a Northern Rally at Raglan over the weekend but I think some aircraft were confined to Te Kowhai due to fog.

If anyone didn't know what type of aircraft ZK-CNR was, they don't have an excuse now!

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Kasperwings (2)

 We have had eleven Kasperwing I-80s registered in New Zealand as follows:

ZK-ESR (c/n MAANZ/014) was the first Kasperwing to be registered here.

Registered 28 Jan 1982 to Chris R. & P. M. Holmes, Pukeatua.  Heavy landing on Holmes farm, Pukeatua 12 Apr 1982.   Cancelled 13 Jun 2019 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-EXU (c/n MAANZ/029)

Registered 7 Apr 1982 to R. A. Hansen, Morrinsville, then 23 Apr 1982 P. M. Holmes, Pukeatua, then  18 Apr 1993 Kevin B. Paulsen, Auckland.  It is still current.

This could be ZK-FCT (c/n MAANZ/113)

Registered 24 Aug 1982 to Paul Beauchamp Legg, Feilding, then 21 Apr 1983 N. S. Williams, Raetihi then 14 Mar 1989 Bruce J. Lambess, Feilding, then 18 Mar 1993 M. A. Halcrow.  Cancelled 9 May 1995 as withdrawn from use.

Does anyone have a copy of Cross Country to Wanstead?  If so I would love to know about it.

                                                            ZK-FDU (c/n MAANZ/153) 

Registered 11 Oct 1982 to D. A. Mould, Taupo, then 11 Nov 1983 Robin A. Hansen t/a Matira Flying Club, Morrinsville.  Cancelled May 2026 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-FEH (c/n MAANZ/105)

Registered 30 Nov 1982 to Graeme J. Carson, Huntly.  A wing stay wire pulled out of its attachment clamp, the wing folded up and the microlight fell to earth near Waikaretu, 30km E of Huntly 3 May 1986 Pilot/owner injured (@ 850 hrs FT).  Rebuilt and flown a lot more by Graeme Carlson, then 11 Nov 2002 Edward G. Brown, Pokeno.  It is still current. 

This was Graeme Carlson's original Kasperwing built from a kit, and he told me that he built four more from the measurements from this machine.

ZK-FEX (c/n MAANZ/186)

Registered 25 Mar 1983 to David L. Gellert, Morrinsville, then 6 Dec 1983 Terry S. Smith, Hawera.  Cancelled 3 Aug 1995 as withdrawn from use. 

ZK-FEY (c.n MAANZ/188)

Registered 22 Mar 1983 to H. & B. J. McInally, Morrinsville, then 15 Sep 1992 Edward G. Brown, Pokeno.   Cancelled 7 Jul 1999 as registration revoked.

ZK-FFN (c/n MAANZ/207)

Registered 15 Jun 1983 to F. J. Savage, Waimana. then 12 May 1988 H. Wallace & Robert J. McNair, Hamilton, then 29 Jun 2002 William S. Baldwin, Ashburton.   Exported to Australia Shipped.  18 Jun 2012 G. I. Readman, Perth, WA.  Cancelled 20 Jul 2012. 

ZK-FMB (c/n MAANZ/334)

Registered 24 Oct 1985 to K. R. Aston, Tuakau.  Cancelled 9 Sep 1993 as withdrawn from use.

ZK-FPX2  (c/n BP001) Registered 7 Dec 2005 to the Kasperwing Syndicate, Feilding.  (was allocated ZK-JPX in error). Engine failure during overshoot and landed in paddock near Feilding 19 Feb 2006.  Cancelled 12 Jun 2018 as withdrawn from use. Re-registered  22 Sep 2020 to Rodger J. Ward, Christchurch Cancelled 4-13 Aug 2025 as withdrawn from use (again).

ZK-KDH (c/n MAANZ/028)

Registered 5 Apr 1982 to Ken D. Hoult t/a Cascade Microlights, Morrinsville, then 30 May 1993 William S. Baldwin, Ashburton Cancelled 28 Aug 2003 as withdrawn from use.  Re-registered 13 Nov 2003 to William S. Baldwin, Ashburton, then 9 Sept 2008 Blair D Hoult, Haast.  It is still registered.  I guess this is the Kasperwing that first flew here in 1980 as it was registered quite early on, in April 1982.

I think it is quite remarkable how many photos of New Zealand Kasperwings we have been able to get, but as always if anyone out there has any other Kasperwing photos please send them in to the Editor and we will post them.   

Todays Rangiora pie run. June 19th 2026.

 Friday usually = pie run day for me.

Today was particularly interesting as we recalled 'the good olde days' in the CRAC clubrooms.

It was really nice to catch the Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer ZK-EEL c/n 1045 out to play.

Above just after take off with the pilot doing a visual on the gear retraction.

And below on finals.

See HERE for a previous mention of ZK-EEL.

The JMB  Aircraft  VL-3E-1 UL  ZK-VLE  c/n 252 is a re-registration of ZK-JMB2 from 13-06-2025

It has now just found a new owner in Ashburton.

The New Zealand Airline Academy had their Tecnam P2008JC ZK-NYQ c/n 1420 up from Oamaru for some attention from Griff at 'Clear Prop'. This was first listed to them in March this year.

Discussions between the Academy and the Oamaru City Council continue - with Whanganui possibly being the winner,

The rather unusual looking aircraft is the modified Zenair Mono-Z CH-100 ZK-RTI c/n AACA/609.

Doing an engine run to test the turbo.

This started life as ZK-FSH in early 1989.

Click Here for previous mention of this airframe.