Tokoroa on 11-4-2025 (2)

Well it was not Peter Beck's actual L-39 Albatros but a really large scale model jet.  What we had stumbled upon was the monthly flyin of the New Zealand Jet Modellers Association (https://www.nzjma.com/):

The L-39 was bigger than one third scale and was built by Colin Austen of Whangaparaoa from a kit.  Its all up weight is around 70 kg.

There were also some other spectacular models including the first turbo prop model that I have seen:

This is a model of a Royal Saudi Air Force Pilatus PC 21 which is owned by Paul Connor of Warkworth.

Pretty impressive!

And it even has smoke!

Then there was this model of a Blue Angels jet which I think is not of a particular jet that was flown by the Blue Angels team.  It was flown by Brian Groves of Wellington.

In talking to some of the modellers they said that Tokoroa was a great place to fly jets as it is central and not very busy, has a sealed runway and is not surrounded by much development.  These model jets fly really fast and could do a lot of damage if (perish the thought), they ever crash.

Tokoroa on 11-4-2025

As we drove down to Taupo last Friday, it would have been remiss not to call into Tokoroa airfield which is only a short drive off SH 1.  It is often pretty quiet with all the hangars locked up.

So I did not expect to see Peter Beck's Aero L-39 Albatros there!

A Grand Entrance to the V8 Supercars

Although this is a blog on New Zealand aircraft, we occasionally stray into other forms of local aviation and this is just such a case:

Every day at the V8 Supercars at Taupo parachutists dropped in in a patriotic manner followed by the singing of the Australian and New Zealand national anthems before the main race starts.  I managed this photo on the Saturday - that is a HUGE flag! 

Tiger Moth ZK-BAA captured in flight.

 The De Havilland DH82A ZK-BAA c/n 84893 was photographed by Aaron Murphy on 12-04-2025.

The photos above and below, piloted by Amanda, were taken north bound in the Lindis Pass area.

The photo below is in the region north of Tekapo.

A Couple of Helicopters at the Aussie V8 Supercars

We arrived at Taupo late in the very late afternoon on 11/4/25 and checked out the carparking for the Taupo circuit.  This was free on the runway of the Centennial Park airfield which was closed for the weekend - the airfield is right alongside the motor racing circuit.  I had thought that there might be a few helicopters that had flown in for the racing, but there were only a couple:

In the very late afternoon the golden sun was sparkling off the Airbus AS350 BA Squirrel ZK-HBR2.  This is an old friend as it was the helicopter that we flew down in from the Tasman Glacier in back in September 2019 when in was in Inflite ownership with their titles.  It has been owned by RD Manufacturing Ltd of Takanini since 21/2/22.

Then on Sunday 13/4/25 the Bell 206L-1 Long Ranger ZK-IRL2 flew in for the races.  This has been owned by Heletrips Ltd of Auckland since first being imported in December 2007.

EC130B4 ZK-HAP 4

Noted at Ardmore today was EC130B4 ZK-HAP4 which was registered to an Auckland private owner back in February 2025.   It was imported from Dubai where it was operated by Falcon Aviation.

 

Takaka on Saturday

 A visit to Takaka on Saturday proved to be well worth the trip over the 'Hill".

The Cessna 172L ZK.DAZ c/n 17259907 has been listed with the ZK-DAZ Partnership of Takaka since 11-11-2021.

For some previous history See HERE

One surprise was to see the JMB Aircraft VL-3TE-915 LSA ZK-ECO2 c/n VL-3-527 as listed with a a Lyttelton owner.

And the Murphy Renegade ZK-JZC c/n 0099 has been with the Te Ara Investments of Takaka since  04-08-2023.

More Renegade info can be found HERE

Zlin Trener Master at Ardmore on 11-4-2025

I am back home after a great trip down to Taupo over the weekend to watch the Aussie V8 Supercars, with of course a few diversions to aerodromes along the way.  Ardmore seems pretty quiet these days, at least during weekdays, but I did manage to photograph one interesting sport aircraft:

Zlin Z526F Trener Master c/n 1091 was previously registered ZK-CJY back on 19/3/70 to DG and RH Owen of Christchurch before being cancelled on 25/6/92 as being shipped to Australia with its owner, becoming VH-ZLN for David G Owen of Tewantin in Queensland on 30/9/92.

It was returned to New Zealand arriving in July 2020 and we reported on it HERE.  It has made progress towards flying again as can be seen in the above photo.  I understand it will again be registered ZK-CJY for an Auckland owner. 

At Motueka late this afternoon.

 In the late afternoon sun at Motueka I snapped these three ho hum photos.

The Cessna 172M ZK-DXJ c/n 17265810 just arrived in from Greymouth.

It has been with the DXJ Syndicate since May of 2010.

A difficult one to photograph at the best of time.

On the tie downs outside the Aero Club was the Cessna TU206A ZK-JPC c/n U206-0511 of Rural Air Work of Otane who also operate the Cresco's ZK-SUZ and ZK-TPW, plus the FU-24-954 ZK-CRY2.

Moving out from the Aero Club on a training flight was the Just Aircraft SuperSTOL ZK-SNP c/n JA615-01-21 which has been with the SNP Syndicate of Motueka since 05-03-2024.

All three have been mentioned previously on these pages.

Rangiora open day on Saturday.

 Just the two photos so far to cover the Rangiora open day on Saturday from Tony McFarlin.

Morris Tull's acquired the MX Technologies MXS ZK-MXS c/n 013 from Doug Brooker in February of 2004. Morris also still retains the Pitts Specials ZK-PPS and ZK-FRJ.

The MXS has been previously mentioned several times Here

The Foxcon Aviation Terrier ZK-UTC c/n NZ2005, one of eight in NZ, started life as ZK-MEG.

It has been with Gordon Lidgard at Rangiora since mid 2017 and has been a work in progress for some time.

See HERE. for further NZ Terrier details.