ICP Savannah S ZK-RKT 3

Visiting Pauanui airfield from Tauranga today was the ICP Savannah S ZK-RKT3. Displaying its rocket emblem this was originally ZK-LBQ, first flying at Forest Field as such in November 2023.  A sale to its current Tauranga owner in October 2025 saw it reregistered as RKT in April 2026.

 

PZL 101A Gawron ZK-CRO at Matamata Today 17-10-2026

Bruce Cooke was at Matamata today for the resumption of their BBQ lunches, and there was a good contingent that flew over from Tauranga.  Among the Tauranga visitors was the exotic WSK Warszawa-Okecie PZL 101A Gawron ZK-CRO:

ZK-CRO was registered to the BOP Marine Life Trust of Tauranga on 6 May 2021, having previously been HA-SBN in Hungary from 10 August 1969.

It has been previously covered on the blog, but not with its Gawron nose art.  According to AI, Gawron is the Polish word for a Rook (which is a member of the crow family - hence the registration).

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Delta Sailplanes Nomads and Honcho

The next type of microlight to be registered in New Zealand was the Delta Sailplanes DS 26B Nomad of which we have had two, and later a DS 27A Honcho was registered.  The Nomad and the Honcho were pretty similar but the Honcho was smaller and they had strut braced wings.  They were manufactured by the Delta Sailplane Corporation of North Hollywood in California who had started out building hang gliders and then developed a series of essentially motor gliders, the first of which was the DS 26A Nomad which had a single wheel undercarriage like a glider and this was developed into the DS 26B Nomad and the DS 27A Honcho which had standard tricycle undercarriages.  The company ceased trading at the end of 1982 which may explain why we only had only three examples registered here.  (Click twice  to enlarge the brochures below to read them easier).

The New Zealand agents for Delta Sailplanes were Ted Jarman and Reg Fleet of Delta Microlights (NZ) Ltd.

The first DS 26B Nomad to be registered was ZK-EXK (c/n MAANZ/100)

Registered 26 Oct 1982 to A. E. Jarman & R. W. Fleet t/a Delta Microlights (NZ) Ltd, Auckland.  Powered by a 18HP single cylinder Mahl engine.  First flight at  Ardmore 12 Jun 1982.  In the above photo Ted Jarman is the pilot.  Cancelled 30 Jun 1999 registration revoked.

ZK-MAQ DS 26B Nomad (c/n MAANZ/164)

Registered 26 Oct 1982 to R. “Bob” A. McQuillan, Auckland.  Powered by a two cylinder 27HP Lloyd engine.  Engine lost power and force landed on the mudflats off Pikes Point 15 Jul 1983, then 24 Jul 1985 T. E. Craven, Auckland.   Cancelled 5 May 1995 withdrawn from use.  The remains were noted stored at Kaipara Flats in February 2021.

ZK-PAW DS 27A Honcho (c/n MAANZ/212)

Registered 18 Nov 1983 to Paul A. Webster, Auckland.  Hit by crosswind gust during take-off, hit ground and overturned at Pikes Point, Onehunga 20 Apr 1986.  Cancelled 7 Sep 1989.

ZK-AVM from the shoe box

 This image was extracted from the lower reaches of my olde picturegraph shoe box.

It is the Amphibian Airways Ltd's Grumman G44A Widgeon ZK-AVM c/n 1466 still with its original inverted air cooled six cylinder Ranger engines.

It is a photo taken in Preservation Inlet during 1951 at the landing spot for visitations to the Puysegur Point light house.

I suspect the image is from a long forgotten book about life in Fiordland.
It is also still currently registered to Warren Denholm of Auckland.
This aircraft has been mentioned several times previously on this site.

See HERE for more about the NZ Grumman boats.

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Mirage Brochures and Early Photos

Continuing to backfill the microlight types that I previously didn't have brochures on.  The second type of microlight to be registered here was the Ultraflight Mirage of which there were a remarkable 33 registered in 1982!  Here are some brochures on the Mirage from Russell Brodie, plus a couple of photos of very early Mirages at Te Kowhai:

Double click in the image to enlarge it to read it better.  And here are the photos:

Brian Farrell from the Department of Civil Aviation and Ken Asplin.   Brian was a good friend to the early microlight movement.  I reckon this must have been early 1982 and the Mirage may have been ZK-KJA which was registered on 28/12/81.

Max Clear, presumably with his Mirage ZK-ERZ which was registered on 28/1/82.

And I would guess that the third Mirage in the photo (the one in the middle) might have been Trevor Barrett's ZK-ESQ which was also registered on 28/1/82.

Ozzie BBJ passing through

 Just starting up and taxiing out today at Christchurch International Airport for a run to Dunedin and back was the Royal Australian Air Force Boeing 737-8 Max BBJ A61-001 c/n 67959.

I believe it was allocated three US registrations before its delivery to Australia - which occurred on 12-07-2024. The last of these being N786BJ.

Below - taxiing past the Novatel.

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Pterodactyl Ascender Brochures

When I started this series on Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand back in July 2025, I did not have access to the early microlight brochures that Russell Brodie had collected over the years.  But now Russell has sent some more brochures and here are the ones for the Pterodactyl Ascender which was the first type of microlight to be registered here:  (As always you can click the images twice to enlarge them and read them more easily)

Thanks very much for the brochures Russell.

Two BK117's at Wellington on Saturday

 Two BK117's were captured at Wellington Airport on Saturday the 10th by Allister Jenks.

The Kawasaki BK117 B-2 ZK-IIX c/n 1099 is of late 1994 vintage and was listed in Japan as JA6379 until it arrived in New Zealand to became ZK-HCX3 in May of 2016 with Oceania Aviation at Ardmore. 

After some TLC it went off-shore to New Guinea to become P2-HND in May of 2017 before returning to Oceania in about July of 2017. 

It then spent about eighteen months with Gisborne Helicopters before moving to Search and Rescue Services Ltd in late June of 2020.

As you can see it is currently operated as the Grassroots Trust EMS machine covering the Manawatu and Whanganui region.

**************

The second BK117 is an Airbus MBB BK117 D-2 model, c/n 20271, initially test flown in Germany as D-HADM12 before delivery to Helicopters Otago Ltd as ZK-IDH in early July 2019.

It was re-registered to ZK-IXD on 16-10-2023 and joined Search and Rescue Services in late November 2023 as the Greenlea Resue helicopter covering the Central North Island area.

Cameron Aviation's AT 502B Air Tractor ZK-LUC/2

Warwick Hamilton was on the airstrip yesterday and captured Cameron Aviation's newly registered AT 502B Air Tractor ZK-LUC2 in action:

ZK-LUC2 (c/n 502B-3081) was registered on 6/10/26 to Lindsey Cameron of Rotorua, and is ex VH-MFB5.

The first ZK-LUC was a Glaser-Dirks DG 400 self launching glider that was registered in November 1982 and re-registered as ZK-GUC in November 1990.  It was cancelled in September 1995, going back the reverse direction to the Air Tractor, as exported to Australia where it became VH-GMD.

Cessna 182E Skylane ZK-WKK

Visiting Pauanui airfield today from Ardmore was Cessna 182E Skylane ZK-WKK which has been repainted in a smart new paint scheme.   Being a 1962 model this was imported from Australia back in 1999.