Friday 14 August 2009

Recent cancellation. Islander ZK-WNZ.

Above pic at Wellington in the old CAA hangar shows VH-ISE on 31-01-1973.
A few days later (05-02-73) it was at the Wellington aero Club as ZK-DKN.
[The registration is clearly visible on the original print].
As seen under rebuild at Invercargill on 15-04-1993 as N8021M.
Britten-Norman BN2A-27 Islander ZK-WNZ , c/n 278 , was cancelled on 13-08-2009.
This Islander has an extensive list of previous owners. It began with Britten-Norman in May of 1971 with the G51-278 factory registration before becoming G-AYYA and first flew on 06-05-1971. It ferried out to Australia and became VH-ISE on 01-06-1972 with Islander Aircraft Sales before being listed to Newhouse & Cochrane at Bankstown. It then jumped the ditch and became ZK-DKN with Capital Air Service at Wellington in early 1973. It did not stay very long as it was cancelled on 16-08-1973 and returned to Islander Aircraft again as VH-ISE on the 24-08-1983. It then moved up to Lae in PNG until moving back down to Queensland and then out to Tonga for a very short period in mid 1979. It was then listed on the US register as N8021M serving in Tonga and American Samoa. It was damaged in a cyclone at Samoa in 1993 and it was moved to Invercargill for rebuild by Southern Air. It first flew with its 260hp engines on 13-10-95 and was registered as ZK-WNZ with Southern Air on the 24th and a few days later (27th) it was listed to New Zealand Air Services of Whangaparoa. It officially joined Great Barrier Airlines on 31-10-1997. A move back south had it with Wings Over Whales of Kaikoura from 08-11-2000. It then migrated to Omaka for a while before going to Tauranga with Paul Ensor. It made headlines on 28-12-2006 following a visit to the mudflats near Tauranga. It was relisted to Great Barrier Airlines Flight Operations Ltd on 20-11-2007.

It was withdrawn in January 2008 (I believe) and I noted it resting in a paddock next to the North Shore airfield 09-03-08 (photo above).

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