Following along from the VP-1 came the bigger VP-2 which first flew in 1971. It looked the same as the VP-1 but it was 1 foot longer, had 3 feet of extra wingspan and had a cockpit that was 1 foot wider which made it very cramped for 2 people. I think VP-2's were most flown with a single pilot.
Our first VP-2 was ZK-EEN (c/n AACA 314/1) which was built by Darcy Hoffman at Dunedin. It was first registered on 23/10/75 and is shown here at the 1979 AACA fly-in at Gore. I understand that it crashed at Taieri and was then sold to K H Kramer of Queenstown on 27/7/83. It was cancelled on 11/2/92 and again on 27/11/96 - anyone know why? The remains are at Gore.
The next VP-2 was ZK-FPK (c/n AACA 703) which was built by Bill Salt at Auckland and was first registered on 30/10/87. It is shown here at the 1992 AACA fly-in at Tauranga. It was sold to M J Quadvlieg of Masterton on 29/7/02, who re-designated as a Class 1 microlight. It was withdrawn and cancelled on 28/8/03.
And our final and most active VP-2 was Max Saunders' ZK-CVW (c/n AACA 1001) which was first registered on 28/4/87 and featured an 1834cc VW motor. It is shown here at Paraparaumu early on in its life with a canopy.
After several modifications it looked like this, at the 2002 AACA fly-in at Matamata. It was re-designated as a Class 2 microlight on 7/2/02. It has been withdrawn and its motor has been used in Max Saunders' latest Flitzer Biplane project (but that is another story).
Our first VP-2 was ZK-EEN (c/n AACA 314/1) which was built by Darcy Hoffman at Dunedin. It was first registered on 23/10/75 and is shown here at the 1979 AACA fly-in at Gore. I understand that it crashed at Taieri and was then sold to K H Kramer of Queenstown on 27/7/83. It was cancelled on 11/2/92 and again on 27/11/96 - anyone know why? The remains are at Gore.
The next VP-2 was ZK-FPK (c/n AACA 703) which was built by Bill Salt at Auckland and was first registered on 30/10/87. It is shown here at the 1992 AACA fly-in at Tauranga. It was sold to M J Quadvlieg of Masterton on 29/7/02, who re-designated as a Class 1 microlight. It was withdrawn and cancelled on 28/8/03.
And our final and most active VP-2 was Max Saunders' ZK-CVW (c/n AACA 1001) which was first registered on 28/4/87 and featured an 1834cc VW motor. It is shown here at Paraparaumu early on in its life with a canopy.
After several modifications it looked like this, at the 2002 AACA fly-in at Matamata. It was re-designated as a Class 2 microlight on 7/2/02. It has been withdrawn and its motor has been used in Max Saunders' latest Flitzer Biplane project (but that is another story).
FPK is likely to be seen out and about again soon. It is currently owned by Paul Parsons and stored at Te Kowhai and will be reassembled in the next few months. Pauls young son Andrew is also building a VP2 and FPK will be used as 3D plans and for some flight training / familiarisation.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for the update there ZK-CKE.
ReplyDeleteMore grist for the mill (as they say).