Southern Miscellany #3

Four pics from Wanaka.

Above is the Cessna 180H ZK-DBX (c/n 18051872) still listed with Dairy Air Ltd of Wellington.
I believe however that it has just been sold and was noted northbound into Tekapo on the 28th.

Beech 18S N43927 (c/n A26) was mentioned previously at:-

http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/n43927-sweet-as.html

This was converted to Ten Two status by Conrad in 1965.

 

Gilles Kupfer has taken over the old Southair hangar at Wanaka.

 and has several projects under way, including a full scale FW190D with many metal parts already on hand and the woodwork at Ardmore. In the background is the wing for an 80% scale P51 Mustang - with the fuselage well under way in another work area.

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Pic below is of his 3/4 scale Jurca F MJ-8 (FW190) ZK-YKZ (c/n 05).

Also under way is a "first of type" for NZ  which is currently being built in Spain.

 

Below we see aircraft preservation proceeding at a very slow pace !

Poor old NZ6468.

Future Flyers at Custom Aviation Ltd, Taieri

Craig Miller was very helpful and gave me full access to his hangar for photos.  It was a pretty busy place!  The following aircraft will no doubt see wind under their wings in the near future.

7/8th scale Nieuport 11 replica with a Rotax engine.

RANS S 6ES which had a landing accident at Cromwell on 15/2/14 as a tri-gear aircraft, will return to the skies as a taildragger.

This is our first RANS S 20 coming together.  The S 20 is the successor to the S 6 as a side by side 2 seater with the wings and tail from the S 7.

And finally RANS S 7 N312W was having its cabin perspex renewed prior to CAA inpection and New Zealand registration in December.

Christavia Mk 1 ZK-PCJ at Custom Aviation Ltd, Taieri

One of the aircraft I was hoping to see on my South of the South Island trip was the Elwood Aviation Christavia Mk 1 ZK-PCJ which is owned by Peter Johnson of Kaitangata and that I had heard was hangared at Balclutha.  Unfortunately the hangars at Balclutha were all shut on both of the times I called there.

So I was delighted to find it undergoing its 25 hour check at Craig Miller's Custom Aviation Ltd at Taieri.

I understand that construction of this aircraft was commenced by Russell Scott of Balclutha (the builder of Jodel D 11 ZK-RSB), but it was completed for Peter Johnson by Craig Miller.  The above photo taken by Russel Scott and via Charlie Kenny is of ZK-PCJ preparing for its first flight at Taieri  on 15/7/14, with John Penno at the controls.

Mandeville Bantam B 22UL ZK-NLD

After Max Clear died in 2011, his company Micro Aviaition Ltd was put up for sale and in 2012 it was purchased by Colin and Maeva Smith of the Croydon Aircraft Company.  They formed Micro Aviation 2012 Ltd and all production jigs, stock and components were shifted from Te Kowhai to Mandeville.

ZK-NLD (c/n 08-0323) is a Max Clear airframe that had been first registered on 17/10/11 to Micro Aviation Ltd of Te Kowhai.  This is the last Bantam to be registered in New Zealand to date and is a 2008 airframe (although 31 Bantams and 3 Bathawks were manufactured after aiframe 08-323 and all were exported to Africa, mostly to South Africa - thanks to Ray Deerness for the info).

ZK-NLD is the first Bantam to be produced by Micro Aviation 2012 Ltd and ownership was transferred to them on 28/11/13.  According to their website it first flew at Mandeville on 2/2/13.

ZK-NLD is a Bantam B 22UL which is powered by a 4 stroke UL260i engine produced by ULPower Aero Engines in Belgium.  This engine produces around 97 HP at 3,300 rpm with a direct drive to the propellor, and I assume that this will be the standard engine for the Mandeville Bantams.

Bantam production is in progress at Mandeville and when I was there several airframes were at various stages of construction.

Croydon Aircraft Company Restorations at Mandeville - Fox Moth ZK-AQB

The most advanced restoration at Colin Smith's aircraft restoration facility was DH 83C Fox Moth ZK-AQB, which has been under restoration for John Eaton of Auckland for many years.  As can be seen in the photo, it is getting near to being completed.

ZK-AQB (c/n FM 49) is a Canadian built example which arrived in  New Zealand aboard the MV Australind on 13/10/47 and was first registered to the Auckland Aero Club on 25/11/47.  It was sold to the Tauranga Aero Club on 17/12/55 and then to J Paterson of Tauranga on 17/12/55.  Finally it went to Bill Paterson of Motiti Island on 1/1/61 and he used it to carry varied loads (including a piano it is reported!) to and from the island until it force landed in the sea after an engine failure on 28/6/72.  You can read an interesting descrption of the accident including an account from the passenger at the time by Googling "ASN Aircraft Incident 62328".

David Lilico of Paptoetoe acquired the wreck on 26/10/72 and ownership transferred to Myles Robertson of Takapuna on 15/10/76 (Myles Robertson carried out restoration work with several Fox Moths but that is another story).  It was finally acquired by Colin Smith as a restoration project which has led to today's progress.  The registration ZK-AQB was cancelled on 20/5/91 but as can be seen above, it is a candidiate for re-registration in the near future.

Croydon Aircraft Company Resorations at Mandeville - List of Aircraft Under Restoration

As I mentioned in my previous post about the Croydon Aircraft Company operations at the Old Mandeville Airfield, there were many interesting aircraft under restoration for various customers around the world.  But I assume most of them will be test flown at Mandeville.  A list of the aircraft I saw is:

DH 60 Gipsy Moth - the wings of the Gipsy Moth were being covered when I was there.  The aircraft will eventually be put on the floats that were also in the workshop.

DH 80 Puss Moth - the fuselage frame looked complete and the engine was in place.

DH 83C Fox Moth - ZK-AQB,well advanced.  I will do a separate post on this aircraft.

DH 85 Leopard Moth - this looked quite advanced with the fuselage and wings covered.

DH 88 Comet - this is a project that was started in Canada, but has not had much done to it for some time.

DH 89 Dominie/Dragon Rapide - this aircraft is for a cusomer in Australia (this was stored in the Aviation Heritage Centre hangar).

DH 94 Moth Minor - the fuselage was on its undercarriage.

DHC 1 Chipmunks - there were 2 of these under restoration.  One was a yellow ex-Indian Air Force example with the bubble canopy while the other had the standard canopy.

And finally, an Auster Autocar was also under restoration.

Very interesting!

Southern Miscellany #2

Now for another batch of aircraft as spotted on our Southern run around.

 Above at Rangitata Island the Rans S-6ES Coyote II ZK-JOA (c/n 01051632) had just completed its first flight on 08-11-2014 since a refurbishment by Russell Brodie of East Canterbury Aviation.

It had been originally registered to Ireland Partnership of Waimate on 05-06-2008.

It is now on line at Rangitata Island.

 The Cessna 180D ZK-PKM is c/n 50966 and was flown over from Australia June of 1993 and took up the initials of its new owners Paul and Ken MacDonald of Swannanoa on 15-07-1993.

See :- http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/queenstown-this-day-10th-may-2014.html

It is seen above on Ron McAulay's strip at Wanaka.

 

Below is the Cirrus SR22 VH-CPE (c/n 0851) as seen at Christchurch on 07-11-2014.

It was on delivery to new owners at Wanaka.

It began life as N5004R before moving to Australia to become VH-EYZ followed by VH-CPK and then VH-CPE.

On 11-11-2014 it was registered as ZK-WHL to FTK (2014) Ltd) and is seen below on 23-11-2014.

It has lost its lower black stripe !

 Below are two similar - but very different - aircraft.

 Above is the Skyleader Skyleader GP One ZK-WLB (c/n 8005005 S) as imported by Bruce Conway of SkyFreedom Aviation Ltd of Invercargill.  

Originally registered OK-SUU 49, it was shipped into Bluff on 11-12-2013 and first flown in NZ by Murray Hagen on 01-02-2014 from a strip near Manapouri.

It has been on line with U-Fly at Wanaka.

I believe this Company now has a new owner.

Above we have the Pipistrel Sinus ZK-YPM (c/n 466) as imported and registered to Soichiro Fukutake of Auckland on 10-10-2012. An ownership change to U-Fly Ltd of Wanaka was listed on 08-11-2012; with a change of address to Haast on 16-04-2014.

Southern miscellany #1

Here we have half a dozen photos taken during the last couple of weeks whilst touring in the South.

At Ashburton on 18-11-2014 the spare DC-3 wings stored in the hangar were removed outside.

 I believe these are for sale.

 Over at Queenstown on 20-11-2014 was the Boeing C40C Clipper 05-0730 of the USAF. This is/was 737-7DM c/n 34807 and ex N1786B, N1779B and N365BJ.

 At Wanaka we caught the as yet unregistered Hornet (I believe it is to be ZK-CCM2).

Its fuselage was on display at the last Wanaka Air Show.

 

Two Cessna 172s were noted at Wanaka on 23-11-2014 undergoing SID inspection. I expect only one will survive.

Above is 172F ZK-CHO (c/n 17251967) which was with the Wakatipu Aero Club when it was badly damaged on 15-01-2011 when ZK-FKS was blown onto it during a storm. Its registration was cancelled on 12-09-2011.

Below is the 172D ZK-CFD (c/n 17250279) which is still current with SAB Avionics Ltd of Wanaka.

 Below at Queenstown on the 20th was what I assume is another SID victim.

Cessna 172M ZK-TJG (c/n 17261920) was last registered to t G Pilot Services but its registration was cancelled on 15-04-2014. This one began its NZ career as ZK-DMH in 1973.

Dargaville from Jean210

Jean210 sent in these two shots from Dargaville taken yesterday 27-11-2014.

 Super Air has made Dargaville its Northland base of operations, and the current resident is FU24-950M ZK-CML (msn 116).

 

Below is Peter Maw's very utilitarian looking, Matakohe-based, Schweizer 269C-1 ZK-IPM (msn 0273) dropped in for a fill up.

A couple from NZAR yesterday.

Magnaman captured these two aircraft at Ardmore yesterday (27-11-2014)

 Cessna 182S ZK-MDH (c/n 18280617) as listed with Coringa Holdings was noted as being for sale.

The Piper PA-34-200T ZK-MIE (c/n 34-8170056) from Southern Wings joins their Piper PA-28-181 ZK-MIL and the Alpha R2160 ZK-SWY at Ardmore.

See:- http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/southern-aircraft-at-ardmore-11-8-14.html

Omarama, Mount Cook and Pukaki

These first two shots are from Omarama on the 24th.

The Diamond DA40 Diamond Star ZK-MTZ (c/n 40.373) is taxying out after overnighting. This is the Gaddes Brown Syndicate's aircraft that was imported in a damaged condition from the States and following repairs at Drury appeared on our register on 20-09-2011.

Glider Rolladen-Schneider LS6-18W ZK-GZK (c/n 6314) has just been assembled. This was the Glider that Terry Delore used in the 1995 World Gliding Championships at Omarama. It was then registered as OE-UKX. It returned to NZ for Nic Reekie as ZK-GZK from 18-10-2004.

Slightly confusingly its trailer still carries the "KX" markings.

The only action at Mount Cook Airfield was these two Squirrels - Above AS 350 B2 ZK-HYS3 (c/n 2447) of Heli-Works Queenstown Helicopters Ltd 2012 Ltd.

Below is the AS 350 B2 ZK-HGV (c/n 3944) which has been with The Helicopter Line Ltd since 27-09-2013.

Below we see the reincarnation of ZK-ELQ.

It resides in the terminal building at Mount Cook Airport.

The real ZK-ELQ was a Cessna A185F (c/n 18503619) ski plane between November 1978 and September 2000. It returned to the US where it is still active with Tim Turnbull out of Bend Oregon.

The Cessna 185A ZK-CBS (c/n 1850398) has been a ski plane since September of 1962.

 Just winding up at Pukaki yesterday (27-11-20124) was the Aerospatiale AS 350 BA ZK-HRQ (c/n 1311) of The Helicopter Line.

Hiding from the wind in its Pukaki hangar was the PAC 08-600 Cresco ZK-OAL (c/n 039) of Otago Airspread. This has previously operated as ZK-CRE2, ZK-NZO2 and ZK-JPJ.

http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2013/02/jardines-strip.html

Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre at Old Mandeville Airfield

The Croydon Aviaition Heritage Centre is located around 15 minutes along SH 94, North of Gore at the historic Old Mandeville Airfield, and the Centre is administered by the Croydon Aviation Heritage Trust.  Mandeville  is also the home of the Croydon Aircraft Company where restoration of old (mainly de Havilland) aircraft takes place.  The Moth cafe is also onsite and front of house at the Aviation Heritage Centre is now manned in association with the Gore District Council.

It is claimed that the Centre and the adjacent restration workshops have the largest collection of vintage de Havilland aircraft in the Southern hemisphere.  There were eight pristine de Havilland aircraft on display in the Centre when I visited, as well as another eight DH aircraft in various stages of restoration.  They all cry out for a detailed history but I will just post the photos as below:

The jewel in the crown of aircraft on display was the DH 90A Dragonfly ZK-AYR which is one of only two DH Dragonflys flying in the world today.

DH 83 Fox Moth ZK-ADI is another jewel, and is the original aircraft with which Bert Mercer started the first scheduled air service in New Zealand 75 years ago.  It has been returned to its original registration and colour scheme that it wore with Air Travel NZ Ltd of Hokitika.

DH 89B Dominie/Dragon Rapide ZK-AKY is displayed in the NAC colours that it wore when flying with our national airline up to 1963.  ZK-AKY flew the final NAC flight of the type from Whangarei to Whenuapai in December 1963.

Five DH 82A Tiger Moths were on display: ZK-ASV is painted in wartime RNZAF training colours as NZ 786,

                            DH 82A Tiger Moth ZK-ARZ,

                            DH 82A Tiger Moth ZK-BAH,

                            DH 82A Tiger Moth ZK-BFH,

                            and DH 82A Tiger Moth ZK-BRC in Mount Cook Flightseeing colours.

There were also a few non-DH vintage aircraft on display and they fitted in well with the vintage theme.  Percival Proctor 1 ZK-DPP is a relatively recent addition to the New Zealand register (2006) compared to the DH types.

Auster J 1B Aiglet ZK-AOB rounds out this selection.  You can see from the photos that the aircraft are displayed very well to allow photos, and the lighting through the windows in the hangar roof is also great for photos.  And finally in view of the above, photographyand posting  was really encouraged.

I will post more from Mandeville.