Friday 30 October 2015

NZRT 30-10-2015

Rangiora today - 30-10-2015.
The Rans S-6 ZK-DYM (c/n 04051657) was on site today,
This is the first time I recall seeing it wearing its new wings. See links below.
Over in Graeme Main's hangar the Bobcat ZK-JKI was parked with a for sale sign on its nose.
What a neat little Christmas present it would be.

Whist I was taking the Bobcat photo - Graeme taxied back in his Facet Saphire ZK-SAP (c/n MAANZ/486).
This was its second flight since Graeme re-purchased it back from up North.

First Kiwi Explorer

Faram Group/Rotorforce in conjunction with MD Helicopters have announced the NZCAA first of type acceptance for the MD900/902 Explorer series twin engined NOTAR helicopter ahead of the East Coast operator registering ZK-IYN c/n 900-00054. A photo of the helicopter, wearing its ZK markings, can be found in the press release document HERE


Tuesday 27 October 2015

Question time # 181 resolved.

Question time # 181 has been resolved by Allan.

The crest is worn on the Minicab ZK-DMM.

ZK-DMM (c/n AACA/180) was built by G L Hall of Auckland and first flew on 07-08-1975 and features a sprung steel undercarriage.
It was sold to F S Martin of Patumahoe on 06-12-1978 and then to David R King of Matamata on 02-03-1989.
The pic below shows ZK-DMM at the AACA flyin at Tauranga in 1992 - thanks to the Keith Morris collection.

Mike Fleming of the Lillybank Syndicate purchased it from 07-10-1998.
The four pics below taken at Rangiora on 17-10-2015.






Monday 26 October 2015

Magnaman comes South # 4

Magnman captured these four shots at Queenstown on the 25th. 
 Milford Sound Flights Ltd operate three Britten Norman BN2A Islander aircraft. 
Above is BN2A-26 ZK-DBV (c/n 164).
Below. Also operated by Milford Sound Flights is this Gippsland GA8 Airvan ZK-ZQN2 (c/n GA8-13-196).
Over The Top Ltd's Eurocopter EC 130 B4 ZK-IUP (c/n 4118) has been  on line at Queenstown since October of 2006.
This final, long shot,from Magnaman shows the Aero L-39C ZK-CCP2 (c/n 332639) as operated by the ADT Trust.


Magnaman comes South # 3

On the 24th Magnaman visited Glenorchy and found the McDonnell Douglas MD500N NOTAR ZK-IJW (c/n LN016) at work.
IJW is registered to Action Helicopters Ltd of Upper Moutere and wears a small sign advising that it is operated by Action Helicopters but proudly displays a larger Heliglenorchy sign on the fuselage and their WWW address along the tail boom.
Now where does Hidden Lakes (2008) fit into all this ?
Also operating from Glenorchy is the NZ Aerospace FU24-950 Walter conversion ZK-PDZ3 (c/n  157). This Fletcher initially went to Australia as a 950 with a Lycoming IO-720 engine but returned to NZ and became ZK-NZS2 on 09-02-2004 and was listed as a Walter conversion on 20-02-2004. It began its meat bombing at Wigram with Skydive Tandem before going to Skydive Glenorchy on 15-09-2011 with a change of registration to ZK-PDZ3 on 02-12-2011. 
Title changed to Skydive Queenstown on 17-10-2012.
It wears Skydive Paradise on its fuselage side.
Something different was the Cessna 680 Sovereign VH-EXG (c/n 680-0072) as registered to Melbourne Air Holdings Pty Ltd and operated by Executive Airlines Pty Ltd of Essendon. 
Below we have the Aerospatiale AS 350B2 ZK-HQN3 (c/n 3909) of Heli Tours Ltd.
 This was briefly ZK-IEO on import from June to August 2014.

Shot through the wire fence was the Heli-Works Queenstown Helicopters Ltd Robinson R44 Raven II ZK-ILS (c/n 13212).
The Glenorchy Air Services and Tourist Co Ltd Gippsland GA8 Airvan ZK-LOR [for Lord of the Rings] is c/n GA8-03-034 and took up duties at Queenstown in September 2003.
ZK-IBV above is Aerospatiale AS 350B2 (c/n 3761). It has been with The Helicopter Line Ltd since November 2012.

Magnaman comes South # 2

Over at the Transport and Toy Museum on the 23rd we see:-
 The Antonov AN2 LY-AKH (c/n 1G16037) which still sits just inside one of the hangar doors surrounded by other Museum items.
 A reasonably recent addition to the Museum collection is this Aero Commander 500 ZK-CWP1 (c/n 500-842-90). This aircraft of 1960 vintage was withdrawn from use and eventually its registration was revoked on 03-07-2002. 
It then went to the Air New Zealand Engineering Training Services facility at Christchurch International Airport. 
ZK-CWP was declared surplus when ANZETS moved to their new building recently.
 SE5A Replica ZK-SET1  (c/n AACA/266) has been mentioned before in these pages.
It is parked beside the ex ANZ Fokker F27-120A Friendship ZK-BXH (c/n 10190) which is also ex ANZETS.
The Bill Notman and Dave Whitaker Mignet HM14 Pou du Ciel ZM-AAC first flew at Alma near Oamaru on 15-03-1936. 
It was damaged i 1937 but fortunately it was stored until arriving at Wanaka.

Magnaman comes South # 1

Magnaman has just spent three days in the Wanaka - Queenstown area and has offered these pics.
 Robinson R44 Raven ZK-HOA2 (c/n 1419) of Aurum Helicopters Ltd was captured outside its hangar at the Cromwell Racecourse strip on 23-10-2015.
 Receiving some attention at Wanaka was the Skydive Wanaka Ltd's PAC 750XL ZK-ROK3 (c/n 167). 
Do a ROK search for earlier posts on this one.
 The Wanaka Helicopters Robinson R44 Raven II ZK-IST (c/n 11683) was out on its trolley at Wanaka on the 23rd.
And over at Classic Flights the De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth ZK-ALJ (c/n 83499) was hiding from the Sun.

Cessna U206G ZK-ETN

ZK-ETN is Cessna U206G Stationair 6 II c/n U206-05866.
It was allocated N6401X to the Cessna Aircraft. But this was not taken up.
Instead it became ZK-ETN to Dalhoff and King Aviation Ltd of Ardmore on 20-10-1980.
                                Next in line was B L Hore and Sons Ltd at Nokomai Station, Parawa from 23-02-1982, then to B L Hore of Parawa on 18-07-1984.
                                During 1986 it was on lease to Waterwings Airways of Te Anau.                   
It is seen below at Christchurch on 02-03-1988.
It moved up north to Rangitikei Air Services Ltd of Taihape from 06-03-1992 and carried the name “Lance Harding”.
The two pics below show it at the Fox Glacier strip on 13-04-1994 in Rangitikei titles.

On 04-05-1998 it was re-listed to J K and L M Holdings Ltd.
                                Sam and Peter Innes of Black Forest Station listed it under their Ahuriri Aviation Ltd of Arrowtown name from 30-11-06 and then it went on lease to the Wakatipu Aero Club (Inc) at Queenstown on 15-07-2007.
Below we see it at Queenstown with Air Wakatipu markings.
It was back with Ahuriri Aviation Ltd of Arrowtown on 18-02-2008 only to return to the Wakatipu Aero Club (Inc), on lease from 11-06-2008.
Now two views of ETN at Queenstown on 09-10-2008.

 And  now we look down on it from the "Club" veranda dated 18-11-2010.
An ownership change on 15-09-2011 had it listed to Keith and Kathleen Hubber of Invercargill Holdings Ltd, Queenstown Ltd, and then we see it marked up as "Alpine Air" operated by Peter Daniel as Southern Lakes Aviation. 
Photo below shows it on its usual pad outside the Wakatipu Aero Club on 22-12-2011 thanks to Henry McIntyre. Marked as "Alpine Air ".

Two views on 21-02-2013 back in "Air Wakatipu" marks and operated by Southern Lakes Aviation Ltd.


Below under Wilderness Wings ownership of Hokitika since 05-08-2015.
It has just recently been repainted and is seen here at AVTEK in Timaru on 27-08-2015.
The photo below was was taken on 25-10-2015 by Ben Patterson of Wilderness Wings at Manuka Point Station in the Upper Rakaia River at the homestead strip. 
ZK-ETN now sports larger wheels and the Company logo on the tail.
Ben says - An awesome day with some of the most changeable weather I have seen up the Rakaia, hence the array of clouds in the background. The wind was 30kts Northwest changing to Southeast, to North and then 20kts Easterly. Certainly spring has arrived up here.

Sunday 25 October 2015

Question time # 181

On which NZ aircraft you would find this crest.

Just let me know the aircraft type.

Then the  aircraft registration.
As of early this morning (25-10-2015) you have one chance in 4964 of picking the correct registration.

Saturday 24 October 2015

ZK-CWS at NZRT 24-10-2015

The fourth Piper PA-28 Cherokee on our register was ZK-BYT (c/n 28-1113)
 This Cherokee 160B was imported by Airwork (NZ) Ltd of Christchurch and registered on 14-05-1963.

The above photo from the Allan Wooller collection shows ZK-BYT outside the Airwork hangar at Christchurch prior to delivery.
On the right of this pic is the nose of Pawnee ZK-BWP which had just been registered back to Airwork on 20-05-1963 from Cookson Airspread. The 135 Cub as you can see is ZK-AZJ, which about this time had dual main wheels !.
It undertook its first NZ flight on 25-07-1963 and was listed to the Tauranga Aero Club on 19-08-1963.

The photo above shows ZK-BYT - above at Wellington on 30-01-1964 - 
and below at Tauranga on 09-02-1964. Both Dave Paull collection.
 It had an engine failure and was badly damaged in the forced landing at Quartz Hill (Makara) to the West of Wellington City on 19-05-1967.
Its registration was cancelled on 02-06-1967 and it went to the Canterbury Aero Club who rebuilt it and re-registered it on 17-04-1968 as ZK-CWS.

Above is another pic from the Allan Wooller collection which shows ZK-CWS with Canterbury Aero Club markings on its cowling.
The Club used it until it was sold to R E Clarke of Franz Josef on 06-04-1971 where it lived in an open hangar beside the main highway.
Below in its hangar at Franz Josef on 12-03-1987.

It moved on to J W and D G Knipe at Runanga from 04-02-1993 and then to Robert Hickey of Christchurch from 13-05-1998.
In September 1998 it was flown from Kaitaia to Norfolk Island and then to Lord Howe Island; returning to NZ later in the month.
Mount Hutt Helicopters Ltd took it on from 15-06-2001 followed by D K Mitchell, T R G Scott and A J Johnston from 04-10-2002 and it was on line at Wigram with the Flying School.
It is seen below at Wellington on 07-02-2007.
 Next we see it with Avmax Ltd of Christchurch from 17-07-2007.
It was listed to its current owner Blair Hoult of Knights Point Air Ltd - North of Haast on 09-11-2009.
I have a note saying that it flew from the Chatham Island to Christchurch and Ashburton on 19-12-2011 (so presumably it flew out there as well !).
Below is a pic of it seen this day at Rangiora.
Last three pics from the Dave Paull collection.

Thursday 22 October 2015

Guimbal Cabri ZK-HLU

Guimbal Cabri G2 ZK-HLU4 (c/n 1101) entered the civil register on 07-10-2015 with Christchurch Helicopters Ltd.
Seen here yesterday.
There are now 21 examples of the Cabri on our register.