A quick business trip through to Whangarei provided a brief chance to check out the activity at Onerahi airfield on Wednesday late afternoon.
Parked out next to the tower was a visitor from Tauranga, ZK-DEX/2. This worked previously as ZK-ELG until adopting its new guise in 2004.

A bit further along, the old Northland Districts Aero Club building is now the Sunair terminal. At least three of their fleet were visible, with Aztec ZK-FVP/2 being the best placed to photograph.
With previous history in both the UK and Australia, this aircraft has been in the country since 2011.

Outside the flying club hangar the local B22 Bantam 700E ZK-JJI was receiving attention, while inside the Magni Gyro M-24 Gyrocopter ZK-MWR rested.
 A bit further along, the Hopper-owned  Fly Synthesis Texan  ZK-TXS/2 was parked out in the shade.

Over at Kensington Park the Air Ambulance people had the ex-Royal Jordanian Air Force Sikorsky S-76A Spirit ZK-ISJ ready to go.
(As a side note, Kensigton Park was Whanagarei's first land airfield, the centre of the racecourse there being used as such by visiting Avro 504s back in the early days).

A quick look this morning revealed Tecnam Sierra ZK-TST outside in the cold clear weather. This was the first P2002 to fly in this country, back in December 2003.

Titan T 51 Mustangs of New Zealand (1) - the Rotax Mustangs

The next type of sport aircraft to be registered here was the Titan Mustang which is a 2 seater and has proved to be very popular with 20 of the aircraft registered in New Zealand to date.

The original Titan Mustang was designed to use a Rotax 912 or 914 engine and it performed well with this power.  In fact the 75% scale Mustang had been a dream of John Williams of the Titan Aircraft Company of South Austinberg, Ohio since the early 1990s but a suitable engine was not available until the arrival of the Rotax 912 in 2002 which could fit into the scaled nose.  However the propeller was smaller than scale and some thought that this detracted from the look of the aircraft.  I understand that propeller "extenders" are available for fitting on the ground for a better look.

The fuselage is constructed from a chromoloy steel frame with aluminium skins and the aircraft is designed to allow +6G and -4G.  It is supplied as a kit with many of the assemblies pre-built including the centre section, spar and forward wing, flaps and ailerons and the pre-welded fuselage frame.

With a Rotax 912 ULS of 100 HP the cruise speed of the Titan Mustang UL is around 150 mph, the stall speed is around 40 mph and the rate of climb is around 1200 feet per minute.  The dimensions of the Titan Mustang are: length 23 feet 6 inches (7.16 metres), wingspan 24 feet (7.32 metres) and the wing area is 118 square feet.  Empty weight is around 850 pounds (355 Kg) and MAUW is 1200 pounds (544 Kg).

Our first few Titan Mustangs had the Rotax engine and I detail all of our Rotax engined aircraft below.  We have had eight to date and they are all still current.

Ivan Campbell of Campbell Aero Classics is the Australasian agent for the Titan Mustang and he built the first Titan Mustang to be registered:  ZK-MSY (c/n 0035) which he first registered to the Campbell Aviation Company Ltd on 2/3/06.  It is powered by a Rotax 912 ULS engine.  It carries the name "Loburn Lady" on the nose (reflecting the Campbell's base at Loburn Abbey and features the code NZT5135 on the tail which reflects the constructors number.  The above photo was taken at the 2009 Wings Over Wairarapa airshow, on 17/1/09.

Bill W McWilliam of Masterton built the second Titan Mustang to be registered, using his initials for the registration; ZK-WWM.  It was registered on 6/10/06 and has the c/n M004XXX50HK0038 (I guess this is the full version of the c/n and that many other Titan Mustangs just use the last 4 numbers for their c/n).  It is powered by a turbocharged Rotax 914 engine.  It carries the serial NZT5138 on the tail.  The above photo was taken at the RAANZ flyin at Masterton on 12/3/11 where it can be seen that the aircraft is fitted with drop tanks that I understand reduce the speed considerably.

Next up was ZK-DGM2 (c/n M05XXXSOHK0068) which was built by Kerry Millar of Christchurch and was registered to Kerry E and Linda Millar of Christchurch on 11/7/07.  It carries the name "linda Lovelace" on the name and the serial NZT5168 on the tail.  The photo was taken at its home base at Rangiora on 22/8/14, where the Rotax cylinder heads can be seen inside the engine bay..

ZK-AKL2 (c/n 0070) was built by a group from NZ Warbirds and was registered to Titan 51 Mustang Ltd of Manakau on 2/4/08.  I understand that a lot of work was put into the finish of this aircraft including all the rivets being solid flush rivets.  It is painted in the colours of the No 1 (Auckland) TAF Squadron of the RNZAF and carries the number 70 on the tail reflecting its c/n.

It is photo'd here at an airshow at North Shore airfield on 26/2/11, the only time I have ever seen it fly, and it seems to have disappeared since.

ZK-TVG (c/n 0058) was built at Tauranga by Vaughan Peters and Geoff Pascoe and was first registered to the TVG Syndicate of Tauranga on 18/7/08.  It made its first flight in September 2008, powered by a Rotax 912 ULS engine.  It is named "Isobel" and its colour scheme is inspired by the Mustang "Double Trouble 2".  It carries the serial 080058 on its tail.  On 20/2/15 ownership transferred to Gary D Marsh of Inglewood and the aircraft is very active from its base at Stratford, where the above photo was taken on 15/5/15.

ZK-PCA2 (c/n M05XXXSOHK0079) was built by Peter Anderson and was registered to the Anderson Family Trus of Mosgiel on 16/2/10.  It is painted to represent Mustang NZ 2426 of the No 4 (Otago) TAF Squadron RNZAF which was based at Taieri in the early to mid 1950s.  The above photo was taken at Taieri on 25/12/12.

ZK-WUH (c/n 0059) was built at Mike Crene's Kiwi Mustangs facility at Matamata, and was first registered on 21/10/10 to John H Richards of Darfield (and later of Riwaka where it is based at Motueka).  It is powered by a Rotax 912 ULS and has a constant speed prop.. It is photo'd above at the 2011 SAANZ flyin at Ashburton on 4/2/11.

That is seven of the eight Rotax powered Titan Mustangs.  The eighth one is ZK-LSD (c/n 172) that is another one from Kiwi Mustangs.  It was registered on 26/5/16 to Mike Adams of Stratford and later Wanganui.  It is painted as USAF Mustang 412943 from the Korean war with Tigers Teeth and a yellow spinner.  This Mustang survived the war and after a many years in Uruguay, in 1985 it was shipped back to the USA and restored as N151JT being completed in 2013 when it was judged the EAA AirVenture Post WW 2 grand champion.  Below is a photo of what ZK-LSD may look like - I understand that it will be revealed in the next few weeks.

ZK-HOP at Ardmore 30-5-18

Seen on the Airbus ramp yesterday afternoon was Eurocopter AS 350 B2 ZK-HOP msn 4857 of Helisika Agricultural Ltd but wearing Helinorth titles.

Pauanui LSA's

Some settled weather at last on the Coromandel has brought a number of LSA visitors to Pauanui over the last few days including the Aeroprakt 22LS Foxbat ZK-LFP from Tuakau

Newly imported Bristell S-LSA ZK-NGZ from Taupiri

And from Auckland the DynAero MCR01 ZK-WIK keeping Europa XS ZK-CHV company..

Tauranga 28-05-2018

The Cessna 172S ZK-TAI3 is c/n 1729752 which is a re-registration of ZK-COS2.

This 172 was built as N643DB and listed with Cessna Aircraft Company of Wichita, Kansas in about mid-December of 2004 and was cancelled from the US register on 30-12-2004 as sold to NZ.

It was registered as ZK-COS2 on 22-03-2005 to ZK-COS Ltd of Porirua before officially joining the Kapiti Districts Aero Club Inc at Paraparaumu on 26-05-2005.

Flightline Aviation Ltd of Ardmore took it over from 31-07-2006, passing it on to CTC Aviation Training (NZ) Ltd of Hamilton from 15-06-2007. 

At the end of August 2011 Izard Pacific Aviation Ltd of Taupo became the listed owner followed  by Skywest Aviation Ltd at New Plymouth from 01-07-2014. 

The the Tauranga Aero Club (Inc) got their hands on it from 20-01-2017 briefly before Sunair Aviation Ltd listed it from April the 1st. They operated it for some six months before it returned to the Tauranga Aero Club. They re-registered it as ZK-TAI3 on 01-10-2017.

It returned to Tauranga today after having had its avionics upgraded at Ardmore.

The earlier ZK-TAI's labels were attached to a Cessna 337F Skymaster (Squashmaster), followed by an Embraer EMB-110P1 Banderante (Bandit).

An early Bantam at Greymouth.

This neat monochrome photograph from Sheryl Locke shows an early Micro Aviation Bantam flying near the Greymouth Aerodrome with the old Victoria Park stables in the bottom of the view.

We believe that it is being flown by Graham Clements.

Anybody recognise the Bantam ?

A comment on Comments.

For the last couple of weeks we have been receiving comments on this blog site that have no connection with our main subject.

I am therefore currently 'Moderating' all comments before they are published.

This has lead to some delay before your comments get posted.

We welcome your comments.

So please bear with this delay for a little longer.

Cheers

Fly Synthesis Texans of New Zealand

The next type of sport aircraft to be registered in New Zealand was the Fly Synthesis Texan, the first example of which was registered on 17/2/06.  That was the same date that our first Fly Synthesis Storch ZK-FOS2 was registered and the Fly Synthesis local representative Alan Jessop told me that both aircraft were shipped to Lyttleton in the same container and assembled at Rangiora by Brian Taylor (who then flew ZK-FOS2 North to Dargaville).

The Fly Synthesis Texan was introduced in 1999 and is manufactured by Fly Synthesis S.r.l. of Mortegliano in Italy, who also manufacture the Storch as well as the Wallaby, the Synchro and the Catalina amphibian.  The Texan is an all composite low wing 2 seater with a tricycle undercarriage.  It comes in several models including a retractable gear model that we haven't had in New Zealand.   The Texan Top Class has a length of 6.90 metres (22 feet 8 inches), a wingspan of 8.60 metres (28 feet 3 inches and a wing area of 127 square feet.  Empty weight is around 290 Kg (640 pounds) and MAUW is 449 Kg (990 pounds).  With a 100 HP Rotax ULS engine the cruise speed is around 124 mph, while the stall speed is 40 mph.

We have had five Fly Synthesis Texans in New Zealand to date, as follows:

Our first Texan Top Class was ZK-TXN (c/n 61) which was first registered to Aeroflight Aviation Ltd (Colin Marshall) on 17/2/06.  It is photo'd above at Rangiora on 27/3/06.  It did not hang around for long as it was cancelled on 17/07/07 and was exported to Australia where it became 24-5131.

Next up was ZK-TTX (c/n 000074), a Texan Top Class, which was first registered to the Northern Wairoa Aero Club at Dargaville on 7/3/07.  It is photo'd above at the 2008 SAANZ flyin at Tauranga on 6/2/08.  It has lived all of its life in Northland as on 1/9/13 it was sold to Baden R Bickers of Ruawai.  It is hangared at the Ruawai airstrip but I have never seen it flying from there.

Then followed another Texan Top Class in the form of ZK-TKP2 (c/n F700960512/550) which was first registered to Herdhome Systems Ltd of Whangarei (Thomas G  and Kathleen Pow, hence the registration), on 28/2/08.  On 27/3/12 it was registered to Maikato Corporation Ltd of Whangarei.  It is another aircraft that has lived all its life in Northland but I have never seen it.  Nick Furmage took the photo, at Stratford on 6/6/10.

The next Texan to be registered was the upgraded 600 model, with ZK-TXS2 (c/n F80098202/600), which was registered to the TXS Syndicate of Whangarei (R P Miller) on 5/6/08.  It is photo'd above at a flyin at Parakai on 27/2/10.  On 14/6/16 ownership transferred to Michael C Hopper of Orewa and Mike flies his Texan extensively around the Northland area.

After a bit of a gap the Dargaville Aero Club replaced their previous Texan ZK-TTX with a new Texan Club registered ZK-TXN2 (c/n F2CH1500D17E - where do these c/ns come from?) on 10/10/13.  The Club model has an 80 HP fuel injected Rotax 912is engine.  The above photo was taken at Dargaville on 29/3/14 outside the Aero Club hangar where you can just make out the lettering Northern Wairoa Aero Club.

We might see more Fly Synthesis Texans in the future as they are still being manufactured, but there is a lot of competition in this aircraft class.

ZK & VH Aircraft at Wellington International

When I was in Wellington a couple of days ago, there were quite a few ZK and VH airliners coming and going:

My flight from Auckland on Sunday was in the NZ domestic Jetstar A 320 VH-VFN and we arrived under a spectacular Altocumulus Lenticularis cloud arch.  The photo was taken from inside the terminal hence the tint.

Then on Monday afternoon I was pleased to do some plane spotting with No 2 grandson.  The ZK-registered Star Alliance liveried Air New Zealand trans-Tasman A 320 ZK-OJH departed.

 while the ZK-registered QANTAS (Jet Connect) B 737-800 ZK-ZQG "Earnest Rutherford" arrived.

and the identical looking QANTAS B 737-800 VH-XZN "Wagga Wagga" departed.

And another trans Tasman departee was the Virgin Australia B 737-800 VH-YIS named "casuarina beach".

Air Chathams SAAB 340s at Auckland International 20-5-2018

Outside the Air Chathams base at Auckland International on Sunday were their two airworthy SAAB 340s in a nice position for photos:

Both of the SAABs with their third one ZK-CIY2, still marked as N135GU in the background.

Their new one is ZK-CIZ2, which is ex N357GU, and has been registered to Air Chathams since 24/1/18..  

while ZK-KRA has been around since August 2015.

These aircraft have long histories - care to expand Blue Bus?

Beaver ZK-SBV.

 Now too large to fit into its hangar at Motueka is the De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver  c/n 763.

As can be seen this will soon become ZK-SBV.

 Note the two extra fuselage side windows and the wing and tail fences now fitted to this airframe.

For much more on this aircraft click HERE.

Photographs captured at Motueka on Sunday  the 20th  by Lord Nelson.

North Shore airfield

A brief visit to North Shore airfield today revealed a couple of interesting aircraft,  firstly the Maule MXT7-180A ZK-RLT which was imported from South Africa earlier in the year.

And not often seen out and about the Tecnam P96 ZK-JGH

Rangiora arrivals this day 17-05-2018

 Two items of interest interfered with my potato top pie scoffing at lunch time today at Rangiora.

Above is the locally based Avid Heavy Hauler UL ZK-OST (c/n 1543-E) which has been in the care of Max Earnshaw since last September.

 Earlier posts on OST can be seen Here.

 An unusual radio call sign and the sound of a couple of TIO-540's had me out of the CRAC Clubhouse pdq to capture the Ted Smith 601B Aerostar ZK-JOS (c/n 61-0361-116) as listed with Coventry Motors Ltd of Auckland.

Check this Link for an earlier post on this aircraft.

ATR ZK-MCF

Still cluttering up the hard stand at Christchurch International Airport today was the Aerospatiale-Alenia ATR72-212A ZK-MCF2 (c/n 600).

See more on this airframe HERE

Ardmore helicopters on Monday.

A rather belated post, on my part, of two images provided by Keith Morris of his visit to Ardmore on Monday the 14th.

Below is the MBB MBB-BKK117 B-2 as seen on Monday.

It was registered as ZK-HIQ4 (c/n 7009) on Wednesday the 16th to Airwork (NZ) Ltd.

This is one of a batch of ex ADAC BK's acquired by Airwork.

 Below a photo of ZK-HIQ4 in its previous German marks of D-HBKK.

Below - also on Monday.

Over at Oceania Keith spotted these two unmarked Eurocopter AS332L Super Puma's.

Question Time # 201 resolved.

Chocolate fish all round.

We are near enough to the correct answer for the main item thanks to Anonymous.

It is a Lake LA-250 Renegade.

This example is indeed the Australian registered example currently lurking as VH-WMW at Rangiora.

It started life as N8419X and escaped to Australia to become VH-JLV from mid October of 1992. 

It was re-registered as VH-AWD in 1992 and then to VH-WMW on 10-12-1998.

 The weight is on the port side of the rudder only.

 It ferried into Kerikeri from Oz on 03-05-2018.

 We already have just the single example on the NZ register as ZK-RFH.

Seen below at Wanaka on 25-03-2016.

We have had eight of the smaller LA-4 Buccaneers on our register.
There is just the one - ZK-DNK - still currently listed.

If 'Anonymous' would like to email me his postal address I will forward the promised fish.

It will be interesting to see how many Anonymous's reply !

My email is in the blog header photo.

For Mit.

Yes that it ZK-BEE Mk1 Wild.

Although it is likely to end up bee-coming FOD.