First Bombardier Challenger on the ZK register

The first Bombardier Challenger to be registered in New Zealand took flight for the first time under its ZK markings on 29 April 2020. ZK-JCJ, operated by GCH (Garden City Helicopters) Jet Operations, was delivered to Christchurch back on 09 February 2020 as N604CA (SEE HERE) and was offically placed on the ZK register a couple of weeks later. 

It's first flight as ZK-JCJ was conducted on the morning of 29 April 2020 when it conducted circuits at Christchurch, and it then flew onto Auckland. It then made a return trip to Taupo and back before heading back to Christchurch later the same day. 

https://gchaviation.com/gch-aviation-group-expands-into-luxury-charter-jet-market/

ZK-JCJ taxis for departure from Auckland destined for Christchurch 29 April 2020. 

New Zealand plays host to three foreign registered Bombardier jet aircraft - 

Challenger 604 VH-BLM registered to Auckland company BDC Aviation and Challenger 350 N300NZ operated by Southern Flight Holdings and based at Queenstown. While Global Express N599CH is often resident in either Queenstown or Christchurch.

I remember when. Bangladeshi FU24's. Update

In 1972 the Government and People of New Zealand decided it would be a good idea to gift five Fletcher FU24-950's to the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

Here we see the first two at 'Aviation Radio' at Wellington Airport being fitted with communications gear prior to their delivery flights.

ZK-DIJ was c/n 173 and was registered to Air Parts (NZ) Ltd at Hamilton on 06-11-1972 and first flew from there on the 29th.

I snapped it at Wellington on 04-12-1972 with dual nationality markings.

Its NZ registration was cancelled on 18-01-1973 for it to become S2-ABW with the Bangladesh Department of Plant Protection at Dacca.

I know not its ultimate fate.

The second aircraft was ZK-DIK c/n 174 also registered to Air Parts (NZ) Ltd at Hamilton on 06-11-1972.

It first flew on 04-01-1973 and was captured below at Wellington on 23-01-1973.                      

 Note the red spinner.

 This script was on the port side only on both aircraft.

It departed from Auckland for Norfolk Island and Brisbane on 06-03-1973 with its NZ registration being cancelled on 06-03-1973.

 It became S2-ABX later in March.

This registration was cancelled on 04-09-1981 and it reverted to ZK-DIK on 16-10-1981 to James Aviation Ltd at Hamilton. 

It was ferried back to NZ, after spending some time in Australia, before doing the Lord Howe Island to Auckland leg on 22-03-1982 bound for storage at Hamilton.
Below we see ZK-DIK at Camden NSW on 26-02-1982 thanks to David Carter.

On 12-07-1988 it departed Auckland for Lord Howe Island, was cancelled from the NZ register on the 14th, and became VH-HTB on the 22nd with F Fahey of Cowra in NSW.

Unfortunately it had a fatal wiretrike at Frogmore NSW in November 1989.

The other three Fletchers were :-

ZK-DIL c/n 175 which was listed with Air Parts (NZ) Ltd on 06-11-1972 and first flew from Hamilton on 08-03-1973.
It is seen below at Ardmore with dual nationality markings - thanks to Neville Drake and the Peter Lewis collection.
Its NZ registration was cancelled on 10-04-1973 for it to become S2-ABY.

This Bangladesh registration was cancelled on 04-09-1981 and the aircraft returned to NZ and took up its original ZK-DIL marks from 16-10-1981 with James Aviation Ltd at Hamilton.

It went to South Canterbury Aerial Top Dressing Co-Op Ltd from 08-07-1983.
Below ZK-DIL at Tekapo on 15-04-1987.

 Below at Timaru on 05-08-1988

 Again at Timaru. On 10-01-1991

 Below at Timaru again. This time on 28-06-1993

 And a furry long shot of it at work in another paint scheme near Simons Hill in the Mackenzie Country on 04-04-1995.

It was written off near Fairlie on 30-08-1997.

The 4th Fletcher was :-

ZK-DMP c/n 178 which was listed with Air Parts (NZ) Ltd on 31-05-1973, first flying on 10-08-1973 and then registered to Dalcom Aviation Training Ltd of Wanganui from 12-06-1974. 

After only a short stay it was back with NZ Aerospace Industries Ltd (NZAI) at Hamilton from 31-07-1974.

Above. ZK-DMP/S2-ABZ as seen at Hamilton with spray equipment fitted.

 Another Neville Drake photo.

It passed through Norfolk Island on 08-09-1974 on a demo tour of South East Asia. 

As a interesting aside - it had been painted as S2-ABZ in NZ - but after its NZ registration was cancelled on 03-0-1974 it actually became S2-AAG with the Bangladesh Department of Plant Protection. 

After being withdrawn it was restored to its old ZK-DMP registration on 16-10-1981 but remained in Australia becoming VH-KXT in mid-December of 1981 via Pays Air Service before moving to Col  Adams of Cootamundra NSW from 22-12-1981 with whom it is still listed.

VH-KXT is seen above at Cootamundra on 18-06-1987 thanks to Daniel Carter.
And below on 19-10-2019 at Cootamundra by Bidgee.

And the fifth was :-

ZK-DMQ c/n 180 which was listed with NZAI Ltd at Hamilton on 25-06-1973, first flying on 05-03-1974. .

It is seen above at Mangere on 29-03-1974 thanks to R W Kerr via the Peter Lewis collection.
The NZ registration was cancelled on 14-05-1974 and it became S2-ABZ

It was restored to ZK-DMQ 16-10-1981 with James Aviation Ltd of Hamilton but also remained in Australia becoming VH-EMQ2 on 07-09-1983 with Hazelton Air Services Pty Ltd and was noted with D Jones at Kempton in Tasmania in 1985 and then with J and R Wild Pty Ltd at Tenterfield NSW, with whom it is still current.
And below at Tenterfield on 11-02-1994 from Geoff Goodhall.

Zenair CH 801s (Only One) of New Zealand

The next up sports aircraft to be registered was the four seater Zenair CH 801:

The Zenair CH 801 was designed by Chris Heintz as a follow on from his successful CH 701 series.  It first appeared in 1999 and an improved model the CH 801 SD is still available as a kit.  It is quite a capable back country plane with its STOL capability and a 1,000 pound useable load.

Specifications are: length 24 feet 6 inches (7.47 metres), the wingspan is 27 feet (8.23 metres) and the wing area is 167 square feet.  The empty weight is around 1,150 pounds (475 Kg) and the MAUW in New Zealand is 2,200 pounds (997kg).  The standard engine is the 180 HP Lycoming O-360 which gives a cruise of 105 mph (91 knots) while the stall speed is 39 mph (34 knots).

We have had just the one Zenair CH 801 in New Zealand, as follows:

Our sole Zenair CH 801 was built in 2002 in Austria as OE-KWJ.  It was imported into New Zealand in 2014 and was registered as ZK-PIP4 (c/n 801-141) to Addis Holdings Ltd (Brent Addis) of Papakura on 4/8/14.  It was assembled at Pioneer Aero at Ardmore where it is photo'd above and below on 23/2/15.

I never saw it flying, but here is a nicer photo taken at Tauranga on 6/10/15.

Ownership changed to Wilson's Farm Tekapo Ltd of Christchurch on 28/11/19 and I understand that it is now based at Rangiora.

Tecnam Astores of New Zealand

Next up for 2014 was the Tecnam Astore:

Tecnam is unique among sport aircraft manufacturers in that it builds both certified and LSA/sport aircraft.  It offers a range of four LSA/ Sport aircraft - two high wing (the entry level P 92 and the more up market P 2008) and two low wing (the entry level Sierra and the more up market Astore).

The Astore (Goshawk in Italian) was designed by Professor Luigi Pascale and was introduced at Aero Freidrichshafen in 2013.  Its construction is of a welded tube steel with aluminium skins and composite fairings including the rear upper fuselage, cowling and wingtips.  The wings are all aluminium with large trailing edge flaps and the main undercarriage is of spring steel while the castoring nose wheel undercarriage is constructed from a steel tube leg with an oleo-pneumatic damper.  It comes with a comprehensive avionics package.

Specifications are:  length 7.00 metres (23 feet), wingspan 8.65 metres (28 feet 5 inches) and the wing area is 131 square feet.  the empty weight is around 830 pounds (376 Kg) and the Astore is registered as an LSA in New Zealand meaning the MAUW is 1.323 pounds (600 Kg).   Engines can be Rotaxes between 100 HP and the 114 HP Rotax 914, and with 100 HP the cruise speed is around 120 mph (104 knots) while the stall speed with full flaps is around 40 mph (35 knots).

We have had three Tecnam Astores in New Zealand to date:

Our first Astore ZK-AST2 (c/n 015) was registered to Tecnam Australasia Ltd of Papakura on 5/8/14 and first flew in New Zealand from Ardmore on 21/8/14.  It was used as Tecnam's demonstrator aircraft and is photo'd as such at the 2014 Black Sands flyin at Raglan, on 5/11/14.

It was sold to Paul Carran of Auckland on 2/6/15 and it is photo'd above under his ownership at Dargaville on 24/2/18.  More recently  Paul Carran bought the RV 8 ZK-EYT2 and the Astore was sold to W N Stables of Wellington, on 28/7/19.

Our second Astore was ZK-MSV (c/n 036) was registered on 31/3/15 to Progress Partners Ltd of Te Awamutu (Michael and Sue Visser) and it is photo'd in the Tecnam hangar at Ardmore being assembled, on 1/4/15.

It is photo'd above at the 2019 Black Sands flyin at Raglan, on 9/11/19.

And our third Astore to date also has its owners initials.  ZK-RGH (c/n 041) was registered on 7/9/15 to Cambridge Bee Products of Cambridge (Richard G Haddrell) and then to Benn Road Ltd also of Cambridge on 12/5/16.  It is photo'd above at Tauranga on 4/10/17.

I reckon we might see more Astores here, but the latest Mk II Sierra looks like an Astore and has similar performance for less cost.

I remember when.

In 1972 the Government and People of New Zealand decided it would be a good idea to gift five Fletcher FU24-950's to the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

Here we see the first two at 'Aviation Radio' at Wellington Airport being fitted with communications gear prior to their delivery flights.

ZK-DIJ was c/n 173 and was registered to Air Parts (NZ) Ltd at Hamilton on 06-11-1972 and first flew from there on the 29th.

I snapped it at Wellington on 04-12-1972 with dual nationality markings.

Its NZ registration was cancelled on 18-01-1973 for it to become S2-ABW with the Bangladesh Department of Plant Protection at Dacca.

I know not of its ultimate fate.

The second aircraft was ZK-DIK c/n 174 also registered to Air Parts (NZ) Ltd at Hamilton on 06-11-1972. It first flew on 04-01-1973 and was captured below at Wellington on 23-01-1973.                      

 Note the red spinner.

 This script was on the port side only on both aircraft.

It departed from Auckland for Norfolk Island and Brisbane on 06-03-1973 with its NZ registration being cancelled on 06-03-1973.

 It became S2-ABX later in March.

This registration was cancelled on 04-09-1981 and it reverted to ZK-DIK on 16-10-1981 to James Aviation Ltd at Hamilton. 

It was ferried back to NZ, spending some time in Australia, before doing the Lord Howe Island to Auckland leg on 22-03-1982 bound for storage at Hamilton.

On 12-07-1988 it departed Auckland for Lord Howe Island, was cancelled from the NZ register on the 14th, and became VH-HTB on the 22nd with F Fahey of Cowra in NSW.

Unfortunately it had a fatal wiretrike at Frogmore NSW in November 1989.

The other three Fletchers were :-

ZK-DIL c/n 175 which became S2-ABY until returning to NZ as ZK-DIL in October of 1981. 

It went to South Canterbury Aerial Top Dressing Co-Op Ltd in July 1983. 

It was written off near Fairlie on 30-08-1997.

ZK-DMP c/n 178 was listed with Air Parts (NZ) Ltd on 31-05-1973, first flying on 10-08-1973 and then registered to Dalcom Aviation Training Ltd of Wanganui from 12-06-1974. 

After only a short stay it was back with NZ Aerospace Industries Ltd (NZAI) at Hamilton from 31-07-1974. 

It passed through Norfolk Island on 08-09-1974 on a demo tour of South East Asia. 

As a interesting aside - it had been painted as S2-ABZ in NZ - but after its NZ registration was cancelled on 03-0-1974 it actually became S2-AAG with the Bangladesh Department of Plant Protection. 

After being withdrawn it was restored to its old ZK-DMP registration on 16-10-1981 but remained in Australia becoming VH-KXT in mid-December of 1981 via Pays Air Service before moving to Col  Adams of Cootamundra NSW from 22-12-1981 with whom it is still listed.

ZK-DMQ c/n 180 was listed with NZAI Ltd at Hamilton on 25-06-1973, first flying on 05-03-1974 and was cancelled on 14-05-1974 and became S2-ABZ. 

It was restored to ZK-DMQ 16-10-1981 with James Aviation Ltd of Hamilton but also remained in Australia becoming VH-EMQ and is still active with J & R Wild Pty Ltd at Tenterfield NSW.

Elmwood Aviation Christavia Mk 1s (Only One) of New Zealand

The next type of sport aircraft to appear here in 2014 was the Elmwood Aviation Christavia Mk 1:

The Elmwood Aviation Christavia Mk 1 is a two tandem seat Canadian design by Ron Mason, and was designed for use in missionary flying in Africa (hence the name).  It first flew in 1982 and plans were marketed by Elmwood Aviation of Frankford, Ontario but the rights to the design are now owned by the Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Company.  Ron Mason went on to design the side by side two seater Christavia Mk II  and the four seat Christavia Mk IV and the various models have been built in small numbers (around 100 worldwide) over the years.  The Christavia Mk 1 is constructed from a welded 4130 steel tube fuselage with mainly wooden wings that don't have flaps.

Specifications for the Christavia Mk 1 are: length 20 feet 8 inches (6.30 metres), wingspan 32 feet 6 inches (9.91 metres) and the wing area is a generous 146 square feet.  Empty weight is around 745 pounds (338 Kg) and in New Zealand the MAUW is 1,500 pounds (680 Kg).  Engines can be from 65 HP to 100 HP, and with the standard 65 HP the cruise is around 105 mph (91 knots) and the stall speed is around 40 mph (35 knots) which is pretty good considering it does not have flaps.

We have had only one Christavia Mk 1 in New Zealand and I reckon we may not see any more.

Our sole Elmwood Aviation Christavia Mk 1 was started quite a few years ago by Russell Scott of Balclutha who also built Jodel D 11 ZK-RSB.  However it was not completed at that time and the project changed hands to Peter C Johnson of Milton, near Balclutha.  Then the aircraft was sent to Craig Miller of Custom Aviation at Taieri for finishing.  It was registered ZK-PCJ2 (c/n 635) to Peter C Johnson on 28/3/14 and it was was test flown at Taieri by John Penno on 15/7/14.  It is photo'd above in the Custom Aviation hangar at Taieri on 21/11/14 during its 50 hour inspection, where you can see the Continental O-200 engine installation.

And here it is at the 2015 SAANZ flyin at Ashburton, on 7/2/15.

From my letter box

A CD arrived in my letter box last week.

Apart from being postmarked Balclutha there were no other details.

Here is a short clip from that disc.

ZK-MOS at Ardmore 2012.

Turn your volume up.

Thank you Anonymous. 

ANZAC Day Centennial Celebrations 2015 (2) The Aircraft

After attending the Centennial dawn service at the Pukeahu War Memorial,  I headed over to the Wairarapa with Greybeard to catch the action around The Vintage Aviator's flying activities.

The first Anzac Day observance was held on 25 April 1915 at the small church at Tinui, around 30 kilometres East of Masterton and so it was fitting that TVAL provided a flyover of the 2015 Anzac Day service at Tinui (and they do so every year except of course for the last 2 years when sad circumstances have got in the way).  The weather continued to be great and there were lots of TVAL WW 1 aircraft out in the sun.  It was a most memorable day.

The DH 5 and two SE 5As preparing for their flight over Tinui

The late model BE 2c under the flying wires of the BE 2f

BE 2f and BE 2c lineup.

The flyover trio returned from Tinui.

To the unprepared Albatros D VA

Delticman scored a flight in the BE 2f

Later on the post WW 1 silver Sopwith Snipe was pushed out of the hangar into the sun.

Sopwith duo of the Triplane and the Snipe along with a replica Brooklands Bentley (click to enlarge to see the poppy on the headlight of the Bentley)..

Then the Germans came out to play - An Albatros D VA taxies out.

And the Albatros D II climbed out.

Here they are overhead, showing the differing wing layouts.

Then near the end of the day Gene De Marco strapped in to the Sopwith Camel and gave a spirited flying display.

And finally at rest in the setting sun.

I wonder if we will see another Anzac Day like it with TVAL.  

I hope so.  Kia Kaha TVAL.