Aeropro Eurofoxs of New Zealand (and a Visitor)

The last type of sport aircraft to be registered in New Zealand in 2013 was the Aeropro Eurofox:

The Eurofox is a descendant of the Avid Flyer (as is the Kitfox) that is built by Aeropro s.r.o. at their factory in Nitra-Janokovice in Slovakia.  The company was formed by four graduates with a background in aero modelling after the formation of Slovakia out of Czechoslovakia and they produced the prototype Eurofox in 1992.  It can be built from a kit or purchased as a finished aircraft, and is available in tailwheel or taildragger configurations.  It has a welded 4130 steel fuselage and a GRP undercarriage.

The specifications for the Eurofox are:  length 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 metres), wingspan 29 feet 11 inches (9.12 metres) and the wing area is 122.5 square feet.  The empty weight is around 644 pounds (293 Kg) and in New Zealand the MAUW is 1,200 pounds (544 Kg).  The standard engine is a 100 HP Rotax 912S and with this engine the cruise speed is around 120 mph (104 knots).  the stall speed is 40 mph (35 knots).  The rate of climb is quoted as around 1000 feet per minute which doesn't seem much for glider towing.

We have had three Eurofoxs registered in New Zealand to date:

Our first Eurofox was first registered in Australia on 25/6/12 as 24-8200.  It was quickly transferred to the New Zealand register as ZK-TUG (c/n 38213) and registered to Onslow Investments Ltd (Jerry O'Neil) on 15/10/13.  It was operated by the Canterbury Gliding Club and its ownership transferred them on 16/9/14.  It was re-designated as a Eurofox 3K Tow on 18/8/16 and it is photo'd above operating as a towplane for the Canterbury Gliding Club at Springfield.

Ownership transferred to the Kaikoura Aero Club on 19/8/16 and it is photo'd above and below at Kaikoura on 3/11/16.

Our second Eurofox 3K was ZK-TGC (c/n 45414) which is photo'd above at the Eurofox Factory at Nitra-Janokovice.  It was registered to the Taranaki Gliding Club on 15/1/15.

It is photo'd above and below at Stratford on 24/3/19 on glider towing duty.

And our most recently registered Eurofox 3K is ZK-LKL (c/n 56319) which was registered to Flying Fern Films Ltd of Cambridge on 19/8/19.  It is also photo'd above at the Eurofox factory at Nitra-Janokovice.  I am not sure if it has flown in New Zealand.

But there is another high profile Eurofox that has flown in New Zealand, that being Chris Pote's G-GBNZ which he flew from the UK to New Zealand in 2018.

G-GBNZ (c/n LAA376-15476) is photo'd above and below arriving at the Northern Aviators Club Christmas BBQ at Kaipara Flats airfield in 8/12/18

RAF Wing Commander Chris Pote with Officer Cadet Abby McGill in front of their Eurofox at Kaipara Flats.  Chris flew the aircraft on every leg of the UK to New Zealand flight and Abby McGill was the co-pilot for the flights across the Tasman Sea.