Wednesday 23 November 2022

Cessna 172B ZK-MKW and ZK-RWC

 From an identification request - see the final photo below - we have established that the aircraft in question is the Cessna 172B ZK-RWC as seen at Ardmore recently by Ian Bevins.

A quick history of this airframe runs something like this :-

Cessna 172B c/n 48207.

This was one of just shy of 1000 B models built in the 1961 US fiscal year.

During this time period Cessna/FAA allocated a block of registrations to a production run of airframes and conveniently the last two numbers of the airframe c/n coincided with the last two numbers of the allocated US civil registration.

In this case we have c/n 48207 with the registration of N7707X. 

If the aircraft was sold to a foreign country whilst still on the production line then the airframe invariably adopted the Cessna test registration of N11B for its test flights - with the initial US registration not being taken up.

So we have

N7707X                 1961    Cessna Aircraft Co, Wichita, Kansas. Not taken up.
N11B                     1961    Cessna Aircraft Co. Wichita, Kansas. Test registration.
VH-RKC    08-03-1961    Rockhampton Aero Club, Rockhampton, Queensland.
                  18-04-1964    Kingsford Smith Flying Service, Bankstown, NSW.
                  14-04-1967    Re-registered as VH-KFG2.
VH-KFG2   14-04-1967    Kingsford Smith Flying Service, Bankstown, NSW.

                                   VH-KFG at Bankstown still with the "KS" logo on its rudder.

                    14-04-1967    Rex Aviation, Bankstown, NSW.
                    11-05-1967    W D Cleary, Camden, NSW.
                    13-03-1975    Cancelled as withdrawn from use.
                    24-01-1986    E W Carter, Miranda, NSW.
                                          To Australian Air League, Miranda, NSW.
VH-KFG at Bankstown 1986 from David Carter.

                    28-09-1990    Camden Aviation, Camden, NSW
                    12-07-1993    Michael Kevin Wills, Point Piper, NSW.
                    xx-11-1999    Michael Kevin Wills, Auckland, NZ.
                    19-12-2000    Noted at Ardmore.
                    03-04-2001    Australian registration cancelled.

ZK-MKW     20-04-2001    Michael Kevin Wills, Auckland, NZ.  Personalised registration.
                    01-09-2005    M K Wills Ltd, Auckland.
ZK-MKW at Hastings on 09-02-1007.

                   11-11-2009    Re-registered ZK-RWC.
ZK-RWC    11-11-2009    W H & C B Coop C/- Richard William Coop, Mahia.
                                           Another personalised registration.
Peter Lewis photo 2009.

                    12-04-2013    Nose wheel collapse after hitting wooden post, Mahia.
                    07-06-2013    Registration cancelled as withdrawn.
                            ?             Fuselage noted at Ardmore.
ZK-RWC at Ardmore on the first of this month.

Richard Coop replaced this Cessna 172B ZK-RWC with the Cessna 180B ZK-LMW on 07-05-2013 which was re-registered as ZK-RWC2 on 10-06-2013.

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