Wanaka 15 February

A visit to a busy Wanaka today offered a lot of interest with the main attraction being Bevan Dewes Harvard 2A ZK-OTU/NZ1044 which has been under restoration with Twenty24 Ltd at Wanaka. It has been finished in the scheme it carried with the No2 Fighter Operational Training Unit at Ohakea in 1943.

Something completely different was the AS350B3e T7-SDF scripted  "Sky Dreamwalker VI" as it is based on the Chinese owned 47m superyacht "Ocean Dreamwalker III".   "T7" is the registration prefix for San Marino.  The superyacht was launched back in 2018.

The latest AS350 addition to the Alpine Helicopters' fleet is AS350B3 ZK-HTW5 which was imported from the US in mid 2022.

Inside the Alpine Helicopters' hangar was the historic Hiller UH12E ZK-HBL2 wearing Luggate Game Packers titling.   This was originally imported from the US in mid 1970 as ZK-HDJ and after being withdrawn in 1983 it was rebuilt as HBL2 in 1987.   It is normally based at Minaret Station.

And in from its base in the Cadrona Valley was Rotoworx NZ's R22 Beta II ZK-HAV3.  This was imported in 2007 from El Salvador as ZK-HVA3,  and reregistered as HAV3 in 2013.