Pilatus PC 6 Turbo Porter ZK-JMP3 (c/n 693) was on the New Zealand Civil Register from 2001 until 2011, but it has not been posted on the blog previously:
The aircraft was built in the Pilatus factory at Stans in Switzerland and was delivered as HB-FEE to the RAAF at Amberly on 16/1/69 where it became A14-693. It flew with the RAAF until it was withdrawn from service in November 1992. On 11/6/93 it was registered on the Australian Civil Register as VH-REL and it was on the register until it was sold to New Zealand in March 2001. It became
ZK-JMP3 on 2/5/01 with JW and EL Lyver and it operated out of Mercer dropping parachutists. It spent all of its New Zealand life operating out of Mercer, being owned by Skydive Auckland Ltd from 7/5/04 then by Mercer Skydiving Centre Ltd from 5/10/05. Along the way it was converted to a PT 6A-34 engine making it a B2-H4 model.
It is photo'd above at Ardmore in 2007 and you can still see its RAAF serial on the rear fuselage (click to enlarge). It was cancelled from the New Zealand register and exported to France where on 15/11/11 it became F-GTDZ as in the photo below, still dropping parachutists, and it is still current.
As well as operating out of Mercer it was also used out of Glenorchy with Skydive Auckland. Both 693 and 653 going between the two bases.
ReplyDelete