Oxford 'Wings With Wheels' last Sunday # 1

 The Oxford regions Lions Club held its now annual Wings With Wheels last Sunday - January 18th.
The weather was not brilliant with the rain ceasing just prior to the 10am opening - and started again early afternoon.
Over twenty aircraft were noted.
Here we have a small selection of them.

Tony Den Haan was in from Cust with his third ICP Savannah S ZK-BIC3 c/n 19-09-54-0686.

Just as the rain started again this Supermarine Spitfire Mk26B Replica suddenly appeared over the field but did not land.

In desperation I poked my camera at it and got a couple very long distance shots of it.

Above is an edited view which shows it to have been Gary Cotterell in his ZK-CPN2 c/n 85 which only came onto the register on 30-09-2025.

It carries the RAF serial of the Spitfire MkVB BL384 and the squadron markings BP of 457 squadron and aircraft letter N.

It also has the Donald Duck nose art as flown by John Gibson in early 1942.

For more detail on the original Spitfire - check it out on GOOGLE.

Returning to a new owner at Rangiora recently was this ICP Savannah XL ZK-CVK2 c/n 10-7-51-916.

Imported from West Australia in 2015 for the South Eyre Trust, it migrated north in April of 2019 to Stephen Williams of Auckland.

It returned to Rangiora in December for Gerard Coulson in December last.

An earlier post on ZK-CVK can be seen HERE

Gerard also operated the Jabiru J120 ZK-MLA.

          "B" is the R & B Bearhawk ZK-NSB c/n 1578B as built by Neville Bailey and operated as 'Bearhawk Bravo'.

Oxford 'Wings With Wheels' last Sunday. #2

 The annual Lions Club Oxford Wheels With Wings fly in on a private airstrip on the outskirts of town took place last Sunday January the 18th.

Over twenty aircraft arrived in less than perfect weather.

The old familiar MacDonald Syndicate Auster 5D ZK-BGU c/n 1757 attracted a good number of viewers, which required a certain amount of patients to get a people free photograph.

It has been briefly mentioned several times previously Here

Karl West of West Aero Engineering with his Cessna 180A ZK-BVG c/n 50068 was center stage and received much attention from the locals.

Mentioned previously HERE

The only Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser on the NZ aircraft register is ZK-BZL c/n 14-132 - previously mentioned HERE

It joined its current listed owner CNC Aviation of Eyrewell in December of 2023.

Roy Hill's real tidy Fletcher FU24-950 ZK-EGS c/n 241 has been based nearby since late 2024.

Prior to this it has been North Island based since its creation. 

It has received multi mentions previously HERE

The average age of these four aircraft is knocking on 69 years.

With ZK-EGS being the pup at a young 49 years.

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Pterodactyls (4) - Ascenders of 1983

The 1983 registered Pterodactyl Ascenders were mainly the original single seat models but there was one Ascender II and one interesting Ascender II+2.  The Ascender II+ was an improved single seater for larger pilots with larger tube spars for the wing that was introduced in the US in1982.  The Ascender II+2 was a two seat version with an off centre side seat and frame for the second crew member that was removable, and there was a counter weight on the opposite wingtip to the second seat, to balance the aircraft..

There were 13 Pterodactyl Ascenders registered here in 1983 as follows:

This aircraft was the prototype Pterodactyl Ascender II+2 that was built in the US by Jack McCornack and imported into New Zealand for a film called "Flying Light" that was filmed around Sweetwaters in 1983 and for which Jack McCornack came here to take part in.  The film was completed and distributed.

This is a photo of Jack McCornack flying in New Zealand (it must be in ZK-FFH) and the photo shows how the second seat was slung alongside the pilot in the Ascender II+2 and the control stick was in the centre.

This is another interesting Ascender as Bruce Reay flew it extensively around South Westland and Fiordland, mostly on floats.  I will cover some of his adventures in a later post.

In the meantime, if any readers have photos of any of the above aircraft that we do not have photos of, please send them in and I will add them to the post.

Spotted at Oxford last Sunday.

 

I just happened to be at Oxford last Sunday afternoon and this appeared - not out of the blue - but out of the very dull sky and the commencement of the rain.

Lovely.

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Pterodactyls (3) - a Ptiger

The Pterodactyl Ptiger was developed from the Ascender II+ and featured a fibreglass tub which replaced the basic Ascender airframe, and a wingspan that was reduced by 4 feet to 29 feet.  And as a result it could reach 75 mph in level flight instead of the 45 mph cruise of the Ascender.  It was powered by the same Cuyuna 430R engine as the Ascender.  We have only had one Ptiger registered in New Zealand and I will include it here because it was registered in 1982: 

Murray Hagen told me that he did some agricultural work in the Ptiger, spreading cobalt prills.to promote stock health.

Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Pterodactyls (2) - Ascenders of 1982

The single seat Pterodactyl Ascender was developed in the late 1970s by Jack McCornack in California, from the rigid wing Manta Fledge hang glider via the Fledgeling ultralight as I have detailed in a previous post..

The specifications for the basic Ascender were:  wingspan 33 feet (10.06 metres) although some versions had shorter wings, length 16 feet 8 inches (5.08 metres), wing area 16.07 square metres, empty weight around 235 pounds (106 Kg) and MAUW 535 pounds (232 Kg).  The cruising speed was 45 mph and the stall speed was around 25 mph.  The usual engine was a 2 cylinder 2 stroke geared (2.2:1) Cuyuna 430R which produced around 30 HP.  Because the engine was geared and the gearbox stuck upwards, it could run a 54 inch propeller (compared to the direct drive Cuyuna 430D engine of the Fledgeling which could only run a 36 inch prop).  And with the bigger prop it had a spectacular rate of climb, hence it was called an Ascender.

Pterodactyl Ascenders were initially registered here at a fast rate.  After ZK-ESS in December 1981, 16 more were registered in 1982, as follows: (I have added photos where we have them - if blog readers have any more photos of Pterodactyls please send them in).