The next type of microlight to be registered in New Zealand was the Delta Sailplanes DS 26B Nomad of which we have had two, and later a DS 27A Honcho was registered. The Nomad and the Honcho were pretty similar but the Honcho was smaller and they had strut braced wings. They were manufactured by the Delta Sailplane Corporation of North Hollywood in California who had started out building hang gliders and then developed a series of essentially motor gliders, the first of which was the DS 26A Nomad which had a single wheel undercarriage like a glider and this was developed into the DS 26B Nomad and the DS 27A Honcho which had standard tricycle undercarriages. The company ceased trading at the end of 1982 which may explain why we only had only three examples registered here. (Click twice to enlarge the brochures below to read them easier).
The New Zealand agents for Delta Sailplanes were Ted Jarman and Reg Fleet of Delta Microlights (NZ) Ltd.
The first DS 26B Nomad to be registered was ZK-EXK (c/n MAANZ/100)
Registered 26 Oct 1982 to A. E. Jarman & R. W. Fleet t/a Delta Microlights (NZ) Ltd, Auckland. Powered by a 18HP single cylinder Mahl engine. First flight at Ardmore 12 Jun 1982. Cancelled 30 Jun 1999 registration revoked.
ZK-MAQ DS 26B Nomad (c/n MAANZ/164)
Registered 26 Oct 1982 to R. “Bob” A. McQuillan, Auckland. Powered by a two cylinder 27HP Lloyd engine. Engine lost power and force landed on the mudflats off Pikes Point 15 Jul 1983, then 24 Jul 1985 T. E. Craven, Auckland. Cancelled 5 May 1995 withdrawn from use. The remains were noted stored at Kaipara Flats in February 2021.
ZK-PAW DS 27A Honcho (c/n MAANZ/212)
Registered 18 Nov 1983 to Paul A. Webster, Auckland. Hit by crosswind gust during take-off, hit ground and overturned
at Pikes Point, Onehunga 20 Apr 1986. Cancelled 7 Sep 1989.
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