A Dull Day at Whenuapai

Along with much of the northern part of the country today, the weather at WP(MIL) was pretty marginal and depressing for most of the day today.
As I was stuck there as duty pilot for the day with not much to do, I thought you might be interested in the GA fleet now housed at Whenuapai.



In the hangar, from the left, we start with 172M DXQ tucked inside with Socata TB 10 Tobago ZK-JIE facing it.
Next along, with its right wing just barely visible under the Tobago, is Kevin Foster's Thorp Tiger ZK-EDF.
PA28-161 Warrior II ZK-WEH is nose on to the newest local arrival, Tomahawk ZK-TWR which recently moved in from Whangarei.
The tail and cockpit cover of Dave Cogan's Vans RV 7A ZK-MIS is visible beyond the Tomahawk, cuddled up with Tomahawk ZK-EZG. Hidden behind these two and quite invisible is the RV 7A of Carl Morgan, ZK-VII.
Last in line are Tomahawk ZK-PAF and Baz Fowler's recently renovated 172N ZK-EOK.



Parked outside and nose into the rising wind are Cessna 152 ZK-BUD/2 (ex-ZK-EOY and NSG/2), the Milne boy's C172N ZK-ELU and Piper PA28RT-201T Turbo Arrow IV ZK-PAE.

Other civil aircraft currently based at the airfield are the Parachute Club's Cessna TU206F ZK-CRW and the Gliding Club's towplane Cessna 172M ZK-DML plus their gliders Blanik MK and Astir MP.

During the day, VII departed for Wanaka, EOK for Motueka, WEH for the Barrier and BUD did one student lesson.
And I caught up on some sleep.

Taylor Monoplanes of New Zealand (2)

There have been 16 Taylor Monoplanes completed in New Zealand (plus one close cousin), of which 7 are still registered: 6 as Class 1 Microlights and one as an Amateur Built Aircraft. Here are the next 4 in registration order.

The photos are from the Keith Morris collection and I have taken most of them.


ZK-CTV (c/n AACA 51/1) was built by Jack Wheeler at New Plymouth over many years and it is one of a trio of Taylor Monos to come out of the Taranaki Chapter of the AACA. It was first registered on 15/5/67 but didn't fly until well into the 1980's. It was redesignated as a Class 1 Microlight on 2/2/00 but it crashed into some trees on takeoff at new Plymouth onn 26/11/00. It was cancelled on 9/5/01 as destroyed. The above photo was taken at the 1990 AACA flyin at Waipukurau, and was the only time I saw it completed.
ZK-CVH (c/n AACA 49/1 and then later AACA 170 - probably from 1987) was started by K M Krippner of Te Awamutu and was first registered on 8/8/67. It then passed through a succession of owners in Northland, but I believe that it was completed by Lee Middleton of Auckland, probably in 1988 as it crashed at East Pukekohe on 16/12/88, and it was cancelled on 23/9/93 as withdrawn.

However it was re-registered on 4/11/94, still to Lee Middleton of Pukekohe, and then cancelled again on 23/6/00. But wait, there is more! It was again registered to Lee Middleton, by now of Wellsford on 22/12/00 and it was finally withdrawn and cancelled on 22/8/02.

I am not sure who took the above photo but it appears to be at Ardmore.

ZK-CWG (c/n 43/1) was built by Greg McNicol at Taradale and was first registerd on 15/1/68. It's first flight was in the hands of Merv Meredith in February 1971 and it was judged to be an AACA Grand Champion aircraft. Greg owned a roadmarking company at that time and he used ZK-CWG to get around his road marking crews, often landing beside the road. The above black and white photo was taken at the 1974 AACA flyin at Hastings when it had its original 1600 cc VW motor while the colour shot from Don Noble was taken at Matamata on 6/3/71.

And the above photos of it are when it had a HAPI 2100 cc motor installed (The HAPI was a highly modified VW).Greg went on to build his Thorp T 18 and ZK-CWG was sold to I L Cameron and A H Klenner of Kapuni in 1976. It was damaged in a nose-over incident at New Plymouth on 12/7/76. Ownership the passed to I L Cameron, M A Farr and B R Corbett of Hawera in 1978 and it was withdrawn from use and cancelled on 8/4/92.

I saw the aircraft at Jim Fordyce's workshop in the 1990's, so it may yet be restored.

And finally for this post, ZK-CZH (c/n AACA 78) was built over more than 20 years by Jack Hintz of Inglewood, and is another one of the Taranaki trio of Taylor Monos. It was first registered on 29/11/91. It was re-designated as a Class 1 Microlight on 29/3/00 and ownership transferred to G C Langlands of Hawera in 2005. I do not know who took the above photo but it was taken at Stratford quite recently. ZK-CZH is still current.

Ardmore 04 June 2010

Registered to Southern Wings of Invercargill on 13May this year is this tidy example of a PA28-181 aptly registered ZK-SWG. It is seen here at Ardmore today nearing completion of maintenance work before its delivery south.

Birds of a feather. Two BK117's employed in the search and rescue trade. Mechanics Bay based ZK-HLN along with soon (?) to be Hawkes Bay domiciled ZK-IBK with the Lowe Group. ZK-IBK was registered 01Apr this year and has been in the country since 1993 when it was first known as ZK-HGF, then allocated ZK-HLF (not taken up?) before finally carrying the marks ZK-HEN from 1999.

Taylor Monoplanes of New Zealand (1)

Following along from New Zealand's first post-WW2 homebuilt Turbulents, the next homebuilt aircraft type to take to the skies in New Zealand was the Taylor Monoplane.

The Taylor JT1 Monoplane was designed in England by John Taylor, who also built the first prototype, and first flew it on 4 July 1959. The original aircraft had a length of 15 feet (4.57 metres) and a wingspan of 21 feet (6.40 metres). The empty weight was 450 pounds (205 Kg) and the maximum takeoff weight was 660 pounds (300 Kg). However I think all the New Zealand examples have been built with a one bay (14 inches) fuselage stretch, and are currently approved to operate with a 340 Kg maximum takeoff weight.

All the photos are from the Keith Morris Collection, except where noted.

Our first Taylor Monoplane was ZK-CPC (c/n AACA/10/2) which was built by Robbie Gentry of Wellington.  (Robbie also built one of the earliest Turbulents). It was registered on 20/7/66 and its first flight was on 7/9/68. Robbie was responsible for the fuselage stretch modification, and he also modified ZK-CPC with a raised turtledeck.
I cannot remember where the above photo was taken but it was obviously at an airshow where more interesting things were happening in the sky above! (A common gripe of aircraft photographers at airshows is to get the aircraft without people standing in front of them!).
Robbie Gentry carried on building homebuilt aircraft and so the Taylor was sold to Dave Crimp of Wakefield near Nelson in 1971, where it is photo'd below on 29/1/78.

It then was owned by D P O'Rourke of Wellington, P Toms of Nelson, P JMeadows, K J Gaitley, R J Ramsbeck and J G Anderson, all in Auckland.

The above photo was taken at the 1988 AACA flyin at Dairy Flat. It is now owned by Steven Moore of Kaihohe. It was redesignated as a Class 1 microlight on 25/8/00 and is still current.

The second Taylor Monoplane to fly was ZK-CQE (c/n JF-1) which was built by Jim Fordyce of Feilding. It was registered on 20/7/66 and its first flight was on 15/10/68, very shortly after ZK-CPC had flown. This photo was taken in the old hangar at Feilding very early on in its life.

Here it is photo'd by Don Noble at an AACA flyin at Matamata on 6/3/71, now with some more black trim.

And here it is at the 1972 AACA flyin at Masterton.

ZK-CQE was then sold to Gerry Gotlieb of Wellington in 1973, and Gerry painted it up in this green, red and white Castrol GTX colour scheme. Gerry used to do a flying display routine at airshows around New Zealand. It was damaged at Wellington in 1979.

 


It then went to I McKenzie of Auckland and then P Liefting of Pukekohe. It was damaged again at Pukehohe and Puriri, both in October 1983, and it was cancelled on 6/4/92.

Our third Taylor Monoplane was ZK-CRS (c/n AACA 44/1) which was registered on 15/8/68 and first flew on 4/2/73. (ZK-CRS was third in registration order- ZK-CWG flew before it in February 1971). ZK-CRS was built by Clarrie Healey in Nelson and was finished in a brown and cream colour scheme. I remember that there was a bit of controversy with DCA at the time over its registration that had a star in the middle of it - how times have changed! The above photos were taken at the 1974 AACA flyin at Bridge Pa. and at the 1975 AACA flyin at Timaru.

ZK-CRS was sold to Fenn Dodd of Tawa, near Wellington in 1974 and the above photos taken at Paraparaumu are when he owned it. I think he had to paint the registration separately on the tail to overcome said objection to the registration with the star! It was damaged in a heavy landing at Wairoa in January 1978 and was then sold to M C Robertson of Raumati Beach, and it was not repaired. It was cancelled on 3/2/92.

It was then sold as parts to Dick Usher of Auckland, who rebuilt it with an 1835 cc VW engine, and re-registered it on 2/10/96. It was then sold to Dave Grove-Hills of Auckland in 1998, and it is still owned by him. The above photo was taken at the 1998 AACA flyin at Matamata. It was re-designated as a Class 1 microlight on 26/1/09 and it is still current.

Kiwi Currie Wot ZK-CYB

The Currie Wot was designed in the 1930s by JR (Joe) Currie and 2 examples were built by Cinque Port Aviation Ltd in 1937.  Unfortunately these 2 aircraft were destroyed during WW 2.  Apparently the name Wot came about when Joe Currie got tired of questions about what the aeroplane would be called and said "Call it Wot you blooming well like!".  After the war 2 more examples were built by the Hampshire Aviation Club under the supervision of JO Isaacs (of the later Isaacs Fury).  These aircraft had 60 HP Walter Micron motors.  Later the plans were sold to homebuilders and the first homebuilt Currie Wot flew in 1963.

The dimensions of the Currie Wot were:  length 5.58 metres (21 feet 3 inches), wingspan 6.73 metres (22 feet 1 inch), and the wing area was 140 square feet.  Empty weight was 250 Kg (550 pounds) and MAUW was 408 Kg (900 pounds).

We have had 2 Currie Wots in New Zealand.

Currie Wot ZK-CYB (c.n AACA/64) was commenced by Jack Moon at Blenhiem and the project was first registered on 11/9/68.  It was sold to Alex Turner of Mosgiel on 22/9/72, and he completed the aircraft and painted it in the same colour scheme is his earlier Jodel D 9 ZK-DBS.  It was sold to Alan Ruck and F Crequer of Christchurch on 7/10/82 and then to a syndicate of Alan Ruck, Morris Tull, Kim Twenytman and Colin Winrtburn of Christchurch.  It was re-engined with a 2100cc Revmaster motor in January 1987 and ownership transferred to Alan Ruck on 11/2/88.  The above photo was taken at Harewood around 1988.  It was the re-engined with a a Continental O-200 motor in 1998.  It moved North to Pikes Point with Morris Tull where it was based for a while, then finally back to Alan Ruck in Christchurch, where it is still current.  It is named "Jessie".

ZK-WOT (c/n PFA 3012), seen here at the Pikes Point airfield in 1995, was the second Currie Wot to fly in New Zealand.

This Wot was built in the UK using 3rd of 3 fuselages built by Hampshire AC, Eastleigh, 1958-59. Balance of the aircraft was built at Winchester, starting in 1970. Powered by Walter Mikron 3, f/f Compton Abbas March 1972 as G-AXOL registered to E F Tomlinson, Winchester as from 26/9/69 with the c/n of PFA3012.  Ownership of G-AXOL was transferred to B L Dyke & D C Ford, Compton Abbas in June 1973, to J A Espin, Popham 22Jan1974, A Kennedy, P Metson & G Brinkman, Bishops Stortford 8Jun1974, and R G Boyes, Winkleigh in May1990.  The aircraft was then sold abroad, with the UK registration being cancelled as from 2Nov1994.

It appeared on the NZ register as ZK-WOT on 8/11/94 for M J M Sanders, Auckland. The registration was revoked by CAA on 13/6/99, but reappeared on 30/7/02 for the same owner at a Whangarei address.
D R Walker, Whangarei took ownership from 20/7/04 but ZK-WOT was again cancelled on 30/8/05 as withdrawn from use.

Kiwi Currie Wots

ZK-WOT, seen here at the Pikes Point airfield in 1995, was one of only two Wots to fly here.

This Wot was built in the UK using 3rd of 3 fuselages built by Hampshire AC, Eastleigh, 1958-59. Balance of the aircraft was built at Winchester, starting in 1970. Powered by Walter Mikron 3, f/f Compton Abbas Mar72 as G-AXOL registered to E F Tomlinson, Winchester as from 26Sep1969 with the c/n of PFA3012.
Ownership of G-AXOL was transferred to B L Dyke & D C Ford, Compton Abbas in June 1973, to J A Espin, Popham 22Jan1974, A Kennedy, P Metson & G Brinkman, Bishops Stortford 8Jun1974, and R G Boyes, Winkleigh in May1990.
The aircraft was then sold abroad, with the UK registration being cancelled as from 2Nov1994.

It appeared on the NZ register as ZK-WOT on 8Nov1994 for M J M Sanders, Auckland. The registration was revoked by CAA on 13Jun1999, but reappeared on 30Jul2002 for the same owner at a Whangarei address.
D R Walker, Whangarei took ownership from 20Jul2004 but ZK-WOT was again cancelled on 30Aug2005 as withdrawn from use.

Anyone know what happened to it?

The second Wot is ZK-CYB c/n AACA/64, a locally built example registered to J E Moon, Blenheim on 11Sep1968. Later owners were A Turner, Mosgiel on 22Sep1972, A J Ruck & F J Crequer, Christchurch 7Oct1982 and A J Ruck, Christchurch 11Feb1988.
Is this Wot still active? Anyone able to present us with a photo?

Question time # 99 resolved

Question time # 99 has been answered correctly.

The aircraft is indeed the McKinnon G-21G Turbo Goose and the ZK-ERX registration fits nicely as well.

The person standing in the nose hatch shall remain nameless [for the moment].

And Tuvalu it indeed is.

This airframe was built for the US military as a Grumman JRF-5 Goose with the c/n of B-62. It went to the US Navy and was allocated the serial (Bu#) 37809 and was taken on charge in about May of 1944.

Post war it became N5556N briefly followed by TF-ISR2 for Flugfelag Iceland from September of 1947. The next move I have was when it went back to the USA to become N5558 with McKinnon Enterprises Inc of Sandy, Oregon in 1968. McKinnon are renown for their turboprop conversion. It was converted to the McKinnon G-21G Turbo Goose status with two P&W PT6A engines and was given a new c/n of 1205. After passing through a couple of owners it arrived in NZ on 03-05-1980 to become ZK-ERX for Sea Bee Air Ltd. It went to Tuvalu for Sea Bee Air and is known to have struck a coral head at Nui Island on 26-01-82.

There are a bunch of photos of it on google under either ZK-ERX and N77AQ and also some shots of it on http://brc58.multiply.com/photos/album/9/1979_Internal_Air_Service_-_Sea_Bee_Air

Interesting to see it on the postage stamp.

Its NZ registration was cancelled on 10-12-1984 and was shipped to the USA where it became N77AQ and served with Kalt Manufacturing and Aero Quest until being acquired by Dan Vollum of Hillsboro, Oregon in June of 1990. He also has a standard Goose and operates as Aero Planes LLC.

So well done Brett.

If you care to email me at bluebus@windowslive.co and give me your snail mail address I will forward you two chocky fish.

Question time # 99 revisited.

We have had no bites yet for Question time # 99.

So I offer another clue taken from the same original photograph. It is the same aircraft and same body beautiful.

The initial Question time # 99 blog can be viewed at

http://nzcivair.blogspot.com/2010/05/question-time-99.html

Brand Spanking...........

Wayne Grant photos

Sir Peter Jackson's brand spanking new Gulfstream V-SP (550) ZK-KFB/2 touched down at Auckland just on 1520 today, 01Jun, concluding its delivery flight to NZ. Arriving direct from Honolulu, the V-SP had crossed from Savannah, Georgia the previous day.

Unlike the first ZK-KFB which was operated by Auckland's Air National, this machine is being operated by Sydney based Execujet and it is understood the jet will initially be housed in a hanger at Melbourne/Essendon. Execujet manage some 70 aircraft globally.

Another New Entrant

Cessna 172S ZK-XPS was registered on 19May this year to BA & SJ Painter of Auckland and was photographed today outside the Hawker Pacific hanger at Ardmore. Noted tucked in the back of the hanger was Southern Wings Piper PA28-181 ZK-SWG, ex N24GK, which was first noted still on the US register in late April.