Helicopter Activity at Ardmore

The following helicopters have been noted at Ardmore in the last week or so:

Bell 206 JA9291 was first noted at Heliflite on 01 June this year, and it was photographed 23 September. Online resources indicate the helicopter was cancelled from the Japanese register as "exported to Australia". 

Robinson R66 ZK-HAG, the country's first R66 when it was registered in April 2011, was noted back at Ardmore 23 September and is now minus its Outgro titles for which it wore during its time based out of Dannevirke.  Ownership changed back to Heliflite earlier this month. 

Ex Austrian military Agusta-Bell 206 ZK-HMU was outside Helicopter Flight Training's hangar 23 September and it has lost titles that I think read "for hire" on the rear fuselage. 

North Shore Helicopters Robinson R44 ZK-IAN under going a maintenance flight from Heliflite back on 17 September. 

Registered to a Kerikeri address, Robinson R44 ZK-IPA was at Ardmore on 16 September. 

From the shoe box. Marathon G-ALUB.

I have two small rather battered monochrome prints of the Handley Page Marathon G-ALUB (c/n 101). I suspect the shots are taken at Paraparaumu. This aircraft arrived in NZ on 02-02-1950 and was flown on scheduled NZNAC routes by Captain H C Walker and R T Mounsey.

It departed Auckland for Norfolk Island and Sydney on 13-02-1950.

 The Marathon was actually a Miles design - their first all metal aircraft - but financial ruin meant that Handley Page  took up the production of these aircraft.

G-ALUB was the first production aircraft and was registered to Handley Page on 24-06-1949 and obtained its UK CofA on 13-01-1950.

It was used for a demonstration machine. A such it departed Woodley (UK) on 14-01-1950 for a sale tour of Australia and New Zealand.

A much better view of this aircraft is below and comes from the Evening Post on or about 10-02-1950. Taken at the old Wellington Rongotai airfield.

The engines are DH Gipsy Queen 71's.

 

 Below we have a photo and blurb (in blue)from the Ed Coates collection.

"Not a super shot, but quite rare.  It is from the personal album of Ellis Trautman and shows the

first production HPR.1 Marathon at remote Forrest, West Australia whilst it was on its sales tour of Australia and New Zealand, having left Woodley on 14 January 1950.    

 Not only were no sales forthcoming in the antipodes, but, upon returning to the U.K. the aircraft was also rejected by BEA. 

This, despite it having been painted in full BEA livery and given the name 'Rob Roy'. 

 In the event, the only airlines to operate this small four engine machine (at least from new) were West African Airways Corp and Burma Airways.      

Pic above shows G-ALUB in BEA markings.

The RAF did, however, take some 28 odd of the unsold ones and used them as navigational trainers, branded as Marathon T.11s."

G-ALUB was listed to the UK Ministry of Supply on 29-08-1951 and delivered to the RAF on 28-03-1952 and given the RAF serial of XA249. It was scrapped in January of 1959.

Must see movie.

http://movies.disney.com/planes/video

First of type. ZK-EMP

ZK-EMP2 (c/n 126) is the first of its type in NZ.

This Acrolite 1C was built by Bernie Johnston at Rangiora from the Canadian plans by Ron Wilson and is getting very close to its first flight.

Power comes from a Hirth 3003E fuel injected motor of 102hp connected to a Powerfin propeller.

As you can see it has metal wings and fabric covered tubular fuselage and fibre cowls.

Pic taken on 12-06-2013 at NZRT.

 

EMP comes from Electro Magnetic Pulse
***********************
Interestingly the first aircraft lined up to be ZK-EMP was Fletcher FU-24 c/n 268.
However it instead became ZK-VAL for Vanair whilst still on the production line.
It later became ZK-UTE and then ZK-CRY2 and is currently listed with Superair.

ZK-EMP was then applied to Fletcher c/n 267 which was exported to Australia to become VH-MYW with Ted McIntosh. It is still current with him - trading as Yassair Pty out of Yass in NSW.
Below is ZK-EMP c/n 267 as seen at Hamilton on 03-09-1979.

 

Question time # 164 resolved.

We have a winner.

 Well folks - What we have is indeed very much like the Squiddeley Diddeley Andover/748.

But as you can now see - It is not.

The answer to the first question is "Mount" Victoria in Wellington.

 What we have is the Grumman G159 Gulfstream 1 VH-CRA (c/n 171) with its Rolls Royce Dart 529's. It first flew on 10-06-1966 and was delivered to Conzinc RioTinto which was an Australian division of BHP (Broken Hill Propriety). It went back to the States (about mid 70's I think) and became N171LS with Lear Siegler. In 1979 it became N1PC and then N728GM in May of 1980. In 1990 it went down to Venezuela and became YV-621CP followed by YV-628C. Death by decay followed.

As for a civil registration - It is actually VH-CRA but I would have paid on either VH-CRA or VH-FLO. (or maybe VH-ASJ if I was pushed). Both VH-CRA and VH-FLO were reasonably regular visitors in connection with the Bluff aluminium smelter and the Manapouri power project. VH-FLO I believe still exists in some shape or form at Auckland International having been there since about 1995 - Has been used by crash fire for training exercises.
Pics taken about late 1966, from memory, on a nice Wellington southerly day.

Question time # 164

A real nice easy chockie fish for you !

 

What is the name of the hill in the background ?

 

Oh and whilst you are at it - What aircraft type clutters the foreground ?

 

And a typical civil registration would also help towards winning said fish.

Didn't make it. ZK-EEL.

Below we have a photo from the CMM collection showing the Cessna 402A VH-ELT (c/n 402A0075) outside the Wellington Aero Club at Wellington sometime in the mid 70's 

This aircraft was used on a couple of occasions by Capital Air Services to service off shore oil and gas contracts.

See :-  http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/search?q=vh-elt

I believe the Kiwi registration of ZK-EEL was earmarked for this aircraft. In the event this was not taken up and the aircraft remained as VH-ELT and continued in service back in Australia until being withdrawn and cancelled on 06-03-2013 and is now used as a training aid.

Here and soon to be here.

 Above - Already here. NAF 554 (c/n 9783034002002).This is one of six ex Nigerian Air Force Mil 34 (Hermits) recently imported into New Zealand. These are the M-14B radial engine powered versions. I would expect at least half on them (if not more) will enter the NZ civil register in due course.

They have been mentioned on Trademe for some time.

 

Below - Arriving soon from the UK.

Cessna 180K G-DAPH (c/n 53016) seen here about to be dismantled at Duxford and containerised for shipping to NZ.

Photo courtesy of Waypoints Aviation Ltd of Nelson.

Stearman Progress - II

A follow on from a previous post (http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/stearman-progress.html), Stearman ZK-PJS has been outside in the sun and was caught through the lens of agairnz on 18 September.  Plans for a first flight in NZ skies today, 19 September, have been sadly canned.

Smythe Sidewinders of New Zealand

The Smythe Sidewinder was designed by former US Navy pilot Jerry Smythe and the prototype first flew in February 1969.  Later in 1969 the design won the Outstanding New Design award at the EAA convention at Rockford.  It is constructed with a welded steel fuselage that is aluminium skinned, and aluminium wings, and it was designed to withstand +/-9G.  It used a Wittman Tailwind type main undercarriage and a Thorp T 18 windscreen.  A unusual feature was the under-fuselage spoiler which was used for approach control.

Its length was 19 feet 4 inches (5.89 metres), its wingspan was 24 feet 10 inches (7.57 metres) and its wing area was 96 square feet.  Empty weight was around 870 pounds (395 Kg), and MAUW was 1,450 pounds (658 Kg).  It was a high performance aircraft and with 125 HP it cruised at 160 mph.

Our first Smythe Sidewinder to fly was Athol Allen Bates' ZK-DYY (c/n AACA184) which was first registered on 18/12/90 - the second new type of new homebuilt aircraft to came out of the Hawkes Bay Chapter of the AACA in 4 months.  It was sold to GR Jones of Auckland on 26/8/02 and then to H Khayami, also of Auckland, on 10/5/06.  It is photo'd above during its time at Ardmore.  Tragically, it crashed into the Kaipara Harbour in a highly publicised crash on 25/11/06, killing Mr Khayami and his passenger.  They had overnighted on the beach after a precautionary landing, and on take-off the aircraft was seen to have its under-fuselage spoiler extended, before stalling and plunging into the sea.  It was cancelled on9/6/09.

Our second Sidewinder to be completed was Jim (A) Johnson's ZK-JAJ (c/n AACA/287) which was started in 1975 and was first registered on17/6/84.  However, it was not completed until the early 2000s at the Wellington Chapter of SAANZ hangar at Paraparaumu, outside where the above photo was taken.  It was sold to SS Hayman of Johnsonville on 8/8/02. and then to Glenkit Nelson Ltd on 7/10/04.  I am not sure if it ever flew in New Zealand.  It was cancelled on 12/5/11 as exported to Australia, where it is still current as VH-DQW.

And our final Sidewinder to date is ZK-CXJ (c/n NZS 1) which was built by Bill Ryan of Invercargill and was first registered on 25/7/05.  This one is interesting as it is powered by a converted Leyland P 76 alloy V8 engine of around 150 HP.  First flight was on 2/11/07, and Bill says it flies well.  Thanks to Bill Ryan for the photo.

There has been one other Sidewinder imported into New Zealand.  N50VL was seen at Wanaka in January 2002, but I don't know where it is currently.