Preceptor Ultrapups (Only One) of New Zealand

Next up in 2013 was the Preceptor Ultrapup which is a 3/4 scale two seat J 3 Cub replica that is a close cousin to the single seat Nostalgair N 3 Pup of which we have also had one registered - ZK-FSK (see: https://nzcivair.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-microlight-cub-replicas.html ).

The Ultrapup was designed by Bob Counts and was produced by Preceptor Aircraft of Rutherfordton, North Carolina from the mid 1980s to sometime in the 2000s.  Its construction is  of a welded steel fuselage and empanage with either an aluminium spar folding wing or a fixed wooden wings, and the typical engine is a VW conversion.  Its length is 16 feet 6 inches (5.03 metres), its wingspan is 30 feet 6 inches (9.30 metres) and the wing area is 120 square feet.  The empty weight is around 450 pounds (204 Kg) and MAUW in New Zealand is 1,100 pounds (498 Kg).

ZK-UTP (c/n AA651-2) was built by Terry Smith of Hastings and it was first registered to him on 1/3/13. It is photo'd here on its test flight in the hands of Gerry Chisum and seems to be powered by a VW engine.

The Ultrapup is the second aircraft that Terry Smith has built, after his nice little Baby Great Lakes ZK-FLV of 1985 (see https://nzcivair.blogspot.com/2012/05/oldfield-baby-great-lakes-of-new.html ).  Interestingly it is not the last aircraft that he has built, and I am looking forward to seeing his Milholland Legal Eagle!

We Will Come Out the Other Side!

There is a New Zealand link to this photo that I got as a screen shot, of Mikael Carlson flying his rotary engined Thulin A/Bleriot XI replica at Hahnweide in 2016:

The link is that this could be the machine that he flew at Warbirds Over Wanaka in 2000.  Today it should have been the WOW 2020 airshow but that is sadly not to be.  There are some photos of Mikael flying his Thulin A at WOW 2000 at:  https://nzcivair.blogspot.com/2019/06/edwardian-era-real-deal-and-replica.html

And if you would like to see a video of the Hahnweide flight the link is HERE

Stay safe everyone.

Cessna 152 ZK-JFY

Jorden Steyn was at the Walsh Memorial Scout Flying School at Matamata Airfield in January 2020, and captured this photo of the Manakau Flying School's Cessna 152 ZK-JFY in a slightly new colour scheme with a nice white fern on the tail:

It was somewhat unkindly suggested that this could be a candidate for Air New Zealand regional services!  Thanks for the photo Jordan.

This aircraft c/n 84398 was built by the Cessna Aircraft Company, Wichita, Kansas and was registered as N6456L in April 1980.  On 17/02/81 ownership transferred to Air Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas.  In March 1990  it went to the Keesler Aero Club of Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi.  It was cancelled from the US register in June 1995.

It was registered in New Zealand on 18/8/95 as ZK-JFY to Wing & Rotor Aviation Ltd, Ardmore.  On 20/11/95  ownership transferred to NZ Aviation College (AR) Ltd, Ardmore and then on 01/07/99  to Paul Richard Faulkner, Auckland (who has also operated 172M ZK-PRF, Cessna 152 ZK-EOY and Auster J5F ZK-BCK).  On 13/06/01  it went briefly to The NZ Pilot Academy Ltd of Auckland and then on 12/09/01  to the Airline Flying Club (Inc) of Papakura who operated it for 16 years and under whose ownership it is photo'd above at Masterton on 23/5/12, in its original scheme.  Then on 17/07/17  it went to Lifestyle Enterprises Ltd, Auckland and it continued to be based at Ardmore.

Then most recently ownership transferred to the Manakau Flying School on 1/3/18 and it is photo'd above at Ardmore on 14/5/18 in what turned out to be an interim black scheme.

Tomark Viper SD 4s (Only One) of New Zealand

We are now up to 2013 in this series.  From around that time to the present there were quite a few sport aircraft registered of which we have had only one example, such as the Tomark Viper SD 4:

The first new type of sport aircraft to be registered in New Zealand in 2013 was the Tomark Viper SD 4.  It is a low wing side by side 2 seater of metal construction with aluminium skins and composite cowling and fairings, and it is manufactured by the Tomark Aero division of Tomark s.r.o. in Presov, Slovakia.  It first flew in 2007 and it has proved quite successful with 110 having been built up to 2016.

The specifications for the Tomark Viper SD 4 are:  length 6.40 metres (21 feet), wingspan 8.40 metres (27 feet 7 inches) and the wing area is 107.6 square feet.  The empty weight is around 292 Kg (644 pounds) and the MAUW in New Zealand is 449 Kg (990 pounds).  With a 80 HP Rotax 912 UL engine the cruising speed with the constant speed propeller is around 120 mph (110 knots) and the stall speed is around 40 mph (35 knots).

As noted above, we have had only one Tomark Viper SD 4 registered in New Zealand to date:

ZK-EAW2 (c/n 035) was registered to Wilson Aviation Ltd of Hamilton (Ewen Wilson) on 31/1/13.. It had previously been registered OM-M637 in Slovakia.  On 14/3/14 it was sold to the Wanganui Aero Club and it is photo'd above just prior to their ownership at the 2014 RAANZ flyin at Feilding, on 1/3/14.

It was sold to Solo Wings Ltd at Tauranga on 22/5 17 who refurbished the aircraft, and re-registered it as ZK-SWV on 6/11/17.  It is photo'd above outside their training facility on 6/3/18.

Solo Wings repainted ZK-SWV in their colours as seen in this photo that was taken at Pauanui on 20/9/18.

Carbon Cubs of New Zealand Update

Earlier in April I posted about our Carbon Cubs of New Zealand. 

A blog follower has pointed out some factual inexactitudes in this post in that the genesis of the Carbon Cub was the Piper PA 18 Cub (rather than the J 3 Cub) then through the Cub Crafters Sport Cub S2 which was powered by a 100 HP Continental O-200 engine.

The other error was a typo when I posted that the wingspan of the Carbon Cub was 32 feet 3 inches.  In fact it is 34 feet 3 inches, which makes it one foot shorter than the PA 18.

I have gone back and altered my original post and you can read it HERE

Homegrown Two Seat Homebuilt Aircraft of New Zealand (14) - Hansen Deuce

The third homegrown homebuilt aircraft to be registered at the end of 2012 was the Hansen Deuce:

John Hansen is a long time stalwart of the homebuilt aircraft movement in New Zealand, having purchased Turbulent ZK-CAX way back in 1974 and flown it all around the country (and he still owns it).  He is also a Licensed Aircraft Engineer who worked on CT 4 Airtrainers, Fletchers and the early days of the Crescos at NZAI and PAC in Hamilton.  He then set up his own business as an aircraft engineer and has worked on projects all around New Zealand and across the world.  John's background explains the immaculate work that he has done on his own design Hansen Deuce aircraft.

The genesis of John's Hansen Deuce goes back to the late 1970s when he purchased a set of plans for an American designed Bakeng Deuce, and he registered it as ZK-JFH (his initials) on 20/4/90.  However as he got into building it he realised that there were some major design faults with the aircraft so on 9/9/05 he cancelled the registration.  However, after a few years the CAA changed the regulations to allow for Experimental aircraft so John set about redesigning the Deuce using his engineering skills to improve the aircraft.  John built a whole new fuselage with wider cockpits and a bigger fin and rudder, improved the control systems and the struts, and used carbon fibre for strength in some vital areas.  The engine is a 160 HP Lycoming O-320 and it was repositioned to raise the thrust line.  In every area John built to a very high standard and after all this work the aircraft was so different that it was designated as a Hansen Deuce.

ZK-JFH (c/n AACA/586) was registered to John F Hansen of Te Awamutu on 13/12/12.  It was test flown by Noel Cruze who pronounced it to have excellent flying characteristics and a pleasure to fly.  It is photo'd above at the 2016 SAANZ flyin at Bridge Pa aerodrome, on 19/2/16 where it won the Southland Trophy for the best plans built aircraft and the John Borman Trophy for the best New Zealand designed and built aircraft.

Then at the 2017 SAANZ flyin at Ashburton John was awarded the Air New Zealand Trophy for the Grand Champion aircraft at the flyin.

John flies his Deuce to flyins frequently, here leaving the 2018 Black Sands flyin at Raglan.

When I visited John at his nice hangar and workshop at Pokuru near Te Awamutu in November 2019 he was building a cockpit canopy for the rear cockpit (where the aircraft is flown from).  Note the nice Hansen Deuce logo (click to enlarge).

A deserved Grand Champion aircraft!

Homegrown Two Seat Homebuilt Aircraft of New Zealand (13) - Grimmer Skylux

The second of three of our Homegrown Two Seat Homebuilt aircraft to be registered in late 2012:

Gavin Grimmer of Hastings had previously built his Maranda AMF-S14 D1XW ZK-JGR which he registered in March 1996, and which he powered with the first diesel engine to be used in a homebuilt aircraft in New Zealand, then a Continental O-300, finishing up with its current mogas powered Lexus V8 engine (see:  https://nzcivair.blogspot.com/2015/01/maranda-super-14s-of-new-zealand.html ).

In the early 2000s various gliding clubs around New Zealand were searching around for replacement tow planes as their old Cubs and Pawnees showed their age.  They went in several directions including upgraded Pawnees and some Rotax powered aircraft such as the Eurofox.  Gavin Grimmer reckoned he could build a good tow plane and the result was his Skylux.

The Skylux is a side by side two seater and was built with a fabric covered welded steel tube fuselage and empenage.  It uses Pawnee wings with squared wingtips and Pawnee lift struts.  It is powered by a 270 HP Lexus V8 engine conversion with an Autoflight reduction gearbox that gives a 2.2 to 1 reduction ratio to the propellor, and Gavin says that it really has a lot of get up and go.  It has flown quite a few aerotows and performs well, but has not been purchased by a gliding club.

Grimmer Skylux ZK-SLX (c/n 1005-2) was registered to Gavin R Grimmer on 10/12/12.  It would be fair to say that Gavin found building his aircraft easier than getting it certified by the CAA, but eventually he got there.  The above photo was taken in Gavin's hangar adjacent to Bridge Pa aerodrome on 5/1/15, before it had flown.  It shows the wing lift strut arrangement.  ZK-SLX first flew at Bridge Pa on 1/11/15.

The Skylux photo'd at the 2016 SAANZ flyin at Bridge Pa, on 19/2/16.

Along with Gavin's Maranda, and now fitted with wing fences.

There is a video of the Skylux taking off HERE and you can get a good idea of how the engine sounds and its performance with a climb rate of 1700 feet per minute!

Gavin also has a deep interest in finding lost New Zealand aircraft and he has a very detailed website for this at:  www.findlostaircraft.co.nz  It is well worth a look.

Homegrown Two Seat Homebuilt Aircraft of New Zealand (12) - L M Harris CASH Aviation Mk 3

Three Homegrown Two Seat Homebuilt aircraft were registered in New Zealand at the end of 2012, and I post the first one here.

Harry Harris of Tauranga has built several aircraft including a couple he has designed and built.  His first aircraft was the Rand KR 2 ZK-JLW from 2000 that he modified with longer wings and a fibreglass undercarriage, and his second aircraft was the unique microlight Spitfire replica ZK-JNM from 2002 that he designed and built.

This brings us to Harry's third aircraft the L M Harris CASH Aviation Mk 3:

ZK-LHC (c/n 003) was registered to L M (Harry) Harris at Tauranga on 2/10/12 and it first flew on 12/10/12.  Its genesis is in a Lancair project but Harry built 30% larger wings and installed a 100 HP Rotax 912 engine.  It looks good and flies well.  It is photo'd above on finals landing at the 2016 SAANZ flyin at Bridge Pa aerodrome, on 19/2/16.

Later on in 2016, on 4/6/16, I photo'd ZK-LHC again at Dargaville.

Backtracking on Runway 22 at Dargaville.

And lifting off for home at Tauranga, showing the longer wings.

A nice aircraft.

Bulls Flying Doctor on Essential Service Today 5-4-2020

Tim Gorman is in lockdown in a good spot to photograph planes flying overhead transitting North/South and vice versa.

Dr Dave Baldwin overflying Tim today in his Cessna R172H Hawk XP II ZK-RJG, on his return leg after flying an essential service from Palmerston North to Rangiora with Covid 19 test samples for analysis by the Christchurch testing lab (there was a story in Stuff about it, and the Air New Zealand flights have been cancelled).  And of course the return flight would also have been essential.  Good on you Dr Dave!

(Unlike another Cessna overflying the area today!)

And here is a shot of ZK-RJG, coincidentally at Rangiora taken by Blue Bus on 16/7/13.

Brief activity at NZCH this morning.

Mid morning at Christchurch I managed this wild shot of the Christchurch Helicopters 2012 Ltd Aerospatiale AS 350 B2 ZK-HND3 overflying my humble hacienda heading towards the Port Hills.

Attached beneath was the "Fire Attack" belly tank and in the cargo cage port side was the hose and nozzle thingi.

It was back again within about 10 minutes.

The most exciting aerial activity I have seen for eight days.