Microlight Aircraft of New Zealand - Early Unregistered Microlights - Ken Hoult's Kasperwing

Another very early type of microlight to fly here was the Kasperwing.  This was a single seat weight shift microlight that used a sliding seat for pitch control while bank and yaw were controlled by wing tip rudders.  It was designed in the mid 1970s in the US by Witold Kasper and Steve Grossruck and first flew in 1976, which pre-dated the US ultralight rules.  It has a wingspan of 35 feet (10.7 metres) and an empty weight of 160 pounds (73 Kg).  Its wing is wire braced from a central kingpost and the airfoil designed by Witold Kasper can produce a fully stalled configuration that descends like a parachute.  It is powered by a Zenoah engine of 20 HP.

Ken Hoult of Morrinsville imported a Kasperwing in 1981 and Pete James test flew it on Ken's farm:

The above photo shows Ken Hoult spraying on his farm in his Kasperwing and he went on to become the New Zealand agent for the type.  The photo (from the book "The Topdressers" by Janic Geelen), was taken by Paul Legg who also was an agent for the Kasperwing and flew one.  The caption states that many farmers were interested in microlights for spraying but the Civil Aviation Division of the Ministry of Transport decreed that microlights were only to be flown for pleasure.  (However that did not stop several enterprising microlight sprayers but that is another story).

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South Otago Aero Club 90th Anniversary Celebrations 22-11-2025

The South Otago Aero Club at Balclutha celebrated their 90th anniversary with a flyin at Balclutha airfield on Saturday 22 November and 40 aircraft attended, plus one helicopter (which won the spot landing competition!).  Various photos have been posted on social media and Thomas Jackson took the photos below, of aircraft that were a bit different:

Rans S 6ES ZK-ARD2 is locally owned and I have been after a photo of it in all yellow.

Rans S 7 Courier ZK-TIK2 came from Te Anau and now has a Roberts Bush Gear undercarriage.

Flight Design CT ZK-TPZ came from Otautau and has now acquired CTLS trim.

Thanks for the use of the photos Thomas.

A Couple of Accoutrements at NZAA the Other Day

 

Judging from the number plate the Airport Emergency Service has a new firefighting vehicle.

And Air New Zealand has a big new plastic covered hangar.  It is Hangar 4 and is the largest unsupported timber arch aircraft hangar in the Southern Hemisphere.  It can take a Boeing B 787 or two smaller Airbuses, but it also takes away what used to be a good aircraft photography spot.

A couple of black Helicopters

Visiting Pauanui airfield this afternoon were a couple of Auckland based black helicopters being the privately owned EC130T2 ZK-HAT4.   This is an Aston Martin AH130 version originally imported new as ZK-HAP4 in January 2024, changing to HAT in November of that year.

And the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV ZK-HNY5 which also privately owned.  This was originally imported from the USA in late 2020.

A Flight Back from Dargaville to Kaipara Flats Yesterday

After lunch at Dargaville yesterday the weather cleared to sunny as we flew a lazy route back to Kaipara Flats in Brien's Fly Synthesis Texan ZK-TXN2:

We flew down the West Coast's continuous beach until we got to Kaipara Heads.  This is a notorious piece of water that has wrecked many ships over the years.  You can see how churned up the water is down there, and I mentally thanked to reliable Rotax engine up front.  That is South Head in the distance.

We cut in at the Heads and flew on across the Kaipara Harbour passing the disused North Head lighthouse below.

An enlargement of the lighthouse.

Then we overflew NZKF and on down the Mahurangi River, which you can see all the way from Warkworth down to Scotts Landing in the photo.

Around past Snells Beach we overflew Sandspit, with the channels showing due to the low tide.

Then we flew back and landed at NZKF where there was lots of activity: (from left) Eagle 150, Chipmunk, Tiger Moth, Messenger, Robin R2160 and Cherokee.

Thanks for the great flight Brien.

A Couple of Classic Cessnas at Dargaville Today 22-11-2025

A few days of nice weather in the North made a flight up to Dargaville for lunch sound pretty good, so I joined Brien O'Brien for a flight up there in his Flight Synthesis Texan.  There was one stand out visitor for me making its first visit for a Dargaville lunch, that being the Cessna 170B ZK-JCG3 which has recently been acquired by Shane Phillips and is now based at North Shore.  It is a very photogenic machine:

And it was even better when the C 170  was joined by Simon Lowther's Cessna 120 ZK-BFK2,

After lunch, taxying out,

And taking off leaving behind a cloud of lime rock dust.

Very shiny!

QUESTION TIME. An unknown Time Machine ?

 Can you tell us the registration of this time machine ?

I do not know the answer.

Pauanui today

Amongst the visitors to Pauanui airfield this morning was the Tauranga based Savannah S ZK-LBQ.  This hasnt been blogged here before and it was originally registered to a Rangiora owner in October 2023 before moving onto its current owner in October 2025.

A second visiting Savannah was the Whitianga based XL model ZK-CVK2 which still displays its previous Australian light sport aircraft registration 19-7675.   It was imported back in early 2015.

 

And down from Auckland and displaying its new white registration is David Wilkinson's DR107 ZK-EZG2

Barrier Air's Cessna Grand Caravan Fleet at NZAA

Another nice surprise at Auckland International yesterday was almost the entire fleet of Barrier Air's Cessna C208B Grand Caravans parked up.  The conditions for photos weren't great but I managed to get photos of all of them:

ZK-SDA3 (c/n 208B-5691) has not been blogged here before.  It is ex ZK-ROW2 and was registered to GBA on 1/10/24.

ZK-SDB is ex N988BA and was registered to GBA on 21/7/15.

ZK-SDC is ex N2057 and was registered to GBA on 24/1/18.

ZK-SDD is ex ZK-SAW and was registered to GBA on 10/10/18.

(ZK-SDE was not at NZAA yesterday as it was out earning its keep.  You can see this one HERE).

And finally ZK-SDG2 is ex F-FHTR and was registered to GBA on 14/10/22.

I was pleasantly surprised to see them all, and I guess it must have been a slow day!

NZICPA Cessna 172R Skyhawk at Wanganui: ZK-WUK

 Jordan Elvy has answered the call for a photo of C 172R ZK-WUK:

ZK-WUK (c/n 17481140) one of the trio of Cessna 172Rs that were purchased by the NZICPA and flown across the Tasman in September 2024.  It was registered to the NZICPA at Wanganui on 19/9/24.

Thanks for the photo Jordan.