Piper PA24-250 ZK-BAZ

In recent weeks Taupo based Piper PA24-250 ZK-BAZ has been noted at Ardmore which is not out of the ordinary but since last seeing the aircraft back in 2013 the addition of a very neat decal on the tail has appeared.

As timing would have it we were on location when the aircraft departed 26 September allowing a better shot of the aircraft and decal.  As can be seen in the accompanying photos, the decal is of a styilised Anzac poppy with the label of the poppy saying "New Zealand WW100" and underneath this "Wings to Gallipoli ANZAC 2015".  I guess this may point to the aircraft and owner making a journey to Turkey to commemorate the centenary of the ANZAC landings on the Gallipoli Peninsular. 

Cessna 180J ZK-WBG

A nice catch outside the Aerotech hangar at Ardmore on the afternoon of 26 September was this recently imported Cessna 180J ZK-WBG.  This 1976 example was registered to Oxford Partnership of Cambridge just 3 days prior to the photo being taken and a search of its construction number (180-52758) helps us find the previous identity as being N7824K and most recently owned by Cazort Technologies of Corona Del Mar located in the southern burbs of Los Angeles.

According to online records, ZK-WBG increases the NZ population of J models to 8.
The other J's being DKE, DOD, DPJ, DRG, DXA, DXW and FPC.   The grand total of Cessna 180's in the country stands at 66.

Hughes 369D ZK-HAY

The Hughes 396D ZK-HAY3 was visiting Pacific Helicopters at Christchurch today.

 This was poked out by Hughes in 1979 as N58346 and changed to N54Wk in August of 1992 for Universal Pacific Investments of Bend, Oregon. It was cancelled on 10-03-2003 and sent over to Hungary to become HA-RTL.

 

 The next I heard of it was when it became ZK-HAY3 on 12-04-2012 with Phoenix Trading 2002 Ltd of Christchurch. Ownership changed to Lisburn Farms Ltd on 20-09-2013.

Below - it still carries this Hungarian ID plate.

Below is a photo of her in her Hungarian markings. It was noted in an all white scheme in 2008

ZK-HAY1 was mentioned at:- http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/search?q=hay

ZK-HAY2 was a Bell 206B JetRanger which became ZK-HTX2 in 2012.

Silverstream pics.

Occasionally from out of the blue comes some really interesting photographs from the past.

Below are two which arrived recently from Graeme Stratton.

Graeme says:- I have attached 2 photos sent by my brother in law in Christchurch.

He collects stamps, postcards etc and obtained these photos but with no explanation.

 

The aircraft on the right of the upper picture is the Douglas DC-3 ZK-BYF.

See the earlier post on ZK-BYF at :- http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2011/06/pics-from-gisborne-4.html

 

The aircraft on the left of the top pic is the CAC 28 Ceres ZK-BZO. Check out :-

http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2008/12/from-shoe-box-1a-zk-bzo.html
This went to Australia in about 2007 to be a parts provider for a Wirraway.

 

The aircraft in the centre is the Grumman TBF-1C Avenger NZ2505 (c/n 5220)

This has no NZ civil registration. From Silverstream this went down to the RNZAF Museum at Wigram and then up to GAPS at Gisborne. More recently it was moved to Tauranga for restoration.

Check out:-  http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~av8or/GAPS/avenger_right.html

In this lower pic we have the Harvard NZ1057 (c/n 88-14178). This became ZK-TVI on 18-12-1997 and is still active with Frank Parker and Liz Needham at Warbird Adventure Rides out of Ardmore.

 

Just a guess at this stage - but I would say the pics were taken prior to 1982.

More from Graeme's dad in a later post.

NZCH yesterday 23rd and today 24-09-2014

 Robbie Burnside had his Piper PA-28R-200 Cherokee Arrow II ZK-EBI (c/n 28R-7535343) up from Taieri. Originally with the Hawera Aero Club in early 1976, then to Robbie for the first time from September 1980 and 12-02-1990. After five years with the Otago Aero Club it returned to Robbie in March of 1995.

 Cessna 206H (c/n 20608134) wears the registration ZK-FWC2 created from the owners initials Frederick William Coates of Hastings. This ferried into Kerikeri on 20-06-2014.

See :- http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/a-trio-from-ardmore-28-july-2014.html

and also the link within.

 A better view of the Rick Lucas's Bolkow BO105S ZK-IAI (c/n S-841) in the HELiPRO compound.

Top three pics taken today - and lower view shot yesterday.

Just across the road at Pacific Aircraft was this line up.

Nearest is R22 ZK-HXG2; R44 Raven II ZK-HFP3; Cabri ZK-ICS2; JetRanger IIIZK-HQH3 and Cabri ZK-HCS5.

Homegrown Two Seat Homebuilt Aircraft of New Zealand (2) - Barber HA 2 and HA 3 Snarks

Bill Barber farmed at Dacre in Southland and he built several of his Snark aircraft there.  The above photo shows three of the Snarks gathered together at Dacre (a School of Snarks?), in 1998.

His first aircraft was the single seat Snark HA 1 ZK-FOU which I have posted about at:  www.nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/homegrown-single-seat-homebuilt.html

The Snark HA 3 has a length of 6.24 metres (20 feet 4 inches)and a wingspan of 9.3 metres (30 feet 6 inches).  It is a very tall aircraft with a height of 2.43 metres (7 feet 9 inches).  Empty weight is around 263 Kg (580 pounds) and MAUW is 450 Kg (992 pounds).  With a Rotax 912 engine, cruise is around 104 knots and the stall is at 32 knots.

Snark HA 2 ZK-FYE (c/n MAANZ 450) was Bill Barber's first attempt at a two seat aircraft and it was first registered to him on 30/5/91.  It was literally designed on the back of an envelope but in fact it is a very elegant and efficient carbon fibre and Kevlar design with the cockpit/main undercarriage/engine mount structural area being very compact with only a single bulkhead.  Also, the cockpit layout is unique among microlights, with both the pilot and passenger having almost helicopter-like visiblity.  The HA 2 model was powered by a Rotax 503 engine.  It also had a retractable front wheel which Bill found to make no appreciable difference to the performance so his later Snarks have fixed front wheels.  It was sold to JM Young of Wanaka on 24/4/98.  It crashed on take off from a strip near Wanaka on 3/2/01.

The damaged aircraft was sold to GD McMillan of Invercargill on 26/3/01.  He employed Bill Barber to rebuild the aircraft and he re-registered it as ZK-DQL on 16/11/01.  It is photo'd here at Queenstown on 10/9/05 where it can be seen that an addition had been made to the upper fin.  It is still current.

ZK-JEK (c/n 001) originally had the c/n of MAANZ/528, and was first registered to Bill Barber on 20/3/95.  This aircraft was the first HA 3 model and was powered by a Suzuki G 13 engine.  It had less wing area than ZK-FYE and it had full span flaperons.  It was sold to MC Hopper of Otautau on 1/1/03, and he later moved to Whitianga and based the aircraft there.  Later he replaced the 1300cc G 13 Suzuki engine with a twin carburettor 1500cc Suzuki engine, and the performance was spectacular.  J & C Dale of Papakura purchased the aircraft on 31/10/12, and it was based at Ardmore.

It is photo'd above at Ardmore on 20/7/13.  However it was unfortunately destroyed at Ardmore on 4/1/14 when it suffered an engine fire. Fortunately it made it back to the runway for the occupants to get out before the fire completely destroyed the aircraft.  A link to this sad occurrence is at  www.nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/barber-snark-zk-jek.html  It was cancelled on 28/4/14.

The second HA 3, ZK-PIE (c/n 002) was built by David Laing of Dunedin from moulds supplied by Bill Barber.  It was registered to the Duncan Laing Trust of Dunedin on 28/2/96.  It also was powered by a Suzuki G 13 engine, but it had slotted flaps and ailerons instead of flaperons - as all subsequent Snarks have had.  ZK-PIE suffered an engine failure on take off on a test flight from Taieri on 25/1/98 and went through a fence.  However it was repaired as shown by this photo taken in a hangar at Timaru on 6/10/99.  It was sold to JR Lissington of Otorohanga on 1/11/99.

It is photo'd above at the 2009 Black Sands flyin at Raglan on 7/11/09.  Finally it was sold to J & C Dale of Papakura on 23/3/14 to replace their sadly departed ZK-JEK.

ZK-JIU (c/n 003) is a HA 3B model and was first registered to Bill Blair on 12/11/97.  It had a Suzuki G 13-GTI engine.  It was sold to P Dunn of Mildura in Australia and its registration was cancelled on 19/2/99 and transferred to the Australian microlight register as 19-3116.  It was sold to B Cooper of Melbourne in 2005, and it is still registered in Australia.

And the latest Snark (to date) is HA 3C model ZK-JPS (c/n 004) which was registered to Bill Barber on 10/7/03.  It is powered by a Rotax 912 engine which is 30 kg lighter than the Suzuki.  Bill has based his aircraft at Cromwell and flown it locally.  It is photo'd above at the 2014 Wings Over Wanaka airshow, on 18/4/14.

ZK-JPS is now FOR SALE - contact the email address in the blog header if you are interested in owning this neat aircraft.

The first and latest HA 3 Snarks together at the Cromwell racecourse.

The Snark was flown and reviewed by experienced UK general aviation and microlight pilot Tim Cripps for Today's Pilot Magazine where he stated "This is the most enjoyable of the many aircraft I have flown - and that includes the Hunter".  High praise indeed!  There were plans for UK production but those have not come to fruition.

And that is not the end of our Barber Snarks! as Bill Barber has another one almost complete, which we might see in the near future.

Thanks very much to Bill Barber for many of the photos, and for information used in this post.

Blast from the past.

This tired olde faded photograph shows the Auster B.8 Agricola ZK-BXO (c/n AIRP-680) about to land on the Murphy's Road strip on the Paremata - Haywards -Hutt Valley Road sometime in the 60's.

Check out the earlier post and the link within :- http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2009/06/auster-agricolas.html

This Agricola is still current in the UK with Cliff Baker as G-CBOA and at the end of 2013 had 4682 airframe hours.

Hughes 269C 300C ZK-HBS/2 at Ardmore1994
Heli-Sika Ltd., Taupo

ZK-HBS revisited.

I have been asked off blog if I have pics of the two earlier ZK-HBS's.

This is what I've got.

 The original ZK-HBS was a Hiller UH-12E with the c/n 2301. Built as N9795C and listed in March 1964 to the Puerto Rico Resources Authority. Ownership went briefly to G E Mattern sometime in 1966 before it came to NZ and became ZK-HBS with Whirlwide Helicopters Ltd of Hastings on 10-03-1967. It first flew in NZ during May and was then posted down South.

At about this time is was named "Blossom".

It had a bit of an incident at Haast on 16-03-1968 and another at Teretonga on 23-01-1969.

It was relisted to Whirl-Wide Aviation Ltd at Timaru on 01-11-1969.

On 12-06-1970 it had a tail rotor strike in the Selbourne Range (not far inland from Jacksons Bay) and was destroyed by fire.

Its registration was cancelled on 24-06-1970.

Both photographs were taken at Invercargill. Top one on in December of 1968 and the shot below on 24-01-1969.

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Issue two of the ZK-HBS marks went to the Hughes 269C with the c/n of 82-0157.

This came out of the Hughes Tool Company plant at Carlsbad, California as N9689F in about August of 1972. First operator was the City of Columbus Police Division, at Columbus Ohio followed by Flight Centre Co Inc of Tulsa Oklahoma during 1974 and then Sierra Bravo Corp'n in 1977.

On 01-12-1978 it joined the ranks of the City of North Miami Beach Police. By February 1983 it was working with the Caribbean Chopper Corp'n of Naples, Florida and was listed to Greenpeace International Inc of Washington DC in November 1985.

It was noted at Ardmore in November of 1986 and then in storage at Taupo. Its US registration was cancelled in October 1988.

 My only photos of her are as N9689F as seen at Garden City Helicopters, Christchurch on 10-03-1988.

It was registered as ZK-HBS2 on 25-10-1988 to P G Avery and P A Westbury at Taupo, and then solely to P G Avery at Kinloch on 05-12-1989.

Heli-Sika of Poronui were next from 28-04-1992 (although it was with them during 1991) and then Te Onepu Helicopters (1992) Ltd of Taupo from 14-07-1995.

It was damaged during a hover training flight at Poronui on 26-09-1998 and its registration was cancelled on 16-11-1998.

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ZK-HBS3, as mentioned in the previous post, came along in February 2002

 These two pics of ZK-HBS3 were taken (above) at on Palmerston North on 01-04-2004, and below at Taupo on 03-03-2008.

Just as a reminder : the small number following the registration is an unofficial addition by aviation enthusiasts.

If a registration has been issued more than once then a number is added to indicate which allocation is being discussed.

I think we are up to the 7th allocation of some helicopter registrations so far.

Kawasaki Hughes 369 ZK-HBS

Spied at HELiPRO at Christchurch yesterday.

Must be something of interest about that rotor head.

KHI Kawasaki-Hughes 369HS ZK-HBS3 (c/n 6622) was built as JA9083 and registered in Japan on 26-07-1972.

It was imported by Rotor Flite NZ Ltd and became ZK-HBS on 05-02-2002 before going to Rick Lucas Helicopters Ltd (trading as HELiPRO) on 03-10-2003.

The first ZK-HBS was a Hiller UH12 and the second allocation went to an ex Greenpeace Hughes 269.