Pipistrel Sinus ZK-LAU at Whangarei

Peter Garlick has sent in a photo of the newly registered Pipistrel Sinus that was signed off by CAA one day after the Shark at Kaipara Flats:

ZK-LAU (c/n 166s9120305) was registered to Richard Prentice of Opua on 16/9/24.  It was imported from Australia where it was 24-4400.

Thanks for the photo Peter.

Micro Aviation Bantam B22J ZK-WNJ

 Whilst poking around at Mandeville the other day I came across this Bantam that has not been mentioned previously on this blog.

Micro Aviation Bantam B22J ZK-WNJ c/n 01-0195 first appeared on our civil aircraft register on 05-12-2001 for Wilkie Wilkens of Paeroa. 

He sold it on briefly to Lindsay Brown and Simon Bankhart of Waihi from 20-08-2007. They sold it in November of 2007 with Lindsay purchasing the Czech Sportcruiser ZK-CSC2 and Simon the Bantam B22S ZK-DTC2. 

WNJ's new owner was Aaron Robins of Winton - who also acquired the Revolution Mini 500 ZK-HOW2 at about the same time - followed by the Bantam B22J ZK-JMT later.

Bradley Yorke of Wyndham listed it from 01-10-2009. Bradley has had at least a dozen aircraft since 1994. It was then transferred to John Stewart, also of Wyndham from 04-08-2010 where it joined the Gemini 503TC ZK-EEX and the Banam B22J ZK-SJW and then later by the Impulse 100 ZK-MPL.

The Croydon Aircraft Co Ltd of Mandeville (the one near Gore) acquired it from 18-05-2015.

Below is a portion of the blurb that accompanies the aircraft on display.

Hmmm !

Robinson R44 Duo at Nelson 12-12-2024

 Bill on his usual morning walk about captured these two Robinson R44's at Nelson Airport today.

Above we have the Robinson R44 ZK-HHS3 c/n 0805 as listed with Coast To Coast Helicopters Tasman Ltd of Upper Moutere from 06-08-24.

First registered back on 01-09-2004 as ZK-HLB4 with North Shore Helicopters Ltd.

Its following history can be found HERE

    ZK-HRT3 c/n 10567 was built as a Robinson R44 Clipper II and served time in the Pacific Islands,      initially as F-OMGL from 2007 and then as YJ-VHH with Vanuatu Helicopters of Port Vila, Vanuatu         from March of 2010. It then moved over to Pacific Island Air at Nadi, Fiji in 2014 as DQ-HFR.

It was next noted at Motueka in for its twelve year rebuild in July 2020 and was listed to Argus Aviation Ltd as ZK-HRT3 from 05-10-2020. The rebuild actually took place at the Argus Aviation facility at Taupo with a sale to Western Helicopters Ltd of Te Kuiti from 10-03-2021.

Current operator Heli Marlborough 2021 Ltd took in on from 30-05-2024.

Shark Aero Shark ZK-SAS/2 First Flight on 11-12-2024

Yesterday I was fortunate to be able to be at Kaipara Flats airfield to help Bruce Stevenson with pulling a couple of aircraft out of the hangar to enable him to release his new Shark 600 microlight out into the wild.  It is the first of this type of microlight to arrive in New Zealand and it comes with serious credentials as it is the same type of microlight that Zara Rutherford flew solo around the world in 2021/22 to become the youngest female pilot to do so at 19, and her little brother Mack Rutherford also flew around the world in 2022 in another Shark becoming the youngest earthrounder at age 17.  The Shark is unique among microlights in New Zealand to date (I think) by being a tandem 2 seater.  (Actually that is not true because the barber Snark was a tandem 2 seater).

The Shark is manufactured by Shark Aero of Slovakia and is of all carbon fibre and kevlar construction, and as mentioned above is a tandem 2 seater.  It has side stick controllers for both cockpits.  Its length is 6.7 metres and its wingspan is 7.9 metres, with a wing area of 9.5 square metres.  The empty weight is around 300 Kg and MAUW in New Zealand is 598 Kg.  The Shark is powered by a Rotax 912 ULS of 100 HP and that power gives incredible performance with a Shark in France holding the FAI Speed record for its class of 303 km/hr set in 2015.

Bruce's Shark ZK-SAS2 (c/n 067) is a factory re-manufactured example that has flown for 5 years as OM-5333 in Slovakia.  Its trim and registration are of silver reflective material which can make it hard to photograph the registration on the curved fuselage side.  You really need it to be reflecting something dark which I managed to do with the hanger in the above photo.

But not in this photo in the open air!

The take off roll was short with only Bruce on board, and I just managed to get this uncropped shot as he whizzed past.  You can see the trailing link main undercarriage and big flaps well in this shot.

And in this shot you can see the narrower fuselage with the tandem seating configuration, which no doubt helps with its performance.  A mean machine!

Lockhead 12-A Electra Junior ZK-LHE

The first of its type to be operated on the New Zealand civil register is this Lockheed 12-A Electra Junior ZK-LHE c/n 1262 as registered on 08-11-2024 to a Private Owner.

This airframe was delivered to the United States Army Air Force as a Lockheed C-40A on 23-03-1939 with the military serial of 38-545. It was re-designated as a UC-40A in January 1943.

Post World War Two it entered the US civil register as NC48471 followed by N48471, N87P, N299A and then to N712FM in 1962.

After about eight civilian owners it was purchased by Ray Piggot of Mareeba, Queensland and ferried into Cairns in mid 1982. Ray intended to start up 'Air Heart Safaris' but this did not eventuate, and I believe the aircraft was withdrawn from use in 10-1983.

The photo above was taken by Willian Gray at Mareeba, Queensland on 08-10-1982.

Marked as 712FM.

Its US registration was cancelled on 17-07-1987 for it to become VH-HID from 16-09-1987 with J J Rundell of Greenwood, West Australia and was ferried across to Jandakot on 26-10-1987.

Australian Aircraft Sales Pty Ltd of Mascot, NSW listed it from 02-02-1989 followed by International Jetliners Pty Ltd of Mascot from 30-12-1997, and I believe it was operated by John Love out of Albury before returning to Australian Aircraft Sales (NSW) Pty Ltd in late 2001.

Doug Hamilton of Whorouly, Victoria added it to his collection from 09-08-2007.

It was briefly marked up in a USAAC scheme for its part in the movie 'Unbroken' but quickly reverted to its polished aluminium scheme.

VH-HID was ferried from Wangaratta to Taree and Lord Howe Island by Doug Hamilton and Steve Death on 08-05-2022, then on to Norfolk Island and Auckland on the 9th. To Timaru on the 10th and then to Wanaka.

As part of the overall deal Steve Death then ferried the Mustang Flights Ltd's North American P51D Mustang ZK-SAS - which had been re-registered as VH-LUI on 14-06-2024 to Precision Airmotive Pty Ltd at Whorouly (Doug Hamilton) - from Wanaka to Kerikeri on 17-06-2024, then to Norfolk Island and Coolangatta on the 18th.

VH-HID was on display at Warbirds over Wanaka as seen above on 28-03-2024.

I next noted it at Alexandra in the care of Arron Cooper and his team at Tinshed Aviation where it was placed on the NZ register on 08-11-2024.

The three photos below were taken at Alexandra on 22-11-2024 with thanks to Arron Cooper.

Still wearing its old VH-HID markings - although now officially ZK-LHE.

This however is not the first Lockheed 12-A to be operated in New Zealand as N14999 c/n 1252 was operated here early this century by Pat Donovan.

75 Years of Aerowork (sort of) Celebration at Wanganui

As I have previously posted, Ravensdown Aerowork held a large private gathering at Wanganui on 7 December to celebrate 75 years of the Aerowork brand.  It involved a flying display comprising the original Wanganui Aero Work Tiger Moth ZK-AUZ followed by the 400 HP Fletcher 950 ZK-EGK with the Cresco ZK-LTJ bringing up the rear.  Despite being busy with commentary duties, Ray Deerness managed to take a few photos in the lead up to the celebration:

A procession of the oldest to the newest Aerowork topdressing aircraft - Tiger Moth ZK-AUZ, Fletcher FU24-950 ZK-EGK and PAC Cresco ZK-LTJ.  This photo was taken the day before during practice for the flypast.

Then on the day there was this impressive lineup of Ravensdown Aero Work aircraft.  The Crescos on this side of the lineup were ZK-LTY in the front with ZK-LTW, LTV and LTG.

And the other side comprised of ZK-LTN in the front with ZK-LTL, LTJ and LTH.

While in the middle was the dual control Fletcher ZK-EGK.

Of the rest of the fleet, ZK-LTB was in the South Island still fighting the Castle Hill fire, and ZK-LTS and ZK-LTZ are currently dismantled.

As for the 75 years, Wally Harding carried out his first topdressing at Blinkbonnie on 27 April 1950 and from there requests for spreading superphosphate flowed in.  Later in 1950 he ordered two Tiger Moths from the UK, quickly followed by four more.  Wanganui Aero Work Ltd was registered on 13 November 1950 and that month Wally Harding employed Doug Holloway and Wally Green to fly Tiger Moths ZK-AUY and ZK-AUZ, with the latter being the first to be signed out on 4 December 1950.  

So the 75th was not quite historically accurate but it still a great achievement.

Meanwhile at Wanganui on 7-12-2024 - 750XL-II ZK-EPQ

Ravensdown Aerowork held a large private gathering at Wanganui Airport yesterday to celebrate 75 years of the Aerowork brand.  There were about 600 Ravensdown clients and current and former staff going as far back as 1959.  Due to the busy day there were only 3 air displays, flown by the Wanganui Aerowork Tiger Moth ZK-AUZ, FU 24-950 ZK-EGK and Cresco ZK-LTJ.  Ray Deerness was there and was doing the commentary for the day.  Because of his commitments he couldn't take photos but did manage to take one of a surprise visitor:

The latest NZ Skydive 750XL-II ZK-EPQ (c/n XL502) flew down from Hamilton with top management of NZ Aero and this was fitting given the long association of Aerowork with aircraft built in Hamilton by NZ Skydive's predecessors over many years.  This is the first time for ZK-EPQ on the blog.

Thanks very much for the photo Ray.

Nelson this morning from Bill Mannix.

 Bill Mannix captured these two helicopters during his morning walk around Nelson Airport.

The McDonnell Douglas 500N NOTAR ZK-IDL3 c/n LN051 is a recent addition to the NZ civil register, being listed to a Private Owner on 30-10-2024. 

It carries Nelson Helicopters titles and I believe it replaces their on sold Squirrel ZK-HQN.

Also on the Nelson Helicopters pad was the Aerospatiale AS 350 BA (with FX2 mods) ZK-IOS c/n 1646. This has been in NZ since1986 when it served as ZK-HZR, becoming ZK-HST2 in mid 1993 and then ZK-HWF3 in mid 2009. It took up its current ZK-IOR marks from 03-11-2014.

Lancair 320 ZK-KWK at Springhill 7-12-2024

Just as we were packing up the BBQ stuff at Springhill yesterday, a couple of exotic aircraft appeared overhead and landed.  They were Brent Hempel in his Yak 52 ZK-RUS2 and Rob Fry in his Nieco Lancair 320 ZK-KWK:

ZK-KWK (c/n 360-001) was imported as N817S by Rob Fry and was registered to him in New Zealand on 4/10/19.  A smooth machine.  Rob parked his Lancair to allow for a photo with a nice rural backdrop (John King would approve I am sure).  For whatever reason it has not appeared on the blog previously.

Northern Aviators Club Christmas BBQ at Springhill Today 7-12-2024

The Northern Aviators Club held their Christmas BBQ at Springhill today, in conjunction with the Auckland Chapter of the Sport Aircraft Association of NZ.  There was a good turnout of about 25 planes including 4 gyrocopters:

Rusty Russell taking off for a photo sortie seen over the turtle deck of RV 7 ZK-LVA

And this is the photo he took, there are 16 different aircraft types on the field.  Thanks Rusty

Mark Biddle took off in his Tandem Dominator ZK-RCE2 headed for lunch at Dargaville,

Followed by Rusty with passenger Luke Dixon in Rusty's trusty MT 03 Eagle ZK-RBG.  That is a hand held camera that Luke is holding so I guess I will be in a video somewhere.