The best of another week.

 Old is good.
The 4th Cessna 172 to join our register was ZK-BVP c/n 36582 on 03-03-1958 with Rural Aviation Ltd at New Plymouth with it remaining at Bell Bock with the New Plymouth Aero Club. 
It was moved on in mid-1961 and some sixteen owner/operators later was listed with Avskills Ltd on 12-04-2011.

It was noted at Christchurch International on the 14th.

Up at the Saltwater Creek Wetlands NIWA have a cunning scientific program under way.

The Way To Go Heli Service Ltd's MD 500N NOTAR ZK-HZG3 c/n LN045 is sling loading some gear onto site.

It now carries the Company logo on its tail boom.

The Hughes 369D ZK-IKL came to NZ in 2007 and did a stint down the West Coast before joining Gisborne Helicopter from August 2012.

Oceania Aviation picked it up as a major project with it re-flying again in February this year.

It joined Mackenzie Helicopters Ltd of Fairlie in an all-white scheme in April.

I snapped it on departure on the 16th in a new colour scheme.

It has been covered previously here :-  https://nzcivair.blogspot.com/search?q=zk-ikl

Above is a very long shot across the runway and taxiway during the heat of the day to capture this Boeing 737-7ZH (Boeing Business Jet) VP-CTT c/n 38751 as listed to Phenix Jet in the Bahama's.

It was first flown on 23-09-2011 as N930HB before listing to Busujima Trust Co of Wilmington, Delaware on 17-01-2012 for operation by Nanshan Jet Co out of Beijing.
After a period of storage, it was upgraded to BBJ standard and was cancelled on 26-01-2022 to become VP-CTT.

The Hughes of Westland

A recent trip to my old stomping grounds of Westland and an associated jaunt to Central Otago afforded the opportunity to net a few Hughes helicopter variants here and there. 

There are numerous Hughes helicopters dotted around NZ and a quick look at current records the numbers are made up of:
369D - 37
369E - 27
369FF - 3
369HS - 24
500N - 15
600N - 1

These numbers include the MD and Kawasaki manufacturer's names also.

Mountain Helicopters E model ZK-HCC at Franz Josef 14 April 2012.

Above and below, Central South Island Helicopters MD520N ZK-HDW making a fuel stop at Hokitika 16 April 2012.

Above and below, Fox/Franz Heli Services D model ZK-HRP arriving at Franz Josef 12 April 2012.

Back Country Helicopters E model ZK-IHH at its Makarora base, 12 April 2012.

Mountain Helicopters D model ZK-IKL at Franz Josef 14 April 2012.

DP Nyhon Holdings D model at Greenstone Helicopters base, Haast 14 April 2012.

Registered to Karamea Helicopters but living at Hokitika with Southern Alps Helicopters titles, Scheweizer 269C ZK-HGJ at Hokitika 16 April 2012.

CMM. Still in the Mt Cook area.

 

Up at the Mount Cook Airfield on the 20th was the Airbus AS 350 B2 ZK-HDG3 c/n 7863 which was first registered in NZ on 28-09-2022 and has been with Inflite Ltd since December 2023.

The following were all taken at Glentanner, about 18 clicks down the valley from the Mt Cook strip.

CMM wishes to thank the Helicopter Line Crew at Glentanner for access and their time.The Eurocopter AS 350 B2 ZK-HSM3 is c/n 3529 and joined The Helicopter Line Ltd on 07-06-2011.

ZK-HSM4 is c/n 3986 and went on line with The Helicopter Line in February 2015. 

Both were imported via Heli Support New Zealand Ltd.

The Eurocopter AS 350 B2 ZK-HWG2 c/n 2816 is listed with Heli Support International Ltd and carries The Helicopter Line signage.

ZK-IDM is a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 with c/n 9026 which has been with The Helicopter Line since September of 2015.

A stray in the form of the Hughes 369D ZK-IKL c/n 800753D from Mackenzie Helicopters Ltd has been working the area dealing with wilding pine trees.

An early pie run to Rangiora

On the Western grass at Christchurch was the Cessna 182R Skylane ZK-OAD c/n 18268127.This came from OZ as VH-AOD2 and became ZK-OAD with Brendan Morrison of Mosgiel on 15-03-2018.

Over at Heli Maintenance was the Hughes 369E ZK-IOB c/n 0252E as operated by Mackenzie Helicopters Ltd of Fairlie. It has been with then since February 2020.

The Hughes 369D ZK-IKL c/n 800753D has been a  long time project at Napier and has very recently joined Mackenzie Helicopters.

Out at Rangiora the Pipistrel Alpha Electro ZK-EAL4 c/n 942 AE 60 of Electric Air was out to allow other aircraft to be hangared.

The CRAC latest acquisition is Tecnam P92 Echo Mk II UL ZK-RGE c/n 1657 listed to them on 05-04-2022.

At Heli Maintenance NZCH today

Just two of the helicopters seen at Heli Maintenance at Christchurch International today 17-02-2012.
Above is the McDonnell Douglas 500N NOTAR ZK-HFJ3 (c/n LN027) of Alpine Hunting Adventures Ltd over from Franz Josef. About to start up following servicing.

From just down the road at Fox Glacier came the Hughes 369D ZK-IKL (c/n 800753D) of Mountain Helicopters Fox Glacier Ltd.

Both have had exotic previous histories:
With HFJ serving in Denkark and Belgium + the US.
and IKL has worked in Venezuela, Surinam and the US.

Couple of helicopters at Ardmore

Noted at Ardmore today was our first example of the Robinson R44 Cadet version now carrying its registration ZK-HNG8.    It is currently registered to the NZ Robinson dealer Heliflite Ltd.

And over at Oceania Aviation the former Gisborne Helicopters' Hughes 369D ZK-IKL has completed its refurbishment and it is now for sale on the Oceania website.   It was originally imported from the US back in 2007.