Other Wellington aircraft

Here are some photos of other aircraft at Wellington today.

ZK-TZZ is a Partenavia P68C from Canterbury Aero Club and is a fairly regular visitor to Wellington. ZK-FLC is a Cessna C152, based at Paraparaumu.

The most interesting aircraft was ZK-MUS. ZK-MUS is a Cessna C510 Mustang registered to Acernus Aero Ltd, in Wellington. This is the same Mustang as the one I previously photographed when it was on the US register. It's a very recent addition to the NZ registered, with the paperwork only being effective from 29 May 2008. Quite an appropriate registration also :-)

Enjoy the photos!

RNZAF C130 Hercules

Here are two pictures of an RNZAF C130 Hercules departing Wellington today. The second picture is grossly over-exposed, but this does highlight the vapour off the blade tips. Beautiful :-)

The Eurocopter EC 120B

Here's a picture of a Eurocopter EC 120B, spotted at Wellington this evening. Apologies for the quality of the pictures - they were taken this evening after it started to get dark. ZK-IJK is registered to Rick Lucas Helicopters of Palmerston North.

As far as helicopters go, the EC120 is one of the better looking aircraft around.

Qantas B737-838 at Wellington

Spotted at Wellington on Sunday afternoon was this Qantas B737-800 series aircraft with the Australian registration of VH-VXL. What attracted me to this particular aircraft was that the landing lights were flashing/alternating as it came in - quite different from most other aircraft that frequent Wellington.

Although not confirmed, I understand that this aircraft may have been filling in for Jetconnect [branded as Qantas in New Zealand] on some domestic sectors recently.

World Record certificate

Back on 22 March 2007 two intrepid pilots set a New Zealand speed record, flying the amazing Thunder Mustang, ZK-TMG, from Auckland to Christchurch in only 1 hour and 36 minutes, for an average speed of 465km/hr. Well done guys! Click here for the official Kiwi Thunder website.

The original newspaper report from the NZ Herald is here....

I received word today from another mate that the certificate proving this feat was presented recently. Here's some photos. Firstly Rob Burns [left] and Chris Bromley and the certificate. Second and third are pictures of the engine and the panel. Thanks to Craig Pearce for the photos.

Trip to Masterton # 2

Further the my last post, after arriving at Masterton, Nirav did a few circuits, followed by a brief stop. It did not seem particularly busy today with just a couple of aircraft around as we arrived, including a parachute jump plane in and out and a weight-shift microlight that departed.

Here are some pictures of what I did see. Top to bottom are:

DHC-1 Chipmunk outside the Old Stick and Rudder Co hanger
PAC Cresco from Wanganui Aero Work, ZK-LTV
Piper PA22 from Ace Aviation, ZK-TDA
Cessna A185F registered to Dennis Thompson International, ZK-DMX
Cessna 185A of Sky Sports NZ Ltd, ZK-CBY

Trip to Masterton # 1

I was not expecting to go anywhere this weekend, but Nirav [another Club pilot] needed to go somewhere, so I was invited along for the ride. It was an awesome day for a fly [thanks Nirav!] as you will see from the photos.

These photos are:

Departing Wellington

Rimutaka Prison [in the Hutt Valley]

Final approach runway 06 at Masterton

Looking to the right, very short final runway 06

View south-east of Masterton after takeoff

Robinson R44

This Robinson R44 took off from Wellington today. It had just been pulled out of the Vincent hanger. ZK-IDO is registered to the Wellington Helicopter Company [sorry, no web site to hand] and only appeared on the New Zealand register in March 2008 [probably explains the nice shiny paint].

Old Cessna 172

This old C172, ZK-EHA was spotted at Wellington today. Note the venturis [one on each side, so no vacuum pump], the straight tail and the large drooped wingtips. This particular aircraft is registered to a Hamilton address.

Beech King Air B200

This Beech King Air B200 visited Wellington today. ZK-MAN is registered to Hawker Pacific New Zealand. This particular King Air is kitted in an "executive" layout, so is not used for air ambulance work. Probably a very comfortable way to fly if you can afford it!

Lifeflight Open Day

Lifeflight [operators of a Metroliner Air Ambulance and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter] had their annual open day today. In addition to the static display of their helicopter and air ambulance, the helicopter did a number of winch displays. The Airport fire/rescue team had a fire engine and rescue boat available also.