I survived the Tron, 2017 edition

For those following the New Zealand weather news recently, you'll know it has been foggy in Wellington the last couple of days. The lack of appropriate navigation technology at Wellington airport has meant the weather played absolutely havoc with airline schedules, with Wellington all but closed for a day and a half.

Time then for a quick, same day return trip to Hamilton starting yesterday.They say timing is everything. I got out OK, but the return trip was stuffed [that's a technical phrase] with my return trip cancelled, and the alternate later trip cancelled also. This meant an unexpected overnight stay in the first class suite at the Cambridge Hotel [actually some relatives... :-)] with the first available flight back to Wellington at 3:50pm today.

Today I arrived early to the airport. after checkin I used one of my complementary Koru lounge passes to get into the lounge. Air NZ's regional Koru lounge is pretty basic, but very comfortable and well laid out [loads of places to charge via wall socket or USB]. In any case, a basic comfy lounge is better than none. Just a pity it cost me one of only two lounge passes. Oh well!

Anyway, here are a couple of photos. They are both Mount Cook Airline [part of Air NZ] ATR-GIE ATR72-600's, ZK-MVH and ZK-MVI. ZK-MVH was my ride home and looked like it had been parked up for a while. ZK-MVI arrived and departed to Christchurch while I was waiting.

ATR-GIE ATR-72-600, ZK-MVH, operated by Mount Cook Airlines/ Air NZ

ATR-GIE ATR-72-600, ZK-MVI, operated by Mount Cook Airlines/ Air NZ

ATR-GIE ATR-72-600, ZK-MVI, operated by Mount Cook Airlines/ Air NZ

On the plus side, Air NZ's communications throughout were absolutely top-notch. Clear comms [txt and via their app] along with options for self-service schedule changes made things easier. Given it was a work trip, having a travel company was also useful when the last flight out on Wednesday was cancelled...

Lesson for next time though - pack a change of clothes, even if only going on a same day trip... then again, I now have new socks and underwear! Ha ha ha

High times

Last Sunday I went on a quick trip with Andrew M [another Club pilot], out of Wellington to the south-eastern coast of the North Island then to Masterton. Part of this trip was seeing if we could get a Cessna 172N with two guys and full fuel tanks up to 13,000', which we did. Look at the straight and level bits and you'll see that the ball is even in the middle!

Here's a video of the flight, starting in Wellington and ending in Masterton. I almost got the video insert of the basic six instruments synced with the rest of the action. Almost being the important word :-)


Anyway, Andrew took over the flying in Masterton and flew us back to Wellington... not sure if I'll put up a video on that. I'll have a look at the scenery before deciding.

Fokker F50

Yesterday's photo from Wellington airport is this Fokker F27 Mk 50, VH-FKO. This aircraft is operated by Alliance Airlines [of Australia] and is on one of their regular tours of New Zealand.

Fokker F27 Mk 50, VH-FKO, operated by Alliance Airlines

Republic of Singapore Boeing F15SG Eagles and RAAF McDonnell Douglas F18 Hornets

It has been a couple of weeks, but here is my final post from the RNZAF's 80th Anniversary Tattoo.

First up is a picture of these fast jets, taken from the stairs on the JASDF Boeing KC767.

Next up are the two Boeing F15SG Eagles. These aircraft were on static display for the Saturday.

Boeing F15SG, operated by the RSAF

Boeing F15SG, operated by the RSAF

Next up are three pictures of RAAF-operated McDonnell Douglas F18 Hornets. One of these aircraft provided an air display... awesome!

McDonnell Douglas F18 Hornet, operated by the RAAF

McDonnell Douglas F18 Hornet, operated by the RAAF

McDonnell Douglas F18 Hornet, operated by the RAAF

CASA CN235

Another foreign visitor was this CASA CN-235M-200, of the Armee de L-Air [France] and based at New Caledonia.

Like the other transport aircraft, this put on a really good display. It's always good to see these medium and large aircraft being thrown around the sky!

CASA CN-235M-200, operated by the Armee de L-Air

CASA CN-235M-200, operated by the Armee de L-Air

CASA CN-235M-200, operated by the Armee de L-Air

Lockheed P3K2 Orion

This RNZAF-operated Lockheed P3K2 Orion, NZ4202 put on a display as part of the Thunder Formation and also a solo display, highlighting maritime search and rescue capabilities.

Lockheed P3K2 Orion, NZ4202, operated by the RNZAF

Lockheed P3K2 Orion, NZ4202, operated by the RNZAF

Lockheed P3K2 Orion, NZ4202, operated by the RNZAF

Lockheed P3K2 Orion, NZ4202, operated by the RNZAF

Beechcraft T6-C Texan II

This airshow was the first opportunity I had to look at the RNZAF's latest [?] aircraft acquisition, the Beechcraft T6-C Texan II. The T6-C is an aircraft designed for the ab-initio military flight training role.

In the RNZAF, after completion of initial flight training in the T6-C, pilots will head to the Beechcraft B200 Super King Air or the Augusta A109E LUH for further training.

Anyway, despite my interest, I didn't get a lot of good pictures of these aircraft to share...!

Beechcraft T6-C Texan II, NZ1408, operated by the RNZAF

Beechcraft T6-C Texan II, NZ1408 & NZ1411, operated by the RNZAF

Beechcraft T6-C Texan II, NZ1408 & NZ1411, operated by the RNZAF

Beechcraft T6-C Texan II, NZ1408 & NZ1411, B200 Super King Air, NZ7124?, operated by the RNZAF

USAF Lockheed F16CM!

The USAF sent several aircraft to Ohakea for the air tattoo, including a C17A, a KC135 and two Lockheed F16CM Fighting Falcons! On Saturday, an F16 registered 91-0422 took off and put on an awesome display! High speed, high G and high noise - just what everyone wanted!

Here are a few photos from the display. Enjoy!

Lockheed F16CM Fighting Falcon, 91-0422, operated by the USAF

Lockheed F16CM Fighting Falcon, 91-0422, operated by the USAF

Lockheed F16CM Fighting Falcon, 91-0422, operated by the USAF

Lockheed F16CM Fighting Falcon, 91-0422, operated by the USAF

Lockheed F16CM Fighting Falcon, 91-0422, operated by the USAF

Lockheed F16CM Fighting Falcon, 91-0422, operated by the USAF

Lockheed F16CM Fighting Falcon, 91-0422, operated by the USAF

Ex-military aircraft on display

The airshow included a small number of ex-military aircraft both in static displays and in the air. This post covers many of them. I'm not putting much info about them in the post... just a bit rushed. Enjoy anyway!

North American Harvard

Douglas DC3

Grumman Avenger!
 

The Devon

Spitfire!

Kiwi Blue parachute team

Soon after the opening displays, two of the Kiwi Blue parachute team jumped out of a C130 Hercules at about 9000' and made their way to the ground. Kiwi Blue would normally have several more participants... apparently they were busy that day. Anyway, here are a few photos of the final part of their descent.

RNZAF Kiwi Blue parachute team

RNZAF Kiwi Blue parachute team

RNZAF Kiwi Blue parachute team

RNZAF Kiwi Blue parachute team

Boeing KC135!

Another first of type for me at the tattoo was this USAF-operated Boeing KC135 air-to-air refueler. This aircraft is based on the Boeing 367-80 prototype [which is the same prototype that the Boeing 707 airliner was based on] which makes it rather ancient in the world of military aircraft. It's registration of 62-3561 shows it was taken on strength in 1962!

Unfortunately it wasn't open to walk through, but never mind. Here are a few photos from the outside.

Boeing KC135, 62-3561, operated by the USAF

Boeing KC135, 62-3561, operated by the USAF

Boeing KC135, 62-3561, operated by the USAF

Boeing KC135, 62-3561, operated by the USAF