Solent Sky Museum, Southampton

Part of my recent travels included a trip to the Solent Sky Museum in Southampton.

The museum is reasonably small although still interesting, with a Supermarine S6, a Supermarine Spitfire and the largest aircraft in the museum, a Short S.25 Sandringham flying boat - the civilian version of the World War 2 Sunderland!

There's plenty more to see, but here are a few of the photos. First up are a number of the Sandringham. As you can see, you can visit the entire aircraft, including the cockpit :-)

Short S.25 Sandringham

Short S.25 Sandringham

Short S.25 Sandringham

Short S.25 Sandringham

Short S.25 Sandringham, the cockpit

Short S.25 Sandringham

Next up are two aircraft by Supermarine. the first is the S.6, which is the type used to win the Schneider Trophy. The museum has some awesome video playing from this event also.

Supermarine S.6

Supermarine S.6

Now we have the resident Spitfire!

Supermarine Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire

In a completely different vein, the following is a Britten-Norman BN1, previously registered G-ALZE. I hear rumour from a staff member that they will have a Islander on the mezzanine floor some stage soon!

Britten-Norman BN1, G-ALZE

Last up is a picture of a jet-powered seaplane, a Saunders Roe SRA1. Ugly, but kinda awesome :-)

Saunders Row SRA1

These are just a few of the aircraft on display. there are a number of fast jets, a couple of cockpits and many others displays. Well worth the visit if you're in the area!

National Museum of Scotland - National Museum of Flight # 5

This is my last post from the National Museum on Flight at East Fortune, and I've selected a few aircraft from yet another hanger. This one contained a real surprise... a [presumably formally] Australian registered de Havilland - I don't have further details [without making one of my horribly wrong guesses], so if you can fill in the details, that would be much appreciated!

If you are ever up around Edinburgh, this museum is well worth a visit! There's plenty more to do than what I have shown, including various other buildings with displays, something for the kids, a cafe etc etc. You can easily spend 4 or more hours here [as we did] - so well worth the visit!

Anyway, the other aircraft are:

BAe Jetstream J31, G-JSSD
de Havilland DH104 Dove 6, G-ANOV, [UK] Civil Aviation Authority
Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer Series 3, G-BBVF
Britten-Norman BN2A-26 Islander, G-BELF, Scottish Ambulance Service

and... finally... hosts and tour guides for my brief stay in Edinburgh, Ken and Moira! Thanks guys!!

Flying NZ National championships: Great Barrier Airlines

Great Barrier Airlines is another commercial operator, this time based at North Shore AD. Their fleet appears to consist of a few types, including the following:

Piper PA31, ZK-NSN
Britten-Norman BN2A-26, ZK-FVD
Britten-Norman BN2A Mk.111-2, ZK-LGC
Britten-Norman BN2A Mk.111-2, ZK-LGF
Partenavia P68B, ZK-PLA

Visit to Auckland, Ardmore #2

Following on from my previous post, here are the photos from this evening's brief visit to the viewing area at Auckland airport. Top to bottom are:

Boeing 737-219C, ZK-NQC, registered to Airwork Operations
Britten-Norman BN2.A Mk.III-2, ZK-LGF, registered to Great Barrier Airlines
Airbus A330-200, B-6532, registered to China Southern Airlines

Auckland Quick Visit Sep 2010 #5: Britten-Norman BN2 Islander

The following pictures are of two Britten-Norman Islanders on approach to Auckland. The first is a BN2A, ZK-REA, registered to Great Barrier Airlines. The second is a BN2B, ZK-DLA, registered to Commercial Helicopters Ltd and in the markings of Fly My Sky.

Auckland trip #7: The last few aircraft and this coming weekend

Here are the last few photos that I am publishing from last weekend's trip to Auckland. This is a random selection of aircraft that I captured.

Also, this coming weekend, I'll have about 5 hours in Auckland on Saturday afternoon, so I hope to get a few photos then also. I'll be flying Qantas, and as long as the flight is not delayed and the weather is good, I hope to get my first photos of an Airbus A380. We'll see!

Anyway, here are the photos. Top to bottom are:

Two Great Barrier Airlines Britten-Norman BN.2A Mk.III-2 aircraft, registrations ZK-LGC and ZK-LOU. next is a Pacific Blue B737-8FE, ZK-PBJ. Finally, there is the Auckland Airport rescue trainer hull. I can't pick what type of aircraft it is/was, so if anyone can assist, please leave a message.

Photos from Auckland International Airport

Here are some pictures I took from Auckland International Airport earlier today. It is so nice getting away from my regular aerodrome and seeing what's available elsewhere.

Top to bottom are:

- Auckland airport control tower

- Britten-Norman BN2A-20 ZK-PIY, registered to a Taumaranui address

- Britten-Norman BN2A-20 ZK-RAE of Great Barrier Airlines

- B737-219QC registered to Airwork

- ATR72 ZK-MCJ of Mount Cook Airline [part of the Air New Zealand group]

- Two fire/rescue training hulls on the southern side of the airport

Odds and sods from Ardmore

This is the last in my series of aircraft at Ardmore - a group of "odds and sods" that I snapped on my travels. Next post will be a series of heavy metal from Auckland International :-)

Top to bottom are:

Britten-Norman Islander from Mountainair on the South Eastern apron
Cirrus SR22 ZK-SRR
Schweizer 269C ZK-HMX from Ardmore Helicopters
Robinson R44 ZK-HLB refueling at Auckland Aero Club

Islander In Disguise...

The following pictures are of a recent arrival into New Zealand. Contrary to it's markings, this Britten-Norman BN2B-26 "Islander" is registered to Sounds Air. It is still carrying the markings of it's previous [Australian] owner [with the exception of the NZ registration marks].

These pictures are taken from within the Wellington Aero Club just after the aircraft had landed. Presumably it will be repainted in the Sounds Air colours in due course.