Robinson R44

Late last year [31 December to be precise], this Robinson R44 II, ZK-IGK, was parked up at Wellington.

Robinson R44 II, ZK-IGK

Last weekend in Whanganui

Last weekend was Queen's Birthday weekend in New Zealand, which made for a three day weekend.

Some of this weekend was spent in Whanganui, where, as it turned out, there was a small gathering of gyrocopters, in addition to a couple of helicopters and Air Chathams' regular flight to Auckland.

First up, some of the gyrocopters...

Neil Hintz Tandom Dominator, ZK-REG, of a Whanganui address

Bensen B8M gyrocopter, ZK-RCI, of a Palmerston North address

Paul Sherrer KB3, ZK-RKK, of an Upper Hutt address

AutoGyro Europe MT03 Eagle, ZK-MTO, of a Hamilton address

... followed by two helicopters...

Robinson R44 II, ZK-ICF, operated by Mid West Helicopters

Eurocopter EC120B, ZK-IZG, operated by I Spy Helicopters

... and last, but certainly not least, was my first photo of Air Chathams' latest Saab 340B, ZK-CIZ. I reckon these Saab's look really nice!

Saab Aircraft AB SAAB 340B, ZK-CIZ, operated by Air Chathams

Air Chathams and Heliworx

Following on from last week's visit to Whanganui [and much nicer weather than the past few days!], here are photos of three other aircraft.

The first two are from Air Chathams and their scheduled Whanganui to Auckland route. The Convair arrived while I was doing solo circuits on Sunday afternoon and departed a while later.

General Dynamics Allison Convair 440/ 580, ZK-CIF, operated by Air Chathams

Air Chathams SF340A is pictured departing on Tuesday morning. Interestingly, Air Chathams have just received two more SF340's - it'll be interesting to know what work these get put to in the near future.

Saab-Scania SAAB SF340A, ZK-KRA, operated by Air Chathams

The final picture is a Robinson R44 II, ZK-IDO, which is operated by Kapiti Heliworx. Note the Newstalk ZK decals on the side.

Robinson R44 II, ZK-IDO, operated by Kapiti Heliworx

Robbie visits

There was a very unfamiliar visitor at the Aero Club today - unfamiliar as this type is very rarely seen in Wellington and unfamiliar because I don't know a lot about helicopters!

This aircraft is a Robinson R22 Beta, ZK-HNS, which is operated by Kapiti Aero Club. The one time I have previously seen this aircraft was at Otaki, last September.

Robinson R22 Beta, ZK-HNS, operated by Kapiti Aero Club

Robinson R22 Beta, ZK-HNS, operated by Kapiti Aero Club

Kapiti District Aero Club's aircraft at the competitions

Further to my previous post, here are the Kapiti Districts Aero Club aircraft which were present for the competitions.

Cessna 152, ZK-ELA, operated by Kapiti Districts Aero Club

Cessna 152, ZK-FLC, operated by Kapiti Districts Aero Club

Cessna A152, ZK-JEN, operated by Kapiti Districts Aero Club

Cessna 172S, ZK-KAZ, operated by Kapiti Districts Aero Club

Yep, Kapiti have a helicopter on line also. The guy in the left hand seat is waving :-)

Robinson R22 Beta, ZK-HNS, operated by Kapiti Districts Aero Club

Trip to Rotorua!

This past weekend I spent in Rotorua. It was a chance to catch up with friends [Hi Andrew, Anita and Tahi!], as well as to have a break before returning to work tomorrow.

There were a few things of interest to aeronautical types. Firstly, there is a helipad [ICAO: NZLF/ Rotorua Lakefront] on the lake front nearest the city area, and the lakes [several of them] are designated as a water aerodrome [ICAO: NZRL/ Rotorua Lakes]. Most of these are located within the Rotorua Control Zone, although a couple of the lakes are within the Tarawera MBZ [Mandatory Broadcast Zone].

The main operator of these is Volcanic Air Safaris, who run both fixed and rotary wing aircraft from these and Rotorua's main airport [ICAO; NZRO].

First up are some pictures of the lake front heliport/ seaplane base on Lake Rotorua. Pictures include the following [all aircraft registered to Volcanic Air Safaris]:

Cessna U206G, ZK-FEO and de Havilland Canada DHC3 Beaver, ZK-VAS

Robinson R44 II, ZK-HAD

Bell 206B, ZK-IVS

Pictures of the seaplane base/ heliport and the "terminal"

Lastly, and despite all the signs, there were hundreds of  flying garbage collectors/ seagulls in the area... along with ducks, geese and goodness knows what else. The seagulls could be fed by hand [which is how I got these photos - while others were feeding them...]

Robinson R66

A first of type for me to photograph today was this Robinson R66, ZK-HAG, registered to Outgro Aviation of a Dannevirke address. For those unfamiliar with this [relatively] new type, it looks similar to the R44, but the R66 has a Rolls-Royce RR300 turbine engine in it. Nice.

After the wrap up, one more post :-)

I've been back home for a few days and having had a look through the rest of the almost 400 photos, I've found a few more I wanted to publish of various "random" aircraft that were hanging around over the week. So, here goes. Top to bottom are:

Canterbury Aero Club 3 ship formation team practice

Cessna 208B, ZK-MJL, registered to Salt Air Ltd

Eurocopter EC130 B4, ZK-IFC, registered to North Shore Helicopters Ltd

NZ Aerospace CT4/B, ZK-JMV, registered to a Mount Maunganui address

Cessna 162, ZK-AAC, registered to Auckland Aero Club

Robinson R22 Beta, ZK-ISC, registered to a Birkenhead address

Enjoy!

Sunday afternoon at the aero club

After the quick trip to Auckland, I spent a bit of time at the aero club on Sunday afternoon. The weather was fantastic! One of the best we've had in the last few weeks. The bets part of the afternoon was taking some friends for a fly around in the Club's Cessna 172, but later on I also took a couple of pictures. Nothing as flahs as a B787, but still :-)

The pictures are as follows: Firstly, a CTC registered Diamond DA42, ZK-CTJ, followed by an Air New Zealand Boeing 737-33A, ZK-NGP. It's going to be a shame when these classics disappear from our skies over the next couple of years. Last is a Robinson R44 II, ZK-IDO coming in to land.

Other news is that I'll be in Auckland this coming weekend, so we'll see what comes of that aviation-wise.

Enjoy!

Young Eagles flights and a fish out of water?

Today I had the fun of taking our Young Eagles on a quick flight out to the Hutt Valley and back. Five Young Eagles, two flights and everyone enjoyed themselves. What was even better was that two of them had never been in a light aircraft before, so this was a completely new experience for them.

Apart from that, I snapped the following picture of a fish out of water - that is, a fixed wing instructor sitting in a helicopter... Click on the photo for a good look on his face :-) The helicopter is a Robinson R44 II, ZK-IDO.

Today's helicopters

I saw two helicopters come in today. The first is the resident Westpac Rescue helicopter, a Kawasaki BK117 B-2, ZK-HLF, which is back in service after maintenance.

The second is the local Robinson R44, ZK-IDO, registered to Volare Aviation. This R44 is parked in the Club's hanger.

Today's visitors

A couple of visitors at Wellington today were this Jetstar Airbus A320, VH-VGP with its Powderfinger livery, and a Robinson R44, ZK-HUT, registered to Rosco Contractors Ltd of a Reefton address. The passenger in the final photo is the Wizard of Christchurch, apparently off to entertain at a Christchurch earthquake fundraising event [in the helicopter]...

Calibration, lighties and a big fence

It was a fairly quiet day at the airfield today. The weather was better this morning, but from late morning onwards there was a fair amount of low cloud hanging around which tended to curtail things. Another curtailing factor was an unannounced round of airfield navaid calibration.

The calibration is necessary to ensure that the approach aids are still functioning to the specified standards, but side effects include interruptions to other traffic [especially VFR flights like the aero club's flights!].

Anyway, the aircraft being used [pictured below] is a Vincent Aviation Jetstream J31, ZK-JSH, on behalf of the Airways Corporation of NZ.

Other aircraft from today include a Robinson R22 Beta, ZK-HHQ and registered to Heliflite of an Auckland address and a Piper PA18 Cub, ZK-BQY which is also registered to an Auckland address.

The last photo shows the new fence that has sprung up around the old aero club hanger which the the airport company [Wellington International Airport Ltd - WIAL] is preparing to demolish. A real shame...

Wings Over Wairarapa 2011: Post 3 - Helicopter demonstration

There was an interesting demonstration of helicopter operations during the show. The following four helicopters performed a synchronised display, particularly [and understandably] highlighting their ability for slow and hovering flight.

Unfortunately, the pictures are not great, but do highlight some of the contrast problems I was having during the day... Anyhow, helicopters in this demonstration were:

Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil [Squirrel], ZK-HWF, registered to Anatoki Helicopters
Hughes 500D, ZK-HRI, rgeistered to Wairarapa Helicopters
Robinson R44, ZK-IZA, registered to Izard Aviation
Schweizer 269C, ZK-HEU, registered to Wairarapa Helicopters