Piston Single Engine IFR Operators

Form the previous post on Stewart Island Flights I made the following comment, "Until that time South East Air was only one of two New Zealand operators who operated at night in a single engine piston aircraft, the other being Air Napier on their Napier-Wairoa-Gisborne courier service." The source for this was the CAA Vector magazine...

However as Bruce Gavin has pointed out there have been other single-piston IFR freight or courier operators. Bruce writes,

Motor Holdings Aviation Ltd of Dunedin operated SEIFR Dunedin-Christchurch night air freight circa 1983 with C.206 ZK-EKJ and then C.210 ZK-210 ZK-TWA.

Other possiblities:
Bay Air Aviation of Rotorua operated Rotorua-Auckland circa 1993-96 with Cessna R172K ZK-FGF and on occasion Piper PA-28-181 ZK-ESK or one of the Rotorua Aero Club's Cessna 172s.

There were also the turbine Cessna 208s of Skyferry/Soundsair, Rex Aviation (NZ) Ltd/Ansett Air Freight and Rawson Aviation Ltd which were single engine night freight.

Have there been any other SEIFR piston operators out there that you pilots, ATC folk or plane spotters know of???

Please search the memory banks and post a comment or email me at westland831@gmail.com

NZ's Southern Most Airline: Part 3 - Stewart Island Flights

UPDATED JUNE 2021

South East Air was established by Raymond Hector and Bill Moffatt in 1993 using Cessna 185E ZK-JEM for beach operations to Stewart Island's west coast beaches, Dog and Codfish Islands for the Department of Conservation and general New Zealand wide charter flights. 

South East Air Ltd's Cessna 185, ZK-JEM on beach work.

On the 4th June 1996 South East Air started an IFR courier flight for NZ Post from Invercargill to Dunedin and return. Piper PA32 Cherokee 6 ZK-DBC was used for the first nine months of the service. In January 1996 the company bought a Piper PA32-300 Cherokee 6 in Australia which was registered ZK-RTS and this replaced ZK-DBC. The courier service was flown for 13 years. The last flights, from Invercargill to Dunedin and return, were operated by ZK-RTS on the 9th October 2009 with George Cuthill being the pilot. After that NZ Post vans took over the mail delivery. Until that time South East Air was only one of two New Zealand operators who operated at night in a single engine piston aircraft. Air Napier continues to do so on its courier flights between Napier and Gisborne.

Piper PA32 Cherokee 6 ZK-RTS was used for the NZ Post service until 2009.
It is seen at Invercargill on 15 April 2011 and at Doughboy Bay below.   

It was Stewart Island Air Services (http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2010/04/nzs-southern-most-airline-pt-1-stewart.html) who replaced Stewart Island's amphibian service with flights to Ryan's Creek aerodrome in January 1978. In 1981 Stewart Island Air Services was rebranded as Southern Air and which later became Southern Air 1997 Ltd (http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2010/05/nzs-southern-most-airline-part-2.html). South East Air Ltd bought Southern Air 1997 Ltd in April 2000 and the trading name for the airline was changed to Stewart Island Flights.

Today two Britten Norman Islanders, ZK-FWZ and ZK-FXE, are used to maintain the, at least, three daily return scheduled flights between Invercargill and Stewart Island. The Islanders are also used for ferrying tramping groups  to and from the beaches on the northern and western sides of the island and the main Stewart Island airstrip at Ryan's Creek or Invercargill. 

Ryan's Creek aerodrome is located about 2 km from Oban, the main settlement on Stewart Island

The service is operated VFR and so the pilots really get to know the vagaries of the weather around the island and over Foveaux Strait. The flight to Ryan's Creek airfield is only 74 km and the airstrip at Ryan's Creek is short, with a sealed runway of 620 metres with a sealed/clay extension of 180 metres at the northern end. These facts, along with the transfers to the northern and western beaches, make the Britten Norman Islander the perfect choice of aircraft for Stewart Island Flights with no other obvious replacement type available. 

BN Islander ZK-FWZ at Ryan's Creek on 16 December 2019 - Note the two bladed prop

BN Islander ZK-FXE at Invercargill on 16 December 2019 - Note the three bladed prop

Stewart Island Flights' schedule. Downloaded 8 March 2017

In August 2002 a second Piper PA32 Cherokee 6, ZK-DIV, was added to the fleet. The Cessna 185 and Piper Cherokee 6 aircraft, primarily operate to the north and west coast beaches with the Cessna 185 operating to the islands in Foveaux Strait, though the Cherokee 6 is also occasionally used on scheduled flights.

The company operates to five beaches which the company describes as follows;

Smoky Beach is our northern most landing spot on Stewart Island. Set amongst a beautiful backdrop of rising sand dunes, Smoky Beach offers a pristine setting popular with hunters and travellers alike. Due to the confined landing area, flights are limited to 3 people per trip in the Cessna 185.

Aptly named after the surrounding rocks and mountains, West Ruggedy Beach is situated near the base of the Ruggedy Mountains, offering stunning views of Foveaux Strait and surrounds. West Ruggedy is a popular landing spot for both hunters and trampers wanting to explore somewhere different. Due to the confined landing area, flights are limited to 3 people per trip in the Cessna 185.

Located just north of Mason Bay, Little Hellfire is a popular destination for hunters looking to access the Big Hellfire Hut and hunting block. Despite the name, Little Hellfire is actually larger than Big Hellfire beach. An impressive dune system provides a beautiful backdrop to the rugged location.

Mason Bay is a popular destination for adventurers because of its historical and wildlife appeal. The bay was once home to ancient Maori and is still held in great reverence by Maori. In the early 1900s Mason Bay was home to pioneer farmers trying, unsuccessfully, to tame the island’s wilderness. The original homestead and a few outbuildings still stand. Mason Bay’s main appeal lies in its significance as home to the highest population base of kiwi in the world. With some luck these shy, nocturnal birds can be viewed in their natural environment. Stretching 19 kilometres from end to end, Mason Bay never fails to amaze. The chance to experience its unrivalled beauty is only an exhilarating beach flight away. Flights operate at low tide landing on the beautiful sandy beach. Stewart Island Flights operate to a number of different landing sites on Mason Bay. These include Duck Creek, Martins Creek, Cavalier and Kilbride.

Doughboy Bay is a truly unique destination from which you can enjoy stunning, untouched vistas. Your flight and approach will take you over breathtaking terrain, before landing within a very short walk to the Doughboy Hut. Doughboy is a popular destination amongst locals and our own pilots for its sheer beauty. Although somewhat challenging tracks, from Doughboy you can walk through to Mason Bay to the north or to Fred's Camp/Rakeahua via the southwestern circuit.

Runway 22, Ryan's Creek Airfield, 13 April 2011

Runway 04, Ryan's Creek Airfield, 16 December 2019

Ryan's Creek Airfield 16 December 2019

Stewart Island Flight's Depot in downtown Oban on 15 April 2011

Up until the March 2009 Stewart Island Flights was the trading name for the air services to Ryan's Creek. On the 16th of March 2009 Stewart Island Flights Ltd was incorporated though all the aircraft remain registered to South East Air. For its scheduled flights Stewart Island uses the callsign Rakiura, the Māori name for Stewart Island. 

On the 9th of August 2011 the Piper Cherokee Six ZK-DIV failed to take off from the beach at Doughboy Bay after hitting a downdraft. It crashed in two metres of water and sank. The pilot and one passenger were unhurt and swam ashore and the aircraft was subsequently written off.

South East Air's Piper Cherokee 6 ZK-DIV at Ryan Creek on 13 April 2011

Southeast Air Cessna 185 ZK-JEM at Dog Island on 16 August 2017. Photo : Stewart Island Flights Facebook page 

Southeast Air Cessna 185 ZK-JEM at  Invercargill on 16 December 2019 

Southeast Air Piper Cherokee 6 ZK-RTS at  Invercargill on 16 December 2019 

BN Islander ZK-FXE over Foveaux Strait enroute to Stewart Island

On the 15th of June 2021 Raymond Hector retired as a Stewart Island Flights' pilot with Raymond and has wife Lynne having sold their shareholdings in the company to Leon and Antony Bax on the 26th of May 2021. 

A couple of months later, on the 21 of April 2022 a RNAV (GNSS) approach and a RNAV (GNSS) Standard Instrument Departure were established at Ryans Creek allowing IFR flights to and from Stewart Island.  

Stewart Island Flights and South East Air quietly continue to operate its flights from Invercargill and retain the total commitment to provide a friendly, efficient air service to Stewart Island that was first seen in Stewart Island Air Services operation and carried on by Southern Air. For over 40 years these companies have been always been there for the Stewart Island community as well as providing easy tourist access to one of New Zealand’s most beautiful locations. Long may the service continue.

A big thanks to Raymond Hector for his help on this post and for the great photos from his collection.

A Photo Essay on Stewart Island Flights’ operation by Bruce Gavin;

http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2011/05/ticket-to-adventure-and-tranquility.html

Photo Essays of a Stewart Island Flight service to and from Stewart Island
https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2019/12/nzs-southern-most-air-service-part-1.html
https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2019/12/nzs-southern-most-air-service-part-2.html

Great Barrier Trislander Report

The following is the TAIC summary of the report detailing the loss of the engine assembly in Great Barrier Airlines' BN Trislander, ZK-LOU, last year. The full report is available on the TAIC site. It is pleasing to see that Great Barrier Airlines comes out of the report quite well...

Investigation 09-004
Report 09-004, Britten Norman BN2A-Mk III Trislander, ZK-LOU loss of engine propeller assembly, near Claris, Great Barrier Island, 5 July 2009
Shortly after take-off at approximately 1305 on 5 July 2009, the right engine propeller assembly of ZK-LOU, a 3-engine Trislander, separated from the engine crankshaft and struck the side of the aeroplane. Nobody was seriously injured, but the aeroplane fuselage was extensively damaged and a passenger door was removed, leaving a large opening adjacent to some passengers.
Undetected corrosion of the propeller flange had led to extensive cracking and its eventual failure. Safety issues identified included the need for detailed checking of overseas component records to ensure their reported in-service hours were accurate and for periodic crack checking of propeller flanges for corrosion damage. A safety recommendation regarding component record-checking was made to the Director of Civil Aviation, and the Civil Aviation Authority issued a Continuing Airworthiness Notice regarding inspections of crankshaft flanges for corrosion.

The report includes this section on damage to the aircraft...

The right engine crankshaft flange that attached to the propeller hub had fractured through lightening holes in the flange. The complete propeller assembly had released from the fractured crankshaft flange and struck the side of the fuselage adjacent to the engine, substantially damaging the fuselage. The fuselage skin had been penetrated in places and a passenger window Perspex had shattered, but nobody was seated in that passenger row. Immediately behind the window the propeller assembly struck a passenger door next to which a passenger had been seated. The door hinges were damaged and the door fell from the aeroplane, leaving a large hole in the side of the fuselage by the passenger (see Figure 2).

No part of the propeller assembly entered the cabin, but the cabin interior lining and insulation were damaged and pushed inwards onto some of the passengers (see Figure 3).

The abstract talks about extensive damage while this doesn't seem to talk of much major damage at all. This raises the question, what has happened to ZK-LOU? And an even bigger question... when is ZK-LGF going to fly?

ZK-LOU in happier days... at Auckland on 10 October 2008. Photo : S Lowe

flyDirect's plane arrives home???

Arriving back in Wellington yesterday was Vincent Aviation's DHC Dash 8 ZK-VAC after a flight across the Tasman from Sydney via Lord Howe Island and Auckland. It is expected it will the aircraft used for flyDirect's services from Wellington and Christchurch to Wanaka. The company is being set up with local businesses to promote Wanaka as a destination. Until midnight Monday 31 May they are offering flyDirect return flights and 2 nights’ accommodation ex Christchurch only $149 and ex Wellington only $199. PLUS buy two adult 3-day ski passes and we’ll throw in a FREE Jucy rental car for up to FIVE DAYS. and a very good special is still. The catch is, you can't buy air tickets alone!

Air Freight's Convairs - End of a Colour Scheme

The familiar red, white and blue colour scheme of Air Freight (NZ) Ltd's Convairs has finally disappeared sometime over the last twelve months. ZK-KFH was the last Convair to be repainted in the quite plane white colour scheme, which despite its blandness, actually suits the Convairs and makes them look quite sharp. The red white and blue colour scheme has been on the Convairs since Air Freight NZ started in 1989, thought the logo on the tail has been simplified over the years. Meanwhile, every night these old and faithful work horses truck up and down the country between Auckland and Christchurch.

ZK-FTA sporting the original colour scheme and logo at Auckland on 30 January 1992. Photo : S Lowe

ZK-KFH in the old colour scheme (above) at Auckland on 23 June 2009 and repainted in the new scheme (below) at Auckland on 15 May 2010

Post Update - Eagle's Service to Taumarunui on the Main Trunk Line

I have been given one correction on my post on Eagle Air operating to Taumarunui...
http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2010/05/taumarunui-on-main-trunk-line.html

The Eagle timetable number 19 of 1 October 1978 (has Baron photos) NO MENTION OF TAUMARUNUI.

The Eagle timetable number 20 of 1 April 1979 (has Chieftain photos) HAS HAMILTON TO NEW PLYMOUTH VIA TAUMARUNUI non scheduled service.

The Eagle timetable number 21 which has no effective date (has Chieftain photos) HAS HAMILTON TO NEW PLYMOUTH VIA TAUMARUNUI non scheduled service, SAME TIMES AS ABOVE.

The Eagle timetable number 22 which has no effective date (has Bandeirante photos) HAS HAMILTON TO NEW PLYMOUTH BUT NO MENTION OF TAUMARANUI.

Thanks to Bruce Gavin for this... It would still be interesting to hear a little more of this brief Eagle Air service.

Post Updates - Associated Airlines

I have been given one correction on my post on Associated Airlines... http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2010/05/associated-air-paraparaumus-friendly.html

On 20 November 1995 Associated Airlines once again began operating a daily return each weekday between Paraparaumu and Auckland in their own name using their Cessna 421 Golden Eagle. Until then they had been flying the route twice-weekly on contract to Air Nelson.

I had the start date as January 1996.

The original post has been corrected...

However I would still like to know, if anyone has this information,

• The date Metroliners were withdrawn from Papaparaumu
• Details of the Air Nelson Paraparaumu-Auckland Cessna 421 service.

Please write a comment or e-mail me at westland831@gmail.com  

Taumarunui on the Main Trunk Line

Following on from the post about timetables http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2010/05/pdf-timetables-new-way-to-get-your-air.html over the next little while I will post some interesting little historical snippets from various companys' timetables...

Taumarunui was apparently "immortalised" about being on the main trunk line by Pete Cape's folk song. (http://folksong.org.nz/taumarunui/index.html) however there was a time when it also had a non-scheduled air service operated by Eagle Air to and from both Hamilton and New Plymouth that was operated, as required, as part of the Hamilton-New Plymouth route. Unfortunately the Eagle Air timetable of it is undated so I have no idea when the service started, ended or if it operated very often. I would be surprised if the service would not have been a real winner.

As an aside, Taumarunui also had a railcar service to and from New Plymouth that connected with the north and south bound express trains/railcars from Auckland to Wellington that went through Whangamomona. The line recently experienced sever damage after a derailment and Kiwirail has moth balled it pending a decision on its fate.

If you know anything more about the air service to Taumarunui please drop me a line at westland831@gmail.com

Fleet Changes for Soundsair and Air Discovery

A couple of fleets changes have appeared on the NZ Civil Aircraft register...

Soundsair Grand Caravan ZK-SAA has been registered to Kakadu Air Services Pty Ltd of Darwin, Australia. Apparently it is with them on a three month lease... see http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2010/05/soundsair-tasman-sojourn.html

Cessna 172 ZK-MDR which was operating with FlightHauraki has now been registered to Air Discovery... see http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2010/05/waiheke-discovery.html

Great Barrier Airlines Report Released

This is a reporting of an incident report... though the reports headline doesn't make it clear. Once again a case of newspapers over-reacting????

Source : http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10645744

23 May 2010 - Plane makes emergency landing
A passenger plane owned by a troubled airline was forced to make an emergency landing after power loss in one of its engines. The twin-engine Partenavia P68B, belonging to Great Barrier Airlines, got into trouble about three minutes after taking off from the Island's Claris Airfield on November 4. A Civil Aviation Authority report says the right-hand engine "suddenly lost power, then surged back up again" before another loss 10 to 15 seconds later. As the power continued to surge, extra power was selected for the left engine, while the right idled. The aircraft returned to the airfield for an "uneventful landing", the report says. A maintenance investigation discovered the fuel line to the engine pump was in contact with heat from the engine exhaust. The heating may have caused vapour to develop in the fuel line. The report says this was the second time the aircraft had experienced such a problem. The incident is the latest in a string of troubles suffered by the airline dating back to 1998 when the entire fleet was grounded by former CAA director Kevin Ward for "critical deficiencies", including flying aircraft with known defects. Last July, terrified passengers watched as a propeller came off their aircraft mid-air. And in September, a Piper Cherokee 6 crashed into a swamp moments after take-off from Claris. The CAA and Transport Accident Investigation Commission are still investigating. The airline did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Associated Air - First Flights for Air Nelson

When Air New Zealand announced the withdrawal of Friendship services from Westport and Hokitika and the withdrawal of the midday flight to Timaru Air Nelson had only a limited time to source and bring into service its first two Metroliners. In the event, the timeline proved to be too tight and it was Associated Air's Cessna 402 ZK-DSB that flew the first Air Nelson flight to Hokitika, and then, later in the day the first Air Nelson flight to Timaru. The West Coast Times on the 31st of October 1988 reported, "Landing 35 minutes late, the Cessna 402 twin turbo-prop aircraft piloted by Keith Jenkins turned out to be chartered from Associated Air of Paraparaumu. Mr Jenkins said the flight was uneventful apart from strong headwinds all the way."

 

The first Air Nelson flight to Hokitika. Cessna 402 ZK-DSB at Hokitika on 31 October 1988. Photo : West Coast Times

The Timaru Herald reported the following day, "The Richard Pearse Airport turned on a stormy welcome for the first of the Air Nelson flights between Christchurch and Timaru yesterday afternoon. Winds gusting to over 50 knots made the landing of the Cessna 402 twin-engined aircraft a bit bumpy, but not dangerous, for pilot Peter Walding, of Nelson. Mr Walding said several years experience in "windy" Wellington meant the conditions at Levels, though unexpected, were well within his experience. The Cessna had been hired by Air Nelson from Associated Air as the plane which was to do the run, a 19-passenger Metroliner III, had not been cleared by the 'Ministry of Transport civil aviation division. Only one passenger took the Christchurch to Timaru flight but four people waited to catch the flight back to Christchurch, all of whom were connecting with other Air New Zealand schedules." Associated Air aircraft continued to be chartered by Air Nelson until the Metroliners came into service and they were often used as backups for the Piper Navajo and Chieftain fleet.

  Cessna 402B ZK-DSB at Westport on an Air Nelson service on 23 January 1990. Photo : S Lowe

PDF Timetables - A great way to advertise an air service and preserve a company's history

Congratulations to Soundsair which is the latest airline to put a smart looking PDF version of their timetable on their website...

http://www.soundsair.com/pdf/Sounds-Air-Timetables.pdf

For an airline enthusiast/historian the timetables of old were a must have and over the years many have been lifted from the check in counters of airports all over New Zealand. Certainly I have been one of these, but in one of those fits of madness, I had a purge of my things and a number of old ones including Capital Air Services, old Eagle Air, Air Central, Air North and so on went out with the rubbish. Nowdays I am always on the look out for old NZ airline timetables to add to the collection.

Sadly, with the cost of producing a printed timetable and the fact that they change so often many airlines no longer produce them. With the loss of the timetable comes the loss of a valuable resource of not only where and when someone can hope to see a company's aircraft, but also the loss of the historical resource of when services started and ended.

Increasingly however airlines have been putting their timetables on the net. One can ask for timetables on specific routes for a week long period on the Air New Zealand website, but there is no way to download a copy of the whole schedule. (Oh for the days of the full domestic timetable issued two or three times a year).

The most consistent of the regional airlines in putting their timetable on the web is Sunair http://www.sunair.co.nz/. They have been doing for it years... though I lament not saving some of the earlier additions. The only problem with Sunair's schedules is that it often bears no resemblence to what flies... they are just so flexible in suiting timetables to customer needs and making best use of their aircraft.

Salt Air http://www.saltair.co.nz/tt_winter.pdf and Golden Bay Air http://www.goldenbayair.co.nz/ always have niceley presented PDF files of their timetables, though Golden Bay Air don't fly through the winter and their new timetable is not expected to be on line until June.

Looking at the other NZ regional operators...

Air Chathams timetable is very simple to find but it is not in an easy format to download and save a copy... http://www.airchathams.co.nz/

Air Discovery's only scheduled service at present is to Motiti Island and the timetable just forms part of the Flight Service section of their website... http://www.airdiscovery.co.nz/tauranga/Flight-Services/motiti-island.html

Air Napier http://www.airnapier.co.nz/services.htm even though it runs a scheduled service between Napier Wairoa and Gisborne doesn't give a timetable.

air2there's timetable is not the easiest to find... It is found under the information tab http://www.air2there.com/Timetable.aspx. It is possible to see the timetable in one screen but again it is not coducive to saving a copy in a good format.

The timetables for Fly My Sky http://www.flymysky.co.nz/timetable-fares/, FlyDirect http://flydirect.co.nz/schedule.htm, Remote Adventures http://remoteadventures.co.nz/02-flights.html (Not operating a schedule over winter) and Stewart Island Flights http://www.southernair.co.nz/sections/theflight/schedule are easy to find on their sites, and a cut and paste saves a reasonable copy.

The most disappointing of all the regional operator is Great Barrier Airlines which doesn't even list a timetable.

Finally, if you are ever tempted to throw out those old timetables, drop me a line at westland831@gmail.com

air2there Increase in Services

In doing the post on timetables (above) I noted air2there have increased their services between Blenheim and Wellington to three a day (only 2 on Saturday) though with one of the southbound flights going via Paraparaumu. They have also added a second flight between Paraparaumu and Nelson each Friday.

air2there's Cessna Grand Caravan ZK-MYH at Nelson on 17 April 2009. I had just flown on it from Paraparaumu.... a great trip. Photo : S Lowe

Q300 Emergency Landing at PMR

20 May 2010 - Another emergency declared
In the second emergency to be declared in as many days, airport emergency services were on alert again this afternoon for an Air New Zealand Q300. The crew called for a local 'standby' alert after experiencing electrical problems at around 2:15pm today. Airport operations manager Roy Bodell said the aircraft with 39 passengers onboard landed without further incident and emergency services were able to be stood down quite quickly.

Levy for Stewart Island Flights' Passengers?

There has been debate for some time about departure taxesat various New Zealand airports... It seems the next to have something similar will be Stewart Island. Understandably Stewart Island Flights are not too happy...

27 April 2010 - Stewart Is levy step closer

Source : Dan Hutchinson, http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/3625152/Stewart-Is-levy-step-closer

Stewart Island will have a visitors' levy imposed by the end of the year if a new law is approved. However, one of the two companies expected to collect the levy opposes it. Invercargill MP Eric Roy introduced a member's bill into Parliament on Thursday that would give the Southland District Council the power to charge visitors to Stewart Island. Mr Roy said a fee of about $5 would be charged to each visitor to the island via the ferry service (Stewart Island Experience) or Stewart Island Flights. Stewart Island Flights managing director Raymond Hector said the company was opposed to the idea. He said the company would be expected to administer the scheme and pay the GST on the extra $5 with no reimbursement. The fee will be used to help pay for infrastructure on the island that is used by visitors. The cost of things like toilets, walking tracks and other amenities is currently paid for by fewer than 400 locals. Council chief executive Dave Adamson said there was some leeway in the legislation to use part of the levy to cover the administration costs. He said passing the levy into law was necessary to ensure it was a cost that was added evenly to both transport providers. About 40,000 people visit the island each year and the levy should raise about $160,000, shaving hundreds of dollars off the rates bill of each resident. Residents, property and business owners on the island would be exempt from the charge. The Southland District Council (Stewart Island/Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Act 2010 would enable the council to impose fees via contract arrangements with the transport operators. "We have a captive situation here where people either come by boats or aeroplanes," Mr Roy said. He said he had been working with the community on the issue since 1994 and most people supported it. It was not proposed to compensate the transport operators for collecting the levy although they would earn interest off the money before it was due to be passed on.

Soundsair Tasman Sojourn Explained

Thanks to the comment left on the earlier post the following seems to explain the departure of Soundsair's Caravan ZK-SAA's departure for Australia. Given it seems to be staying NZ registered it looks as if SAA will back after her Aussie holiday

Source : http://afap.org.au/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?id=98&nav_cat_id=127&nav_top_id=73

30 APRIL 2010

C208b

Due to increased demand Kakadu Air Services are looking for an additional C208B/twin driver to assist our growing Darwin base.

Minimum required:

300+hrs C208
1000+hrs Total
Preferred:

C310 and C402 endorsed
Ga8 or 200 series time
MECIR
NZ and Aus Licence
The successful candidate will work closely with our Senior Base Pilot Darwin to establish our Darwin scenic routes. Due to use of ZK registered aircraft the ability to hold or held a NZ CAA and Australian licence would be advantageous. Pay as per award, start mid May.