Airliners, an ex-'airliner' and other flyers at Hokitika

I was in Hokitika, home country, yesterday and the glorious weather was certainly great for flying and that helped produce some interesting traffic...

Air National Jetstream 32, ZK-ECJ, taxis out on the 3rd Air New Zealand Link departure of the morning... Hokitika has five Link flights to Christchurch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, four flights on Tuesdays, six on Fridays, one on Saturday and three on Sundays. Photo : S Lowe

Cessna 525B Citation, ZK-TBM, was on a training flight from Christchurch. Photo : S Lowe

ZK-SJF, a Tecnam P92 Eaglet U/L, a visitor from Cheviot in North Canterbury. Photo : S Lowe

Controversial carrot droppers, Lakeland Helicopters' two Bell UH-1H Iroquios ZK-HSX (above) and HSP (below) currently engaged on the 1080 drop... 70 million opossums can't be wrong... New Zealand's native forests are worth eating. For all that I'm all for another method of control. Photo : S Lowe  

The Hokitika Aero Club's Rans S6S Coyote II ZK-VSI with a future Aero Club member!? Photo : S Lowe

Registered but yet to fly, Bruce Naish Gyro -1 Place, ZK-RUA (c/n 2) had been doing engine runs. Photo : S Lowe

In the late 1800s the port of Hokitika was given a canon (above) to defend it against the Russian scare... well the Russians have arrived, a Russian designed Sigma Aircraft Sigma-4, ZK-SRN (below). Photo : S Lowe

Locally owned Cessna 172A, conveniently pushed out of the hangar for a few minutes. Photo : S Lowe

The first of the afternoon flights flown by Eagle's first Beech 1900D, ZK-EAA. Photo : S Lowe

The final visitor before I had to leave was Cessna 185 ZK-CAK (above - Photo : S Lowe) which itself was not unfamiliar with the West Coast. For many years it flew for Golden Coast Airways on their Nelson-Karamea-Westport-Greymouth service. Later it was also an 'airliner' for Cookson Air on their services from Wairoa to Gisborne and Napier. (below - Photo : D White Collection)