Another Aztec for Sunair

Registered to Sunair on the 30th of June 2022 was Piper PA23-250 Aztec C ZK-TCL. Also, on the same day, Piper PA23-250 Aztec E ZK-DIO was cancelled from the register. Earlier this year there was talk that Sunair had bought two Piper Aztecs ZK-TCL and ZK-DIO and that they were going to be trucked to Tauranga.

In the Stu Hobb's photo below ZK-DIO certainly looks worse for wear but ZK-TCL looks quite reasonable and the fact that it has been registered to Sunair indicates it may well take to the air again.

ZK-TCL was previously registered ZK-DUB. It saw service with Bell Air, before it commenced its service from Whakatane to Auckland but was chartered for use on Air North services (http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2010/02/bell-air-remembered.html), with Air Albatross as its first aircraft (https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2018/02/air-albatross-cook-strait-commuter.html) and with Welair on its Paraparaumu-Nelson service (https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2018/03/air-wellington-another-paraparaumu.html).

Piper Pa23 Aztec ZK-TCL taken at Paraparaumu on 24 August 2013

Piper PA23-250 Aztec E ZK-DIO's first airline service was with Air Timaru which flew north to Wellington and south to Invercargill (http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2012/08/air-timaru-friendly-line.html), and was later used by NZ Air Charter, the commercial wing of the Auckland Aero Club, which at the time was still operating its Great Barrier Island service,  (https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2012/11/nz-air-charters-northen-air-service_25.html), Air Nelson to provide additional capacity on the Nelson-Wellington flights as well as providing back-up for the Motueka Air Services flights from Motueka to Wellington (http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2017/07/air-nelson-part-1-nelson-wellington.html) and finally Welair on its Paraparaumu-Nelson service (https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2018/03/air-wellington-another-paraparaumu.html).