Planespotting in Milford Sound - Part 1

With Queenstown being an international airport it is nigh on impossible to get decent photos of the light aircraft that fly into Milford... so courageously braving the sandflies I drove into Milford Sound on the 10th of January 2014 and here is what I got ...

Part One features the merged operations of Real Journeys, Air Fiordland and Milford Sound Scenic Flights that operates as Milford Sound Flights.

Three Britten Norman Islanders going back to Mount Cook Airlines' days... ZK-DBV (above) ZK-MCD (centre) and ZK-MCE (bottom).

A tourist plane from way back... Cessna 206 ZK-DXZ... In the past Air Safaris, Aspiring Air and Wanaka Flightseeing have operated this aircraft.

Gippsland GA-8 Airvans, ZK-MCM (above) and ZK-MCZ (below)

 

Twizel, Cromwell and Lake Te Anau

Grumman G-164A Ag-Cat was waiting for customers at Pukaki on 9 January 2014

The Helicopter Line's Aerospatiale Squirrel ZK-HRQ at Pukaki on 9 January 2014

AutoGyro Europe MT03 Eagle ZK-RBG arrived back at Pukaki while I was there

Down at Cromwell there was only one on the strip...

Cessna 172 ZK-COM on 9 January 2014

And at Lake Te Anau...

Wings and Water's Cessna 206 ZK-DRH on 9 January 2014

Tekapo's Air Safaris

Today (9 January 2014), on the way south, I visited Tekapo airport for the first time in 11 years! Quite unbelievable... and there were a few changes

I almost missed Air Safari's Robinson R44 ZK-HCO... What I definitely did miss was Air Safaris starting helicopter ops... when did that happen?

The only two aircraft I had taken photos of previously, ZK-NMD and ZK-NME. These were used many years ago on Air Safaris scheduled service operated for Air Nelson between Timaru and Christchurch (see http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/2010/06/air-safaris-sole-schedule.html)

Three more new photos... A desperation shot of Gippsland GA8 Airvan ZK-SAE... ZK-SAF was over on the West Coast 

Gippsland GA8-TC 320 Turbo Airvan ZK-SAU...

and the other Gippsland GA8 Airvan ZK-SAZ

25 years ago - January 1989

Piper Pa22-108 Colt ZK-BYP at Timaru on 15 January 2014

A bigger visitor to Timaru on 16 January 1989 was the RNZAF's Lockheed C-130 Hercules NZ7003

On 18 January 1989 Bell Jetranger ZK-HVD was working for the Police... it was photographed at Fairview

The Central Otago Flying Club's Cessna 150 ZK-BVZ was at Alexandra on 22 January 1989

Piper Pa28 Cherokee 140 ZK-DEH at Timaru on 28 January 1989

The South Canterbury Aero Club's Piper Pa38 Tomahawk at Timaru on 29 January 1989

On the same day Air Safaris Piper Pa31 Navajo was also at Timaru

Cessna 172 ZK-DXK at Taieri on 31 January 1989

Aspiring Air's Cessna 206 ZK-DXZ at Oamaru on 31 January 1989

Timaru Today

Beech V35 Bonanza at Timaru on 8 January 2014

The South Canterbury Aero Club's Piper Pa28-181 Archer at Timaru on 8 January 2014

Cessna 182Q Skylane at Timaru on 8 January 2014

Piper Pa31 Navajo ZK-NOW at Timaru on 8 January 2014

The South Canterbury Aero Club's Piper Pa38 Tomahawk at Timaru on 8 January 2014

PAC Cresco ZK-LTG at Timaru on 8 January 2014

Check this out!!!

http://i.imgur.com/5XNFdll.jpg

25 Years ago - January 1989 on the West Coast

At Franz Josef village on 1 January 1989

Up on the Franz Josef Glacier, Mount Cook Airline Cessna 185 skiplanes ZK-MCR and ZK-MCV on 1 January 1989

A couple of classics, Auster ZK-BDY at Greymouth on 7 January 1989

...and Piper Pa18 Cub at Hokitika on 8 January 1989

Also at Hokitika on 8 January 1989 was Hughes 500C ZK-HMT

Somewhere worth visiting at Ashburton

My sister Marg is getting more a plane spotter than me... Last week she visited the Ashburton Aviation Museum... that certainly would have been more profitable than plane spotting at Christchurch over recent days

Summer Diversion #11

STOL in Valdez, Alaska

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aslLu3u710

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilb55F-GGQg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuE2cW8NMx8

Summer Diversion #10

My first solo was on a gusty crosswind day... the challenge of a cross wind landing is always the same - there are some spectacular landings here


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xavLf8Y3A9A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihEmw9CPvJU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A189OAzjt5Q

3rd Level NZ Projects for 2014

Happy New Year to all the readers of 3rd Level New Zealand...

I thought you might be interested in some of my upcoming research and posts...

Already lined up and ready to be post are the following which will be posted on the second Sunday of the months listed...

January – Air Nelson's Oamaru service
February – Kiwi West Aviation
March – Lakeair
April - Safe Air's freight service to Oamaru
May - South Island Airways
June – Skyferry

Ones that I still have to schedule are…

Sounds Air (written)
air2there (written)
Safe Air to the Chathams (written)
RNZAF to Chathams (well under way)
TEAL to Chathams (well under way)
South Flight (well under way)
Air Marlborough (well under way)
Air Tours Kaikoura (well under way)
Mount Cook Airlines - (1st part well under way) I'd like to do this to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Mount Cook flights to Queenstown

On the radar are

Air Nelson
Air Albatross
Air Travel (to complete the Hokitika series)
Trans Island Airways (to complete the Oamaru series)
NAC flights to the Chathams
Ansett to the Chathams


If you have any photos, stories, info, memorabilia on these I would love to hear from you... I am very grateful when I get scans of photos, timetables etc when people are happy to share their collections. The stories in particular give flesh to these histories. Also, you might have ideas for future posts.

Cheers

Steve
westland831@gmail.com

Summer Diversion #9

The most exotic aircraft I have flown on (I think) would have to have been Manx2's Let 410 from Blackpool to the Isle of Man... it took me three train trips to get Blackpool!

Manx2's Let 410 OK-RDA at Ronaldsway Airport on the Isle of Man on 16 July 2007 

While my flight was great it was not as exciting as the flights in the two clips below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5ZzktAFJK4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBya0DDiFLk

Air Milford's Caravan is on the way...

Air Milford's new Caravan has left Athens and had landed at Rhodes enroute to New Zealand.

SX-SKV has been placed on the Australia register as VH-SKH for the ferry flight out to New Zealand where it will become ZK-SKA.

Ironically I took a desperation shot of it as SX-SKV when in Athens on the the 1st of July 2012...

It really was a desperation shot, maximum zoom, heavily cropped and as you see a lot of heat haze.

Here it is in Aussie registration but with a true Kiwi look...

I snaffled this photo from the Air Milford Facebook page... https://www.facebook.com/pages/Air-Milford/123243947735710

There will undoubtedly be more photos of it appearing on their Facebook page...

You can track the ferry flight's progress on https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=873f52b9561331fe8

The Air Milford website indicates it is due to arrive in NZ about the 10th of January

Summer Diversion #8

Saba airport, in the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean would have to be have of the shortest runways in the world used for commercial flights. The airport is flanked on one side by high hills and at both runway ends cliffs drop into the sea. The runway is about 400 metres long. The airport is mainly served by Twin Otters and BN-2 Islanders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-E9AHQB2cU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiVM0w9YquQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVdaFv6kbkw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSE2ElckHFE