French Casa 235

French Casa 235 52-IG/105 made a whistle stop tour of NZ 27 December with landfall made at Whenuapai from Noumea as Cotam 1161 before then continuing to Ohakea, Wellington, Woodbourne and finally tieing down at Christchurch.  It departed the following day for Whenuapai and Noumea.

At Wellington, Michael L photos

Busy Skies across Hawaii

With winter descending across the continental USA, a splurg of corporate jets shuttle those able to escape the cold to Hawaii (and other warmer Pacific destinations).

Today, being Boxing Day Hawaii time, the flottila as at 1900UTC is made up of the following (listed by airport)

Maui (PHOG/OGG)
Challenger N991TK departing to Oakland
Gulfstream 4 N445QS departing to Los Angeles
Gulfstream 5 N534QS departing to San Jose
Gulfstream 3 N469BT arriving from Lanai and departing to Jeffco
Global Express N616DC arriving from San Jose
Falcon 900 N904JY arriving from Lanai
Challenger N999VK arriving from San Jose
Falcon 2000 N233QS from Salt Lake City
Citation X N426CM from Van Nuys
Gulfstream 4 N480QS also from Van Nuys
Falcon 2000 N752S from Long Beach
A Blocked Gulfstream 4 from Van Nuys and a Global Express from Santa Barbara

Across at Kona (PHKO/KOA)
Citation X N747XJ departed for Van Nuys
Blocked Gulfstream 4 to Van Nuys and a Gulfstream 5 to Lihue.
Falcon 2000 "EJM826" to Honolulu
Challenger N338FX "BJS338" from San Francisco
Blocked Gulfstream 5 from San Jose, a Gulfstream 4 from Van Nuys along with a Legacy.
Blocked Gulfstream 5 from Boeing Field
Falcon 2000 "EJM826" from Los Angeles
Boeing BBJ "KAI99" from Oakland
Gulfstream 150 N150HM also from Oakland
Challenger N401RJ from Boeing Field
Gulfstream 4 N450QS from Scotsdale
Global Express N488CH from San Jose
Falcon 50 N573TR from Boeing Field
Challenger N601ST from Monterey
Citation 680 N830GS from Carlsbad
Falcon 9000 N900HD from Boeing Field
Falcon 2000 N98RP from San Jose
Global Express "TWY802" from Van Nuys
Blocked Falcon 900 from San Jose
Gulfstream 3 "HTL973" from Oakland
Gulfstream 4 N144PK from Van Nuys
Gulfstream 4 N489QS from Monterey
Gulfstream G200 N761QS from Oakland
Falcon 2000 N912MT from Boeing Field
Gulfstream 4 "TWY23" from Oakland
Global Express N468KL "TWY468" from San Jose

At Honolulu (PHNL/HNL)
Global 5000 N3389H from Las Vegas
Falcon 50 N167BD from Salinas
Falcon 900 N74FS from Los Angeles
Gulfstream 2 N868SM from Van Nuys
Global Express N889CP from Sydney

At Lihue (PHLI/LIH)
Falcon 2000 N230QS to Boeing Field
Gulfstream 4 N436QS from/to Burbank
Gulfstream 4 N368AG from Salinas
Global Express N711MC from Las Vegas
Falcon 900 N990WM from Billington

At Lanai (PHNY/LNY)
Falcon 900 N904JY from San Jose/to Maui
Hawker 1000 N543LR from Oakland
Challenger 300 N724SC from San Jose
Global Express N85D from Salt Lake City

And southwards to Tahiti (NTAA/PPT)
Global Express N118WT from San Diego
Gulfstream 4 N101CV from Van Nuys and Kona
Gulfstream 450 N7UG from Van Nuys
Challenger N907WS at Bora Bora
Boeing BBJ N8767 has departed Papeete westbound

Festive Fizzers

Rocking into Christchurch from Kona 23 December was Gulfstream 550 VP-BNE.  It arrived a few hours after Christchurch Airport reopened following its temporary closure while infrastructure was inspected following that afternoons series of sizeable earthquakes.   The 550 departed Christchurch Christmas Day direct to Hong Kong.

At Christchurch, photo supplied.

And arrived at Hamilton from Hamilton Island and Brisbane 24 December was Gulfstream 550 N550KF as "Jetspeed 505".  This aircraft had arrived at Essendon on 18 December from Milwaukee and Honolulu and flew north to Hamilton Island 21 December.

At Hamilton, Sean W photos

Arubans at Ardmore

Having caught up with Eurocopter EC130 P4-SDL (ex ZK-IEC) at Ardmore 19 December 2011, my memory recalled the visit 6 years ago of another P4 registered Eurocopter.

From North Island Notables December 2005:

An exotic visitor to Ardmore on 16Dec with the arrival of an Aruban-registered Eurocopter EC145, P4-LGB.  This big twin engined corporate machine is based on Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s super yacht “Le Grand Beau” which anchored in the Waitemata Harbour 15Dec having steamed in from Tonga. 

All photos MRC Aviation

Gulfstream 5 N780W

Gulfstream 5 N780W spent a few hours at Wellington 22 December arriving from Kaitaia and departing to Queenstown.

Short finals runway 16 Wellington, Michael L photo

Finally Departed............

Aerolineas Argentinas "new" Airbus A340-300 LV-CSD finally departed Auckland 22 December on its second and final leg of its delivery flight to Buenos Aires after an attempt to depart 21 December was thwarted by maintenance issues. 

Wayne G photo

Nicholas Y photo

Old and the New

As previously posted, Aerolineas are taking delivery of "new" Airbus A340's and Auckland is hosting LV-CSD currently on crew layover as it ferries from Hong Kong to Argentina.  The opportunity arose for this historical shot to be captured of the old and new liveries.

Hawkes Bay Bizzies

It was a busy day in the Hawkes Bay 20 December for corporate jets.  Local resident Citation Mustang ZK-LCA departed from Hastings and flew to Queenstown, Auckland and finally back to Hastings.

Gulfstream 4SP VH-DBT departed Napier for Auckland and Melbourne/Essendon.  It had arrived at Napier from Auckland the previous day.

Gulfstream 5 N780W must be on a golf excursion as it made the trip from Napier to Kaitaia early afternoon.

And rounding out the movements was the arrival of Challenger 604 N604AU from Los Angeles via techstop at Honolulu and Nadi.  The Challenger had visited Napier at the beginning of the month arriving on the 1st from Essendon and departing the next day direct to Papeete.

Other corporate movements for the 20th: Falcon 50 VH-FOL departed Queenstown for Adelaide and Perth.

Gulfstream 550 N888HZ

Hong Kong based Gulfstream 550 N888HZ made a brief appearance at Auckland 20 December on its journey from Hong Kong to Papeete.  It will join a number of other corporates currently visiting French Polynesia as those able to do so escape the Northern Hemisphere chills of winter.

On delivery....... Airbus A340-313 LV-CSD

Touching down at Auckland just after 0230 local time 20 December was Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus A340-313 LV-CSD sporting the carrier's very smart new livery.  The aircraft ,ex Cathay Pacific where it flew as B-HXM, arrived from Hong Kong as AR1054 and sources indicate it will depart after dark 21 December for Buenos Aires.
 

At Auckland 20 December, supplied. 

Busy Widebodys

A short visit to Auckland International on a recent Saturday morning netted a number of the Air New Zealand widebody fleet on the move, mostly departing and most on short haul flights to the Australian Eastern seaboard ports of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and to the Pacific region with flights to Nadi, Rarotonga and Honolulu.

Recent Corporate Activity

It as been a fairly lack lustre few days for corporate jet activity but the last couple of days has seen some activity.

Global Express N618WF arrived at Auckland on the morning of 17 December from Honolulu.
Citation Sovereign ZK-JTH flew from Auckland to Gisborne and back the same day.

Gulfstream 550 B-KHJ arrived at Queenstown on the morning of 18 December direct from Bangkok/Suvarnabumi while departing Queenstown that afternoon was Citation Mustang ZK-PGA heading back to Auckland.

Gulfstream 5 N780W arrived at Napier on the evening of 18 December from Van Nuys and Kona and Gulfstream 4 VH-DBT flew from Essendon to Auckland the same evening. 

Cathay Pacific Cargo

Visits by Cathay Pacific Cargo Boeing 747-400 freighters to Auckland has become more frequent in 2011 and today B-HUH arrived from Hong Kong and Sydney before departing direct back to Hong Kong.

Wayne G photo

VJ photo

Special Liveries

Auckland played host to two special uniquely marked aircraft 11 December.  First was the visit by Korean Airlines Boeing 747-400 HL7495 on the airline's scheduled service from/to Incheon.  This airframe was chosen to present artwork created by children in Korea to promote their country and culture and the decals were only applied at the end of November.

The second visit was by Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER 9V-SWI in Star Alliance livery on the carrier's SQ285/286 service from/to Singapoer.  This aircraft underwent a test flight post maintenance and repaint yesterday.

All photos Wayne G

Tasman Conquest

Fugro Spatial Cessna 441 Conquest VH-LEM arrived at Wellington mid afternoon 10 December from Goulburn, NSW and Canberra, ACT.  After clearing formalities, the Conquest crossed Cook Strait to Nelson. 

Fugro have had a presence in NZ over recent summers with a myriad of different aircraft.  In 2009 Diamond DA42 VH-FGO spent time in the Taranaki region and in early 2011 Cessna Caravan VH-FGQ was around the Taranaki and South Island West Coast areas as was Aero Commander VH-FGZ.

Arriving and departing Wellington, Michael L photos

Gulfstream Gaggle

It seems the visiting corporate scene is dominated by Gulfstream variants at the moment and today's activity was no exception.

Making its first NZ visit was Hong Kong based Gulfstream 550 B-KGP, arriving mid afternoon 07 December from its home port. 

Noel J photos

Departing from Auckland mid afternoon, having arrived from Calgary and Honolulu 05 December, was Gulfstream 550 C-GNDN.   It made the journey direct to California's Palm Springs International.
This aircraft first visited NZ in September this year.

And our local Gulfstream 550 ZK-KFB made the short hop late afternoon from Queenstown to Mt Cook, the third visit it has made in recent days to "The Rock".  It had arrived at Queenstown on Monday having flown from Wellington to Mt Cook arriving around 7am, then back to Wellington before heading south to Queenstown.
From Mt Cook the 550 made its way to Nelson for its first visit before heading to Wellington. 

Late Night Visitor

The Antonov 124 RA-82074 as previously mentioned on its arrival at Ohakea duly arrived at Auckland around 2250 06 December for a fuel stop on its way to Honolulu's Hickam AFB to where it departed at 0112 07 December.

Thanks to Nick Y for the photo

Antonov 124 RA-82074 arrives at Ohakea

Volga Dnepr Antonov 124 RA-82074 touched down on Ohakea's runway 09 around 0935 this morning, 06 December, from Jakarta as VDA1384, carrying the first two of eight NH90 helicopters for the NZ Defence Force http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6092118/New-Air-Force-helicopters-arrive

The Antonov is due to fly out to Auckland and Hawaii late tonight.

The first AN124 to visit Ohakea, Daniel T photos

Gulfstream III N173PA and Gulfstream IIB N511TL

As previously mentioned, Gulfstream III N173PA arrived at Christchurch on the afternoon of 04 December from Honolulu and Pago Pago.  The visit by such variants of the Gulfstream corporate jet are becoming rarer with noise restrictions around their old generation engines so its great to see one making an appearance.  Its sister ship N163PA is on its way from Honolulu to Majuro today and another Gulfstream III, N106KM, has become a regular sight at Port Moresby with weekly trips from Singapore/Seletar.  Australia is playing host to an even older variant, Gulfstream IIB N511TL.  This aircraft has had stage 3 hushkits added to make it compliant.

N173PA last visited NZ in October 2007 when it spent time at Auckland.

N173PA at Christchurch 05 December, photo supplied.

N511TL, above and below, at Melbourne/Tullamarine 01 December, Gordon R photos

 

Weekend Review

Saturday 03 December saw Airwork's Boeing 737-300 freighter ZK-FXT cross the Tasman flying from Auckland to Brisbane as AIRWORK91.

Gulfstream 550 ZK-KFB made the type's first visit to the spectacular Mount Cook airport when it arrived from Wellington around lunchtime.  It departed a few hours later for Christchurch and then back to Wellington that evening.  The last time a corporate visited Mount Cook was on the occasion of movie star Tom Cruise's expedition to the South Island with Gulfstream 4 N808T.

First visit to Christchurch, photo supplied.

Sunday 04 December farewelled Falcon 50EX N67MT from Auckland as it headed west to Perth via a techstop at Adelaide.

Gulfstream 3 N173PA of the Phoenix Air Group arrived at Christchurch early afternoon from Honolulu and Pago Pago. 

Craig C photos

Gulfstream G200 Galaxy N533GA spent much of the day at Napier, arriving from and returning to Hamilton before making the short hop to Auckland.

Boeing 737-300 freighter ZK-FXT returned to Auckland from Brisbane and Citation Mustang's ZK-PGA and ZK-LCA both flew Queenstown-Auckland with the latter heading home to Hastings.

The USAF Gulfstream C37A 97-0401 departed from Wellington for points unknown.

Air NZ's Boeing 747-400 ZK-NBT also returned home to Auckland from Manila via Melbourne at the conclusion of a charter operation.

Recent Comings and Goings - updated

Boeing 737-200 VP-CBA arrived at Auckland 29 November from Narita and Port Moresby.

Gold Coast based Falcon 2000 M-SNER arrived at Auckland from Coolangatta 01 December and returned to its home port 02 December.

Challenger 604 N604AU overnighted at Napier 01 December arriving late afternoon from its Essendon home and departing the next morning direct to Papeete.

Jetting into Auckland from Nadi at lunch time 02 December was Gulfstream 4SP N669BJ.  This machine has sat idle at Nadi since arriving from Fort Lauderdale, Van Nuys and Honolulu back on 27 October and also spent an extended period in Fiji earlier this year when it was photographed :
http://www.mrcaviation.blogspot.com/2011/09/fijian-sunset-and-gulfstream.html

Falcon 50EX N67MT arrived a few minutes after N669BJ into Auckland from Apia where it had arrived the previous afternoon from Honolulu.

All photos Wayne Grant

USAF Gulfstream C37A 97-0401 arrived at Wellington as SAM278 late afternoon 02 December.

At Wellington, Michael L photo