Boeing 737-800 VH-VZD revisted

The visit of VH-VZD to Christchurch earlier this week was covered here and mention of its previous recorded stop off at Wellington was made.   A photo of it at Wellington has been kindly provided by planefil.

Looking back a little further - to August 1987!

Aircraft "tracking" has been for the most part thanks to a select group of individuals who have over the years tirelessly listened to long wave radio communications and knitted together a picture of movements across the oceans.  As a result the records of activity are limited but still of great historical value and we thank Falcon 135 for the provision of these notes via the Aviation Historical Society Aerolog of December 1987. 

 

For more on the AHSNZ, please click here, and even better still check out here to become a member.

 

So, looking back to August 25 years ago:

*The first recorded visit of Continental's Douglas DC10-30 N13066 was on 01 August when it visited Auckland on the Papeete-Auckland-Sydney service.

 

*Cessna 207 P2-SED was noted in a dissambled state as was a Cessna 182 N3727U. The 182 went on to become ZK-TFT.

 

*Piper Aerostar VH-IGN arrived at Queenstown from Lord Howe Island and Whangarei 06 August.  It later visited Dunedin before exiting from Auckland 15 August heading to Norfolk Island.

 

*Aer Turas Douglas DC8-63CF EI-BNA arrived at Auckland 08 August from Melbourne and flew onto Honolulu two days later.  It was back at Auckland 19 August from Nadi and onto Honolulu 21 August.

 

*Royal Australian Air Force P3C Orion A9-663 flew via Whenuapai on its way from Canberra to Tonga 10 August.

 

*A noteworthy overflight of NZ was on the 19th when Air France Concorde F-BTSD flew from Papeete to Sydney.

F-BTSD arriving at Christchurch 27 September 1996, Steve L photo

 

*National Science Foundation Lockheed LC130R Hercules 160741, 159129 and 159130 were on location at Christchurch 23 August for Win-Fly flights to McMurdo on 26, 28, 29, 30, 31 August and 04 September.  They all departed northbound 05 September.

 

*Corporate/Business jets for the month were:

Koch Industries Falcon 50 N150K at Auckland 13 August, then from Taupo to Christchurch and Hobart 15 August.

Ariadne Falcon 20 VH-HPJ was noted at Wellington 31 August.

 

Hawaiian Globemaster visits Wellington

Lobbing into Wellington early afternoon of 30 August was United States Air Force Boeing C17 Globemaster III 05-5146 based at Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam/Honolulu.

 

The C17 using the tasking number "Reach 6E1" arrived from RAAF base Richmond and departed for Rarotonga carrying vehicles in support of the impending visit by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Pacific Islands Forum currently underway in the Cook Islands capital.

 

Absolutely fantastic photographic coverage for its visit, a big thanks to Michael L and Emergency 111 who has sent in this link to his superb photos at Flickr.

Ex RNZAF Harvard Stateside

Gordon R provides these photos of ex Royal New Zealand Air Force Harvard NZ1079 now located at the Vintage Flying Museum, Fort Worth/Meacham Field and registered N101NZ.

http://www.vintageflyingmuseum.org/

RNZAF Boeing 757's

For at the second time this month both RNZAF Boeing 757-200's have been at Wellington and Michael L captured them on the night of 28 August. 

NZ7571 departed on the morning of 29 August as KIWI038 destined for Rarotonga for the Pacific Forum.

Harking Back - August 2002

We've not "looked back" for a few months however while hunting out some reference material I stumbled across some odds and ends that took place in August 2002:-

 

*The first visit by a Boeing C17 Globemaster III to Whenuapai took place on 04 August with the arrival of Royal Air Force example ZZ171.  It arrived from Sydney as "Ascot 6662" and uplifted Lynx HAS.3SGM XZ239 (off Royal Navy destroyer HMS Nottingham which ran aground on Wolf Rock, Lord Howe Island on 07 July) plus salvage equipment that was used to extract the destroyer.

For more on the incident, see here.

The C17 departed for Honolulu via a techstop at Auckland 06 August and then flew onto Seattle-Tacoma and Brize Norton.

 

*Eagle Airways of Hamilton took delivery of Beech 1900D ZK-EAM on 06 August when the aircraft, registered N5016C, touched down at Hamilton from Pago Pago.

 

*Antonov 124-100 UR-82009 arrived at Auckland 10 August from London-Stansted via Singapore as ADB5748 carrying America's Cup challenger boat Wight Lightning GBR70 for the British "Royal Ocean Racing Club" GBR Challenge team.  The Antonov remained static at Auckland for the remainder of the month and finally departed 01 September as ADB802F to Bangkok.

 

*United States Air Force Lockheed C141 Starlifter 67-0015 touched down at Christchurch 15 August from Richmond as Reach 6E5 and consequently flew to Pegasus Field, Antarctica on 29 August.

In addition to the C141, C17 Globemaster III 00-0179 arrived on 17 August from Pago Pago and flew an aborted trip to Pegasus Field 24 August and a successful flight on 24 August.

A second C141 Starlifter 66-7967 arrived on 18 August from Pago Pago and flew to Pegasus Field 21 August.

 

*Antonov 124-100 UR-82027 arrived at Auckland 16 August from Soekarna-Hatta carrying another America's Cup yacht, this time for the Italian "Yacht Club Punta Ala" (Prada) syndicate.  It flew to Avalon 25 August and onto Utapao, Thailand carrying car parts.

 

*United States Air Force Boeing C32A 99-0003 visited Hamilton 20 August as "SAM 93".  The VIP aircraft arrived from Wellington where it had spent the night after arriving from Cairns.  From Hamilton to Pago Pago 22 August.  Carried a US trade delegation, obviously interested in the NZ horticultural industry.

 

*Japan Air Lines Boeing 747-246B SCD JA8169 flew to Christchurch 19 August from Narita.  It departed for Nagoya and Narita the next day with a consignment of cars.

Martinair Holland NV Boeing 747-21AC SCD PH-MCF arrived at Christchurch 20 August from Amsterdam, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Sydney carrying Volkswagen cars and associated equipment for cold weather testing near Wanaka.

 

*China Yunnan Airlines Boeing 767-3W0ER B-2568 arrived at Air NZ's technical services facility at Auckland 23 August from Singapore and Sydney as CYH401 for a C check.  It departed 07 September for Sydney, Singapore and Kunming.

 

*Corporate/business jets around the region for the month included:

Learjet 36A VH-SLF at Whenuapai 02 August on military operations

IAI 1125 Astra SP-X VH-WSM at Auckland 09-16 August

Hawker 800XP VH-SGY at Auckland 07 August

Learjet 35A VH-JCR at Auckland 09 August

Falcon 900EX HB-IFJ at Auckland 11-24 August

Gulfstream 4 VH-NCP at Auckland 15 August and Wellington and Auckland 26 August

Gulfstream 5 N93M at Auckland 18-19 August

Falcon 200 VH-CPE at Wellington 19 August

RNZAF 75th decals

The RNZAF continues to to proudly display their 75th anniversary decals as below:

NZ7004 at Tauranga 29 August, supplied

NZ7571 at Rarotonga 28 August local date, supplied

Qantas Boeing 737-800 VH-VZD Special Scheme

Makings its Christchurch debut 28 August was this fancy looking Qantas Boeing 737-800 VH-VZD operating the QF45/46 service from/to Sydney.

VH-VZD was adorned with the special decals in September 2011 to celebrate the alliance between the airline and Optus, a cellular phone network.

This is the second recorded visit to NZ by VH-VZD wearing these markings, the first was on 05 July this year when it operated as QFA141 from Sydney to Auckland but diverted to Wellington due fog.  It later returned to Auckland and then continued onto Sydney as QFA114.

Thanks to Will M for this nice shot of her departing runway 02 at Christchurch.

Chilean Navy Orion

Noted carrying out a test flight from Woodbourne 27 August was the Chilean Navy Lockheed P3 Orion 404.  This aircraft arrived at Wellington 19 March 2012 from Papeete and continued to Woodbourne 20 March for maintenance with Safe Air.

At Wellington March 2012, Michael L photo

Hawaiian Arrival

Arriving at Auckland during the first hour of 27 August was Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767-300 N592HA as HAL9981 from Honolulu.   This machine last visited Auckland for maintenance with Air NZ between 07 March and 22 March 2011.

Under tow at Auckland back on 19 October 2008, John R photo

Chathams Pacific

Air Chathams/Chathams Pacific Metroliner III ZK-CIC arrived at Auckland from Tonga 18 August and was noted to now be sporting Chathams Pacific titles.   It was expected the Metro may have remained in the country for maintenance however this was not to be and it returned to Tonga 20 August.

ZK-CIC has been domiciled in Tonga since flying north from Auckland on 20 May 2011.

Wayne G photo

Supporting a good cause

Qantas Boeing 737-800 VH-VZO has been sporting "Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia" decals for almost 12 months now and it was photographed arriving at Christchurch 26 August as QFA45 from Sydney.

Zane R photo

RNZAF King Air - new serial revealed

Noted outside the APS paint facility at Hamilton 24 August and arriving at Ardmore a few hours later was Hawker Pacific/Royal New Zealand Air Force Beech 200 King Air ZK-KHP sporting dual marks of NZ7121. 

Colin H photo

Wayne G photo

Airwork Maintenance

The team at Auckland based Airwork are keeping themselves busy with Boeing 737 maintenance and Friday last week saw the arrival of Our Airline's Boeing 737-300 VH-NLK for a visit.  The carrier had VH-INU in for maintenance at Auckland from 17 September 2011 until 11 January 2012.

Also undergoing a major overhaul / repaint is Boeing 737-300 freighter ZK-TLA operated on behalf of Toll by Airwork.

Additionally, Boeing 737-300 ZK-SLA (ex YR-BAC) is currently on overhaul having arrived at Auckland on 21 July.  Sources indicate this airframe maybe heading for operations with Alliance in Western Australia replacing Boeing 737-400 ZK-JTQ.

Photos supplied, with thanks.

De Havilland Venom Engine Trials

Some nice video (and sound!) of yet to be registered Venom ZK-VNM at Ardmore late last week.....



MRC photo



Olympic Jetstar in daylight

As previously posted, Jetstar have introduced Airbus A320 VH-VQR sporting Olympic decals and it was used to fly the NZ Olympic team from Auckland to Christchurch last Friday.

Herewith is a selection of photos - thanks to those providing!

Mason B photo

Zane R photo

Citation visits new home

Recently arrived in NZ Citation III N163JM made a trip to its new home of Paraparaumu 24 August with it flying down from Ardmore, carrying out a local flight and later returning to Ardmore.

Rolling runway 03 at Ardmore, Colin H photo

Sombre Arrival

The Royal New Zealand Air Force Lockheed C130 Hercules NZ7004 arrived at Christchurch from Sydney on the afternoon of 23 August carrying the bodies of three NZ Army personnel killed in Afghanistan last weekend.

Craig C photos

Jetstar Olympian

Spied in the wee dark hours of this morning at Christchurch was Jetstar Airbus A320-200 VH-VQR sporting decals advertising the carrier's status and NZ Oympic Committee partner airline.  The A320 was on international services, arriving from and returning to Melbourne.

The Australian based airline announced on 23 July a range of celebratary fares centred around NZ's success at the Olympics and that an aircraft would feature logos and be used to fly the team members from Auckland to Christchurch on 24 August to take part in the celebrations planned at Hagley Park.

Royal Thai Air Force Airbus A319CJ - updated

 Royal Thai Air Force Airbus A319CJ HS-TYR/60202 arrived at RNZAF Base Whenuapai from Richmond on the afternoon of 22 August.  The aircraft has recently had 100th anniversary decals added to its tail.

The A319 departed mid morning 23 August heading to Canberra.

Wayne G photos

Reversing the trend......

The arrival at Ardmore this afternoon of Citation III N163JM sees a reversal in the trend for locally based corporate jets heading overseas.

This 1988 model, c/n 650-0163, flew from its former Scottsdale, Az base to Ardmore via Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, Portland, Or, Anchorage, Adak,  Midway Island, Majuro and Port Vila.

The Cessna 650 Citation III is a popular corporate machine and NZ has been home to this type previously.  Brierley Investments and their associated companies operated three in the hay day - N133LE, N143WR and N106CC.  All aircraft remained on the FAA register during their time with BIL.

Interestingly, N133LE returned to NZ as N133LH and was registered ZK-NLJ in March 1995 with Air Nelson Ltd with the aircraft based out of Wellington from what was the Brierley hangar.  It was available for charter through Air Nelson until its departure in August 1998.

It is understood N163JM will be based in the lower North Island and remain on the FAA register.

Outside Dennis Thompson International, Ardmore - Noel J photo

The NZ bizjet population currently stands at:
Falcon 900EX N146EX - Auckland
Global Express XRS N18WZ - Auckland
Gulfstream 550 ZK-KFB - Wellington
Citationjet CJ3+ ZK-TBM - Christchurch
Citation Mustang ZK-LCA - Hastings
Citation Mustang ZK-MUS - Masterton (noted for sale)
Citation Mustang ZK-MOT - Sarasota, Florida (for sale)
Learjet 35A ZK-XVL - Ardmore
Citation 501 ZK-NDT - Ardmore
Westwind II ZK-RML - Auckland

It is anticipated the total population may grow by two before years end.

Oceania Connection at Oshkosh

Gordon R has kindly provided these fantastic shots of Grumman G73 Mallard as seen at the Oshkosh Air Show late July.

This example, NC2950, has an interesting history with time spent on the Australia, New Zealand and Fijian registers.

It was registered with East Coast Airliens of Brisbane and later Trans Australia Airlines as VH-TGA in 1962 before moving to NZ and become ZK-CDV with Utah Construction and Mining Co of Invercargill and was operated in a support role for the Manapouri hydroelectric power station in Fiordland.   The Mallard then moved to Fiji in 1969 where it became VQ-FBC with Air Pacific and was christened "Nascala".  Its time in Fiji was realatively short and it became N2442H in March 1971 with Crow Inc of Toledo, Ohio.

It moved through several operators until 1998 when it ended up with ST  Hamilton of Carson City, Nevada to whom  it remains registered.

A photo of ZK-CDV can be found here