Military Movers

A few military movers to report on from the last few days.

United States Navy Gulfstream C37B 166377 arrived in Wellington on the evening of 08 May 2018 from Hawaii as "Navy VV 700". It headed to Canberra on the morning of 12 May then to Alice Springs 13 May. It made its way back to Canberra 14 May via a few hours layover at Edinburgh. 

United States Air Force Boeing C17 Globemaster III 10-0221 arrived in Wellington just after sunset 09 May 2018 from Hawaii as "Reach 101" carrying US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and entourage.  It departed the Capital after dark 11 May destined for Sydney then onto Canberra 13 May. From there it departed 14 May for Hickam. 

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12049004

Royal Australian Air Force Boeing 737 Wedgetail A30-002 made a return visit to New Zealand arriving at Whenuapai 09 May 2018 from Williamtown via an approach and overshoot at Wellington. It departed mid morning 10 May for an approach and overshoot at Christchurch then onto Wiliamtown. 

File photo

Royal Australian Air Force Airbus A330 MRTT A39-002 conducted a training detail to New Zealand 16 May 2018 arriving at Auckland from Amberley, then flying onto Ohakea and Amberley. 

Corporate Corner 01 May - 14 May 2018

As mentioned in our previous review, Gulfstream 4 VH-CGF and Falcon 900 VH-OAA departed Auckland for Norfolk Island 01 May and then onto Sydney 02 May concluding their participation in the Captains Choice NZ tour.

Executive Airlines Citation Sovereign VH-EXG arrived Queenstown 02 May from Essendon. It headed north to Rotorua and Auckland 11 May. 

CML Aviation Gulfstream G350 VH-NKD departed Queenstown 03 May for Sydney.

SG Aviation Global Express VH-SGA departed Queenstown 03 May for Sydney and Essendon.

Execujet Global Express VH-ICV visited Auckland on the afternoon of 03 May, arriving from and returning to Sydney.

Avwest PTY Global Express N599CH returned to NZ 05 May arriving at Christchurch from Sydney. 

Twenty 27 (IOM) Ltd Challenger 300 M-SGJS arrived at Queenstown 05 May from Singapore/Seletar and Cairns. It departed 07 May for Essendon, Darwin and Seletar. 

Brenzil PTY Falcon 7X VH-CRW flew Sydney-Napier-Woodbourne-Napier over the course of 05 May. On 07 May it flew to Auckland and onto Kona/HI. 

Marcplan Gulfstream G450 VH-MBP arrived at Queenstown 06 May from Essendon. It departed for Christchurch, Sydney and Essendon 07 May. 

Falcon 7X N818TL flew from Queenstown to Auckland 07 May then onto Maui 08 May. It returned to Auckland 12 May. As per our policy, we will not be recording any further movements of this now locally based jet. 

Arriving Auckland 12 May 2018. 

Christ Holdings LLC Challenger 605 N913TK arrived in Wellington 09 May from Kona/HI via Pago Pago. Its visit was brief with it departing after sunset 10 May for Pago Pago and Honolulu and later onto Aspen/CO. 

Villages Equipment LLC Falcon 900EX N900YP arrived in Queenstown 09 May from Maui/HI via Pago Pago. 

Executive Aviation Corp of Brazil Gulfstream G450 N899FS arrived in Queenstown 12 May from Sydney and continued to Auckland 14 May.

Arriving Auckland 14 May 2018. 

Linfox Express Challenger 650 VH-LEF arrived in Auckland after dark 13 May from Adelaide.

Parked at Auckland 14 May 2018. 

Fiji Airways adds 5th Airbus A330 - Updated 13 May 2018

Fiji Airways recently delivered Airbus A330-200 DQ-FJO, christened "Island of Beqa" in a formal ceremony 11 May, entered commercial service with the Fijian carrier on 12 May operating as FJ411 from Nadi to Auckland, then back to Nadi as FJI410.

DQ-FJO departs Auckland after on its second commercial flight for Fiji Airways. 

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Posted 30 April 2018:

Fiji Airways have taken delivery of a fourth Airbus A330-200 with the arrival of ex Air Seychelles S7-ADB MSN 751. The 12 year old airliner arrived at Nadi mid morning 29 April 2018 after a direct flight from Abu Dhabi as SEY9778.  The A330 will enter the Fijian register as DQ-FJO joining -200's DQ-FJT, DQ-FJU and DQ-FJV along with -300 series DQ-FJW. 

Fiji Airways newest A330-200 can be seen in this shot taken at Nadi a couple of hours after its arrival 29 April 2018. 

The arrival of this aircraft will enable Fiji Airways to expand their route structure and add Tokyo/Narita three times per week from 03 July. Narita will become the carrier's fifth longhaul destination following Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore. The A330's also operate services to Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne. 

File photo - DQ-FJV departs Auckland March 2015. 

More on the Found

Our blogpost from earlier this week on the Found E350 Expedition generated overseas interest and below is a link to a very interesting article from 2012 (prior to the company winding up) written by our North American correspondent Frederick K Larkin. 

https://www.wingsmagazine.com/operations/an-iconoclast-thats-built-to-last-6507

Boeing 737-800 ZK-ZQE exits Jetconnect fleet

Boeing 737-838 (WL) ZK-ZQE "William Pickering" has exited the Jetconnect fleet flying its final service under ZK markings as QF120 from Auckland to Brisbane 10 May 2018. It was subsequently removed from the ZK register the same day. 

Presumably it will take up the Australian registration it was allocated but not taken up, VH-VZJ. 

It arrived in Melbourne at the conclusion of its delivery flight on 17 February 2011 registered as ZK-ZQE and then positioned to Auckland three days later. Its first revenue service was flown 21 February 2011 as QF132 from Auckland to Melbourne. 

For more on this airframe check out http://www.aussieairliners.org/b-737/zk-zqe/zkzqe.html

Tasman Crossers

Tex On-Site PTY Beech Baron VH-KJV arrived at Ardmore 20 April 2018 from Norfolk Island and Kerikeri. It departed 21 April for Omaka then onto Oamaru 22 April. It was noted arriving Christchurch 09 May. 

http://www.texonsite.co.nz/

North Shore based Beech G58 Baron N298WA departed Kerikeri for Lord Howe Island, the Gold Coast and Bundaburg 04 May 2018.

Cessna 210 Centurion VH-ZIO concluded its New Zealand aerial survey job and flew from Kerikeri to Norfolk Island 05 May 2018. It continued to Lord Howe Island and the Gold Coast the following day.

Diamond DA40-D VH-PDQ arrived at Auckland from Norfolk Island 05 May 2018. This aircraft, most recently registered in Katherine/NT, had flown from Coffs Harbour to Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island the previous day. 

Cessna 310 VH-JTV flew from Redcliffe to Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island 07 May 2018 and onto Kerikeri the following day with it pressed straight into service. This light twin is no stranger to NZ having spent considerable time on aerial survey activities, primarily flown from Rotorua. 

Uzbekistan Airways Boeing 767-300 UK-67008

Uzbekistan Airways have once again conducted a fishing trawler crew transfer flight to Christchurch with Boeing 767-300 UK-67008 arriving on the the evening of 05 May 2018 from Tashkent and Kuala Lumpur. The aircraft departed mid morning 07 May flying back to Tashkent via Kuala Lumpur. 

Uzbekistan Airways operate a fleet of seven Boeing 767-300's and in 2016 the received two Boeing 787-8's. 

NASA Douglas DC8-72 N817NA set to return - UPDATED 08 MAY 2018

As forecast last week, the NASA Douglas DC8-72 N817NA arrived Christchurch late afternoon 04 May from Nadi via a data gathering exercise which included a low level (below 2000ft) fly-by of Lauder. It departed on the long journey to Punta Arenas 07 May lifting off from runway 02 at 0820. 

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Posted 01 May 2018:

Once again, Christchurch is set to host the NASA Douglas DC8-72 N817NA as the classic jet conducts aerial work for the Atmospheric Tomography Mission (AToM). 

It has arrived into Kona/HI from Anchorage 29 April 2018 (Hawaii date) and is due to Nadi 02 May and onto Christchurch 04 May. A departure for Punta Arenas is expected on 07 May. 

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Posted 02 February 2017: 

N817NA departed Christchurch 11 February on the continuation of its global mission with its next stop being Punta Arenas. Its plan, of just under 10hr 30min, saw the jet head as far south as 65S. 

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As reported a couple of days ago, the NASA Douglas DC8-72 N817NA has arrived in Christchurch touching down on runway 02 at 1807 after a somewhat circuitous data gathering flight from Nadi.

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NASA's Douglas DC8-72 N817NA is headed for another visit to New Zealand as part of its participation in the ongoing Atmospheric Tomography (AToM) mission. It is due Kona/HI to Nadi 04 February then to Christchurch 06 February. It will depart for Punta Arenas/Chile 10 February before making its way Ascension, Lajes, Thule, Anchorage and home to Palmdale arriving 22 February. 

N817NA schedule

For more on the mission please click HERE

Interestingly, while trawling around the world-wide web, we discovered NASA's Lockheed ER-2 N806NA is operating from Hickam/Honolulu on mission HyspIRI Tropical (Hawaii) from 13 January through until 04 March. 

N817NA @ Christchurch during its 2016 visit, Matt Hayes photo
N817NA arrived on 09 August from Pago Pago and departed 13 August for Punta Arenas. 

Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight Boeing 787-9 A6-PFE

Touching down at Auckland after sunset 01 May 2018 was the Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner BBJ A6-PFE. The VVIP configured airliner had flown direct from Abu Dhabi as "Sultan 5" marking its first visit to the region. It would appear the passengers transferred to a Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 VH-YIM for the continuation of their journey to Wellington. 

The Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight operate six widebody VVIP aircraft with their smaller -8 Dreamliner, A6-PFC, having visited NZ on a couple of previous occasions.

The Dreamliner departed Auckland early afternoon 03 May for Christchurch while the passengers embarked on a chartered Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 VH-YIR for their journey from Wellington to Queenstown. The 737 had positioned from Auckland to Wellington, then positioned from Queenstown to Melbourne.

From Christchurch, the 787 made its way to Sydney on the afternoon of 07 May. In conjunction with its Christchurch visit, Gulfstream G450 VH-MBP flew Essendon-Queenstown 06 May, then Queenstown-Christchurch-Sydney 07 May while Falcon 2000 ZK-OCB flew Auckland-Queenstown-Christchurch-Queenstown-Christchurch-Auckland 07 May.

A New Zealand First

New Zealand's first resident Found Aircraft Canada Inc E-350 Expedition has arrived at Ardmore concluding its import from the United States via container to Hamilton where an avionics upgrade was also conducted. 

N883MX MSN307, was built in 2012 and spent the first 5 years of its life in Cambridge/MA outside of Boston before being purchased by NZ interests in the fourth quarter of 2017. 

The aircraft conducted its first flight from NZ soil 05 May 2018 flying from/to Hamilton before heading to Ardmore that same afternoon via a water christening on Lake Waikare. 

The Found Aircraft company was formed in 1946 and ceased trading in 2014 however two years later Hamilton-based Pacific Aerospace announced their acquisition of the rights to build the Expedition series of light utility aircraft. The press release below indicated the first Pacific Aerospace built example would fly early 2017 but to the best of my knowledge this is yet to take place.

http://australianaviation.com.au/2016/11/pacific-aerospace-to-build-e-350-five-seater/

Thanks to JRCAutomotive youtube channel for the video as N883MX made a low approach and overshoot at Ardmore at the conclusion of its delivery flight - quite a distinctive sound!

USAF Boeing 757 visitor

United States Air Force Boeing 757-23A (C32B) 98-6006 touched down at Whenuapai late afternoon 03 May from Pago Pago as "Reach 589". It headed back to Pago Pago 05 May. 

This covertly operated Boeing is operated by the 486th Flight Test Squadron out of Eglin AFB/FL and is used by a number of US Government agencies. The 486th has at least 2 Boeing 757's however each air frame has numerous identities making it difficult to figure exactly what aircraft is what!

Corporate Corner 17 - 30 April 2018

Avwest PTY Global Express N599CH departed Queenstown 18 April for Perth.

Goonie Co. Ltd Global Express N2020Q arrived Auckland mid morning 20 April from Narita as "Rockstar 2". It visit was brief with the jet departing a few hours later for Guam and then onto Nantong, China 21 April. 

Shortstop Jet Charter Falcon 900C VH-OAA arrived Auckland 23 April from Sydney and was closely followed by Jetcity Gulfstream 4 VH-CGF. The passengers from both aircraft transferred to an Air Chathams Saab 340 and flown around the country as part of their Captains Choice tour. The Falcon and Gulfstream departed Auckland for Norfolk Island 01 May. 

Cloud Skipper Ltd Gulfstream G550 N888HZ arrived Auckland after dark 25 April from Sydney. The following day it spent several hours at Hamilton, arriving from and returning to Auckland. It departed Auckland late 28 April for Hangzhou.

N888HZ on the Hamilton ramp. 

SG Aviation Global Express VH-SGA arrived Christchurch on the evening of 25 April from Essendon. It departed 26 April for Queenstown and Essendon. It returned to NZ the following day arriving at Auckland from Essendon and Sydney. It departed Auckland for Queenstown 29 April.

Up close with VH-SGA at Queenstown. 

Beijing Capital Airlines Gulfstream G550 B-8132 arrived Auckland early afternoon 26 April from Shenzhen. It departed 27 April for Sydney.

CML Aviation Gulfstream G350 VH-NKD arrived Auckland late afternoon 27 April from Sydney. It made its way to Queenstown 29 April.

VH-NKD manoeuvres for departure at Auckland 29 April.

NZ Warbirds and Anzac Day Commemoration Flight

The NZ Warbirds Association, based out of Ardmore, proudly flew a number of their aircraft across Auckland commemorating Anzac Day. Well done to all those involved for coordinating this flying activity. 

From the NZ Warbirds Facebook page:

Anzac Day Flypast

UPDATE
The aircraft will be getting airborne from Ardmore at approximately 10:30am.
The flypasts have been timed with aircraft speed (or lack of) according to where they will flypast and it is timed specifically to coincide with the parades we can fit in, in the time we have allocated. The aircraft will get airborne and take different routes to enable the slower aircraft to make it to the Cenotaph at the same time as the faster aircraft arrive - hence the split up at the beginning and only the two fighters will head south. We are unable to fit any more centres in, as we are working Auckland Council to fit as many parades in, in a workable route.
Because Manurewa is so close to AKL airport and airspace, we will not be flying the faster Fighters and Harvards overhead tomorrow.
They will be arriving back at Ardmore approximately 11:30am
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This year NZ Warbirds At Ardmore have the pleasure of commemorating Anzac Day in association with Auckland Council, with a flypast over many parades across Auckland.
The following places and times are approximate only and subject to change, but will be run along similar routes as last year. If the timings do change from that below, we will update this page. Unfortunately we cannot fly over any Dawn Services due to restrictions placed on us flying our aircraft before the sun rises. Subject to weather:

Pukekohe 10:40am - Kittyhawk and Spitfire Only, will fly south
Manuwera 10:45am - Tiger Moths only to fly overhead Manurewa
St Heliers 10:50am - Harvards, possibly fighters
Orakei 10:52am - Harvards and fighters
Devonport 10:54am
Northcote 10:56am
Hobsonville 10:58am
Point Chevalier 11:02am
Auckland Cenotaph 11:10am - The entire group will be together
Mount Eden 11:11am - Group will split to allow Tigers to head home
Motat 11:13am
Howick 11:18am

RAAF Boeing 737 Wedgetail A30-002

Royal Australian Air Force Boeing 737 Wedgetail A30-002 arrived at Whenuapai 30 April 2018 from its Newcastle/Williamtown base via an approach and overshoot at Norfolk Island as ASY257. The oddly configured AWACS aircraft departed Whenuapai late morning 01 May for Williamtown via an approach and overshoot at Christchurch. 

First visit by this particular aircraft to NZ.