One of the aircraft on display was the locally based Robin DR 500 President ZK-VAX which has been owned by J H Smith of North Shore since it was first registered in New Zealand on 11/8/05. It was previously G-LISE and first registered in New Zealand as ZK-LIS for about 3 months, but I it ever flew as such. The DR 400/500 series is the latest decendent of the Jodel series of aircraft, and features the Jodel bent wing. The DR 500 first appeared in 1997 with a 200 HP Continental IO 360 motor and constant speed propellor. It has a larger cabin than the DR 400.
This got me thinking as I had photo'd the DR 400/180 Regent ZK-TZB at Parakai the previous weekend (it was also at North Shore on Saturday). ZK-TZB is ex F-ODAN and it was first registered to Izard Pacific on 20/1/04. After a brief spell with I B Communication Ltd in Palmerston North it was sold back to Izard Pacific and the on to its current owners D & C Fletcher of Wellsford on 5/12/07. And to round out the total of DR 400's in New Zealand, here is a rather poor photo of DR 500 President ZK-TZA taken at an airshow at Warkworth in late 2001 (Can anyone supply a better photo?). ZK-TZA was first registered in New Zealand to Izard Pacific on 30/1/01 and it has been owned by C H Johnstone of Te Kowhai since 26/8/04, where it lives in a hangar off to the side of Te Kowhai airfield.
The DR 400 series of aircraft was first introduced in 1972 and more than 1700 have been produced.
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