Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC) has published a report that contains a ranking of the world's largest airlines and their accidents in the last 30 years, listed from the one with less to the one with more accidents (taking into account the accumulated mileage and the number of passengers carried).
The list is headed by Qantas, Finnair, TAP Portugal, Cathai Pacific, El Al, All Nippon Airways and Air Berlin without accidents in the last 30 years. There are several more who have a shorter time in the market also recorded no accidents in which they lost passengers and / or aircraft.
Among South American's, LAN Airlines appears in 47th place with two accidents. GOL with one accident and TAM with six closing the list in 59 and 60 places respectively.

01 Februari 2011

RNZAF P3K Orion (photo : Chris Nielsen)

WELLINGTON - The final phase of acceptance testing on a New Zealand Air Force upgraded P-3K Orion prototype has begun at L-3 Communications Integrated Systems' facility in Texas.

The flight integration phase has taken considerably longer than planned, but completion is now within sight, Ministry of Defence project managers here said.

Originally, flight-testing for the 352 million New Zealand dollar ($272.4 million) project was to be completed within approximately six months. However, a series of unexpected problems stretched this phase to 18 months.

Among these concerns were the prototype aircraft's stall performance and anomalies with its digital indicated airspeed display during take-offs.

Flight-testing also has been hampered by problems unrelated to the systems upgrade.

The prototype P-3K2 Orion was unable to fly for six months in 2010 following the discovery of loose fasteners in the wing root area.

Separate issues, including bird strikes, have required three engine changes, the most recent in December.

Stall performance investigations have required considerable flight-testing, including examination of airflow patterns and installing instruments to record flight data. Extensive data analysis has been required and a ground test mock-up has been built to replicate and test the aircraft's airspeed indicating system.

The tests and analysis have resulted in new software being written for the aircraft's air data computer, and this software will be flight-tested in the coming weeks.

The upgraded systems in the prototype Orion's cockpit have now been extensively tested during approximately 240 hours of flight. The flight management system, Honeywell traffic collision avoidance system, integrated Rockwell Collins navigation and improved communications equipment are coupled with a much improved tactical display from the data management system and weather and air-to-air detection capabilities from the Elta EL/M 2022A(V)3 radar.

After some early teething problems, the data management system is now proving to be stable and the new sensors are demonstrating excellent detection performance, Defense News was told.

Once the contractor is satisfied, the final acceptance testing of the aircraft and associated ground-based support equipment will commence. The prototype P-3K2 then will return to New Zealand to begin Air Force operational testing and evaluation.

The remainder of the Orion fleet is to be upgraded by Safe Air in Blenheim. Installation of all the systems on the second aircraft, which has been at Blenheim since August 2009, has largely been completed, and ground testing and flight-testing of this aircraft will follow from the final prototype tests in Texas.

The latest timetable shows the entire fleet of six P-3K2 aircraft back in service by 2013 - three years later than originally scheduled.

Under the other major Air Force fleet renovation, five C-130H Hercules transports are undergoing a 226 million New Zealand dollar life extension program with two aircraft already completed and undergoing operational testing and evaluation in New Zealand since late last year.

Work will begin in February to upgrade the remaining three C-130s.

This work was originally expected to be done by Safe Air, but the company withdrew from the contract after unexpectedly long delays led to many staff being made redundant.

Under revised arrangements, a Ministry of Defence team will now handle day-to-day management of the C-130 upgrade.

This team will manage work undertaken by L-3 Systems and Safe Air, which will continue to provide specialist services, together with the Aviation Labour Group, a Christchurch, New Zealand-based company, possibly supported by other specialist providers, the Ministry of Defence said.

The revised arrangements keeps the life extension work in Blenheim, where the activity can be closely managed by the Ministry of Defence team. The C-130 work includes the refurbishment of the aircrafts' center wings, refurbishment or replacement of other structural components, a major rewiring, and replacement of avionics systems, flight management, autopilot and navigation and communication suites.

(Defense News)

Can we synthesize a beating heart directly from stem cells?  Did Dorothy’s friend, the Tin Man, have a heart?  Does blood flow through the veins of computer engineers?  Not yet, yes, and not until proven otherwise.

The term pulse has taken on a biological meaning in popular culture.  It is used to describe the gush of blood sent streaming from the heart throughout the body.  You can feel your pulse rate by pressing against your neck.   Fictional characters always check the wrist to see if someone is dead, but the neck seems like a more reliable indicator (if I were a doctor using the wrist to be fancy, I would probably pronounce some living people dead).

In science, a pulse takes on a more general meaning.  It is a single disturbance that propagates through a medium or material.  The source of the pulse may be a beating heart, but it can just as easily be a loud horn.  The loud horn creates a sound of a certain intensity, which travels in all directions through the medium of air.  Sound waves may appear to be mystical, but it is just a game of broken telephone between neighbouring air molecules; information, in this case, longitudinal vibrations on a molecular scale, is being transported. 

The propagation of sound in air is an example of a mechanical pulse, but simpler examples exist.  If a string is constrained at one end and held in tension, a mechanical pulse may be sent along it by imposing an external lateral impulse at the free end.  The resulting phenomenon is actually quite beautiful. 

The string wishes to return to equilibrium; it wishes the balance it had a moment ago to be restored.  So, the laterally displaced fraction of string revolts – it hurries back to where it came from.  In so doing, it excites the piece of string next to it laterally.

The chain reaction that manifests in the string is known as a mechanical wave, or pulse.  It is like a line of dominoes of lateral excitation.  The string is essentially communicating information of a disturbance across its length.  The pulse appears to be a single wave travelling horizontally along the string, though as we will soon see, it is incorrect to think of it as such. 

The speed with which a pulse appears to propagate along a string is determined by the amount of tension in it and its mass per unit length.  Waves travel faster in strings with greater tension and with a lower density.  Specifically, the wave speed in m/s, is given by v = (T/µ)^0.5, where T is the tension in Newtons, and µ is the linear density in kg/m.  As it turns out, the severity of the external excitation, or source, has no influence on how quickly the pulse travels.  The source determines the shape (amplitude) of the propagating disturbance, but has no say on how quickly it is conveyed.  It is kind of like when your computer freezes – the time the operating system takes to restore itself is independent of how loudly you yell at it. 

In reality, the string itself is not moving left to right or right to left.  The motion of a horizontal propagating wave is an illusion: in reality, the only motion occurring is in the vertical direction.  Locally, particles of string move up and down in sequence, giving the impression that horizontal motion is occurring.  It is like the wave you see at sporting events in stadiums.  Members of the audience are not actually moving from side to side, merely up and down in sequence.  The resulting phenomenon gives the impression that horizontal motion is occurring.  Imagine that each sport fan participating in the wave is a particle of string, and you begin to properly visualize what a mechanical pulse is.

Have you witnessed a mechanical pulse in other facets of life?  Sure you have.  Have you ever mowed the lawn with an electric cord?  In an effort to displace a distant section of the cord out of the path of the mower, you do not walk towards it and do it manually.  Instead, you give a sharp tug to your end of the cord, sending a mechanical pulse along its length.  You then give yourself a nod of approval as the cord adjusts its position to your will.

You may have also seen mechanical pulses in action when unplugging electronic equipment.  If you are a guy, you are probably lazy (you call it efficient).  Instead of unplugging something manually, you send a pulse along its length.  When the disturbance reaches the outlet, the plug snaps out of it, and you develop a smug grin on your face.  This action appeals to you for two reasons: (1) you did not need to walk a few feet to unplug the thing, and (2) you are doing something you were told not to do as a child (you rebel you).

Hopefully, this introduction to mechanical waves has been informative.  Perhaps the next time you see a green line representing a heart beat pulsate on Grey’s Anatomy, you will think about mechanical pulses travelling along a string.  You will then pick up the remote control and press a button.  This action will catalyze yet another pulse, and your television will turn off.  Your neurons will fire in an effort to stand up, and your muscles will contract. 

In life, information is transmitted by a variety of sources through a vast array of media.  However, the information is not always communicated via speech.  Whether it is a beating heart or an oscillating piston, biological and mechanical systems speak to us every day.  It is a scientist’s job to listen carefully to what they are saying, and through experimentation, research and development, manage to interpret their language. 

Split awaits Belgrade flights

After nearly 2 decades, the capital of Serbia will be connected with direct air links to the Croatian coast. Following talks between Jat Airways’ acting CEO, Vladimir Ognjenović, and the CEO of Croatia Airlines, Srećko Šimunović, flights between Belgrade and Pula, Dubrovnik and Split are set to be launched this summer. A scheduled all year round service between the two largest EX-YU cities, Zagreb and Belgrade, will commence at the start of the 2011/2012 winter season in late October. While it hasn’t been revealed which airline will serve each route it is certain that Croatia Airlines will operate the flights from Dubrovnik to Belgrade and Jat Airways from Belgrade to Pula. The two airlines will reveal all, including their schedules for the abovementioned flights, at the upcoming Tourism Fair in Belgrade which lasts from February 24 until February 27.

After the meeting Vladimir Ogenjnović said, “We have defined our strategic goals during the meeting, which concern the future of both airlines. In the next couple of weeks, our teams will specify all of the details". Srećko Šimunović noted that, “This meeting has immense significance as cooperation between two neighbours has been initiated. The political climate has allowed us to cooperate, while joint interest has united us”.

The final ever flight between Dubrovnik and Belgrade (once known as the Adriatic Arrow service) was operated on August 6, 1991. That same day services between Belgrade, Split and Zagreb were also suspended, never to be reinstated again. Flights to Pula operated during the 2008 summer season.

31 Januari 2011

HMAS Darwin (photo : Defense Industry Daily)

Five ships with approximately 600 sailors and officers participating departed Sydney Harbour this morning to commence Navy’s latest training program, Exercise Triton Storm.

The three frigates and two mine hunters will conduct live firings, seamanship exercises, boarding training as well as anti-aircraft exercises and mine hunting off the east coast of Jervis Bay, before sailing south to Tasmania.

HMAS Ballarat (photo : Benchill)

During the exercise, HMA Ships Darwin, Ballarat and Parramatta will integrate with RAAF aircraft including Hawks, F/A-18s, AP-3C Orions and Wedgetails during anti-aircraft serials.

Coastal mine hunters, HMA Ships Diamantina and Gascoyne, will also operate in Jervis Bay, testing crews’ abilities to search for, detect and classify mock mines. Collectively, all units will be tested on their preparedness for various warfare serials within the strict environmental and safety guidelines used within Navy.

HMAS Parramatta (photo : RAN)

As the lead ship for the exercise, HMAS Parramatta’s crew are anticipating a busy period Commanding Officer Commander Heath Robertson said.

“My ship’s company is ready to take on all the challenges of 2011. Operating in company with other ships and with the support of the Air Force, it is an exciting start to the year. It will allow us to practice our core skills to prepare us for any eventuality,” he said.

HMAS Gascoyne (photo : leftymgp)

“The months of planning and the ability of each of our sailors really comes into play when you are operating 3500-tonne warships within 500 yards of each other. Life at sea can be a risky enterprise, so we train to keep our sailors prepared and safe.”

HMAS Diamantina (photo : Australian DoD)

As part of the exercise, the task group will transit to various ports in Tasmania to mark Tasmanian Navy Week; the key celebrations will be held between 11-14 February.

(Australian DoD)

31 Januari 2011

New Zealand Army has been evaluating FN SCAR for Steyr AUG replacement (photo : DevianArt ).

The country's soldiers are about to get more killing power with a new weapon which will better the range and accuracy of the rifles used by the enemies they are likely to be fighting.

A 7.62mm marksman's rifle will be issued to each section of eight to 10 soldiers after the New Zealand Defence Force completed a study of 10 of its weapons systems, mostly small arms issued to soldiers.

Three sections make up a platoon and the army said today one soldier in each section would get the new weapon when the army decided what rifle to buy. The rest of the soldiers in the section would continue to be issued with Steyr rifles which fire a 5.56mm standard issue Nato cartridge which was limited in range, said Deputy Chief of Army, Brigadier Dave Gawn.

The new rifle would fire a more powerful cartridge with greater range and accuracy.

Brig Gawn said most hostile forces used the Russian-designed AK47, which fired a similar 7.62mm round.

"In terms of range and hitting power there is a mismatch between the 5.56mm (bullet) which has a maximum range of around 300m versus the 7.62mm which is closer to 600m."

He said giving the soldiers more powerful 5.56mm cartridges would overcome some of that difference but the new weapon would have a range of up to 1000m.
The army would also replace its specialist 7.62mm sniper rifles.

About 3000 of the 13,000 Steyr rifles in the Defence Force armory would be fitted with a new sighting system, which would increase magnification from 1.5 times to four times magnification. They would also be modified to allow thermal sighting systems to be fitted.

The Steyr rifles were likely to last another 10 years before they were replaced, but Brig Gawn said it was too soon to say what calibre rifle would be adopted.

(NZHerald)

A year to remember ... Zadar Airport

Overall Croatian airports staged a respectable recovery in 2010. Most of the country’s hubs managed to see an increase in the number of handled passengers, despite a lacklustre start to the year. Airports on the Croatian coast, such as Dubrovnik and Split, had an exceptionally good year while the likes of Rijeka struggled both economically and passenger wise. Despite new low cost flights from Zagreb, Croatia Airlines’ slash in frequencies saw Zagreb post only a small increase.

In 2010, a total of 5.180.866 passengers were handled at airports across Croatia, an increase of 5.7% compared to 2009. According to analysts, 2011 is expected to be another year of growth.

The following are results Croatia’s main airports posted in 2010:

Airport	Passengers 2010	Passengers 2009	Change (%)
Zagreb	2.067.646	2.056.388	▲ 0.5
Dubrovnik	1.257.770	1.109.934	▲ 13.3
Pula	313.793	302.448	▲ 3.7
Split	1.187.921	1.080.121	▲ 9.4
Zadar	254.802	195.163	▲ 30.5
Osijek	20.824	20.503	▲ 1.5
Rijeka	61.478	110.208	▼ 44.2

All fugures have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Still on the NZ register is Citation Mustang ZK-MOT, nee ZK-MUS/1.  It departed from Wellington 25 March 2010 for Auckland, Lord Howe Island, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast Airport.  It flew to Toowoomba, carried out a local flight and returned to Sunshine Coast on 07 April before heading south to Sydney's Bankstown GA airport on 18 May.  It doesn't appear to have flown until 28 Jan 2011 when it made a trip to Essendon and back to Bankstown.

At Essendon 28 January, Gordon Reid photo

 The Aero L-39C ZK-CCP2 of Albatros Ltd  arrives.

 Above is the AutoGyro Europe Calidus Fern , c/n NZC002 , ZK-ZMM of Gyrate NZ Ltd. First registered on 03-12-2010. It was accompanied by the AutoGyro Europe MT03 Eagle ZK-ZEE2.

"Approval pending" for the Rake Mk1 - Handling ! In use on the De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk ZK-PTN , c/n C1-0834.

Evacuees unite with their families as all flights to Tunisia are suspended

Services to Tunisia have been suspended until further notice from the only EX-YU airport which offered regular flights to the North African country – Belgrade. Jat Airways operated its last service to the country last week when it chartered two special flights from Belgrade to rescue stranded tourists following the violent overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who has ruled Tunisia for the past 23 years. The special service saw Jat aircraft land in both the capital Tunis and the city of Monastir. Some 200 Serbian tourists and a dozen Macedonian holiday makers were flown back to Belgrade, while Serbian construction workers and embassy employees were also returned home following an outbreak of violence in the normally peaceful and stable country. Tunisair, which operates flights from Tunis to Belgrade, has also suspended the service until further notice while all tour operators in the EX-YU region have shelved sales of Tunisian holiday packages.

Tunisia is an extremely popular holiday destination for Serbs and lately Macedonians, Croats, Bosnians and Slovenians. During the 2010 summer season flights to Tunisia were operated not only from Serbia but from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia as well. During the winter, regular weekly flights operate out of Belgrade to Tunis and Monastir.

Within the next 48 hours Jat will charter a special flight to either Hurghada or Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt to evacuate 120 Serbian tourists as violent political demonstrations hit the second most populous African nation, the Serbian diplomatic mission in Egypt told state media yesterday. There are no regular flights between any EX-YU country and Egypt although Jat operates all year round charter flights and numerous Egyptian airlines operate flights to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Serbia during the summer.

Meanwhile, normality has returned to Podgorica Airport, which was closed due to heavy snowfall earlier in the week. Some 1.500 passengers were stranded at Montenegro’s hub as only Jat’s flight to Belgrade left the airport and Montenegro Airlines’ incoming flights from Priština, Skopje and Niš were able to land. Over the past week, Sarajevo Airport has been closed several times due to thick fog while Skopje was also forced to close its doors earlier in the month due to poor weather conditions.

At the 2011 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama issued a very clear challenge to his nation: “Win the future.”  While the future is something that all nations will share in, it is true that the U.S. does like to have the lion’s share.  Realistically, even if America begins to wake up from its decade-long hibernation, when dreams and ambition were replaced by a sense of entitlement, it will have to share the honour of economic superpower with other nations like China.

To even be included amongst other successful economies, Obama highlighted three areas in which they would need to excel: innovation, education, and infrastructure.  He urged that we respect teachers, and he hoped that today’s bright kids will consider a career in that field.  Teachers are grossly underpaid in America.  In order to get more able bodies and minds into that profession, the government must provide greater incentives (Barack says, “Please,” won’t cut it).

The spotlight of his speech shined brightest on the innovation portion.  He seems to genuinely want to become a world leader in green energy.  This is easier said than done, particularly when you consider that the U.S. is entering the race a decade late.  Nevertheless, it is a race worth competing in, as the world leaders in renewable energy will export their innovations to the slower runners as oil continues to become a less desirable energy source.

His speech was very science heavy, which is somewhat of a ninety degree turn when you consider who his predecessor was.  If I could take his speech one step further, I would say that Americans do not necessarily need to become more science savvy, just more scientifically literate.

Science literacy is the ability to synthesize scientific information.  You do not need to study science to be somewhat versed in it.  When new research in a scientific domain is published in the newspaper, can you understand what it means?  If a nation is filled with people for whom the answer is yes, then it is in a position to lead the technological revolution.

It is not essential that more than 20% of a population work in a scientific field.  It is however imperative that most of the other 80% support technological innovation.  A nation that understands scientific issues like a sustainable biosphere and grand scale energy production is in a position to cast an informed and responsible vote.  In the words of astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, “If you are not scientifically literate, then you are essentially disenfranchising yourself from the democratic process.”

I believe that the United States has a wonderful President.  If you follow the media discourse, it is clear that Americans do not deserve a man as hard-working as he is.  And as good a motivational speaker as he is, it will be the teachers in today’s classrooms that inspire their students to work hard in a field they enjoy.  For some of them, it will be in science or engineering.  For the majority of them, it will not.  All students however, science and non-science alike, will need to have a basic qualitative scientific understanding in order to collectively overcome some major societal hurdles that stand before them.

In the end, winning the future is only a reward if that future is a bright one.

Cessna A185F Skywagon c/n A185F-02103 spent its youth in Australia from 1973, until purchased by Timothy Douglas-Clifford. It was spied in Auckland on 23-07-1993, cancelled from the VH register and became ZK-TDC (for obvious reasons) on 12-10-1994. on 05-12-2000 its ownership details were moved to Skydive Wanaka Trust and it was reregistered as ZK-ROK the same day. This in turn was changed to ZK-ROL on 29-08-2002 to allow the Cresco to take up the ZK-ROK marks. The 185's ownership moved to Craig Thompson of Timaru on 10-11-2006.

I'd call this Day 4 but rush-deadline work for the mag intervened after the last day at Sebring so just getting to it now.
The Sebring experience gets better every year, I believe precisely because Bob Woods keeps it consistently valuable without tricking it up with a lot of extraneous booths selling things like Miracle Kitchen Knife or iPhone WonderMuffin Pocket Baker and the like: it's an LSA show, pure and simple, and a great opportunity for folks to crawl out from wherever winter is tap-dancing on their heads and let them see, compare, fly and even buy aircraft and peripheral stuff.

ALTO 100

Many airframe makers reported sales at the show, or expected deals to close afterward.  Exhibitors hope for sales of course, but realize folks often need to go home, reflect on what they've seen, then push the button or think more on it.
I'd say from everybody I talked to, optimism was rekindled that 2011 will be better than the last -- a real toughie.
Let's wrap up my highlights, then look at the 2011 Florida LSA Tour that launched right after Sebring.
ALTO 100:  Last year, Ron Corbi and Dan Coffey vowed to bring an Americanized, more affordable S-LSA to our shores and did just that with this retooled Czech design, newly S-LSA certified.  Their "pre-emptive maintenance" approach looks to eliminate those features that most tend to wear out in LSA.  American-made Matco wheels and brakes, bucked rivets instead of pop rivets in high-stress areas and so on.  The Alto features a Vertical Power electronic electrical system, Approach Hub avionics wiring and a Dynon SkyView glass panel, all for under $100,000, should attract attention.  It's a cute airplane too.

KITFOX SUPER SPORT

KITFOX SUPER SPORT:   Owner John McBean and Paul Leadabrand, owner of a top taildragger school in Idaho called Stick and Rudder Aviation, brought Paul's Kitfox to the show.  I had the pleasure of flying it with John the day after the show.  What a refined and highly evolved sport plane this much-copied design has become in the 19 years since I built the first iteration of it.  Smooth, responsive, great visibility, available as a kit too: and most important, really fun to fly.  Big baggage compartment (or optional airframe 'chute-ready).  Base price: $83,495.

FK9 ELA

FK9 ELA: Finally got to fly this handsome, comfortable cruiser from Poland’s FK Lightplane, a refined fifth generation version of the European-popular carbon fiber airplane repped in the U.S. by Hansen Air Group.  New is the redesigned engine cowl (reminiscent of the LoPresti speed mod on Piper Aircraft some years back) for the Rotax 912 ULS, which reduces drag yet improves cooling.: nice!  New winglets reduce fuel burn and improve stall handling for U.S. LSA requirements.  Folding wings, wing or fuselage fuel tanks.
HARDWARE DEPT: A couple more cool gadgets to talk about:

Watching the excellent wing-mounted video at Sebring

Light Sport Group's Contour A/V-ATOR HD GPS Camcorder has really caught on with flight schools and others looking to document their flights on High Def video.  Now the light-weight, 1080P cam has GPS tracking ability: speed, altitude and position data encode along with the video and audio. Software included lets users play back, edit and share videos online.  Data ports over easily to apps such as Google Earth.  Under $600.

DYNON'S Robt. Hamilton and 1 lb. Transponder unit

And Dynon's SkyView big, multi-talented glass panel keeps evolving.  Marketing veep Robert Hamilton updated me on two new features: autopilot and transponder.   For example, just tap VFR in transponder mode for the 1200 squawk code.  Manual code input is a snap too.  The Dynon transponder sending unit weighs just a pound: easy to put anywhere.  Dynon will also soon release a new worldwide Jeppesen -- sourced navigation database soon.
The 2011 Florida LSA Tour:  Take five top manufacturers to six Florida cities and you've got the gist of this clever and, we can hope, effective marketing effort.  Cooked up by Bill Canino of Sport Air USA and American Legend Cub’s Dave Graham, (formerly with Gobosh), the idea targets one of America’s busiest aviation states.  On the tours: Legend’s Cub, Flight Design’s CTLS, Sportair's Sting S3 and Sirius, the Rans S-19, and Jabiru’s J-230 joined the tour’s itinerary to Naples, Miami, Orlando, Spruce Creek, Leeward Air Ranch and Tallahassee.
If successful, tours like this could fill the gap until the LSA infrastructure reaches more fully across the country. 

Dave Graham (lt.) Bill Canino (ctr.) and friends

I caught up with the gang at Orlando's Executive Airport.  Air Orlando hosted an outdoor barbecue, much appreciated.  Attendance was decent, and made up of serious potential customers, which is the whole point.
Telling anecdote: I spoke with a Cirrus SR-22 owner who was looking at every LSA there.
"I'm really impressed," said the mid-40s software engineer, "with the quality of these LSA.  Once my teens are out of school, I'll probably buy one for my wife and I to take trips in.  I didn't realize how well-built these airplanes are."
Sebring is done: Long live Sebring!
And thanks again to Bob Woods and his terrific group of volunteers.

As was widely reported in the media and the type subsequently confirmed, Bell 206 Long Ranger ZK-ISF, registered to North Shore Helicopters,  had an engine surge followed by a loss of power with the aircraft ditching off the coast from Bream Bay, Northland on 19 January.  The pilot survived the crash and was winched to safety by one of the NEST Sikorsky 76 helicopters from Whangarei.
The helicopter was first registered in NZ in July 2008 with Finlayson Helicopters of Whangarei and changed ownership to North Shore Helicopters in August 2010.

ZK-ISF alights from Oceania at Ardmore 14 April 2009, Mike Condon photo

An opportunity arose for me to spend several hours at North Shore/Dairy Flat on a gin clear day so it was great to cruise the airfield checking out the coming and goings of residents:

Cardinal ZK-DFU departed for Kerikeri.

Cessna 172M ZK-DXN

AS350BA Squirrel ZK-HGB carried out a local training flight.

R22 Beta ZK-HZV was also in training mode.

MD 500E ZK-IRB is a recent addition to the register to Skysales, Christchurch, but came and went from Flightline in company with R44's ZK-HCY and ZK-HSU.

R44 ZK-IXG arrives at the eastern hangers.

EC135 ZK-IGL departed for Mechanics Bay

Trislander ZK-LGC arrived from Great Barrier

And Trislander ZK-LGF departed for eastern points, presumably Great Barrier

Partenavia ZK-PLA departing from runway 21 at North Shore

Embraer 820C ZK-RDT touching down on runway 03 having arrived from the north-northeast

Previously blogged by Sir Minty, Dyn Aero ZK-SML returns after a few hours away. 

From Zadar to Zurich and Munich

Croatia Airlines is extending its offer of seasonal flights for the upcoming 2011 summer season. Following announcements that it will begin flights from Split to Hamburg, Rijeka to London, Zagreb and Dubrovnik to Athens and Dubrovnik to Venice and Belgrade, the airline will also inaugurate services from Zadar to Zurich and Munich. Services to both cities will operate twice per week. Flights to Zurich will commence on June 3, with the following rotation: Dubrovnik – Zurich – Zadar – Zurich – Dubrovnik. A Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 will serve the flights. The same aircraft will be deployed on the Zadar – Munich service, which commences on May 3. The new flights mark Croatia Airlines’ return to Zadar with international flights. The Croatian national carrier was criticised last year for suspending many international flights from various airports in Croatia other than Zagreb.

Meanwhile, work on Zadar Airport’s terminal expansion is ongoing and the building is expected to be ready by the start of the 2011 summer season, at the end of March. Zadar was the star performer amongst Croatian airports in 2010, thanks mostly to the presence of low cost airline Ryanair. The airport handled 272.675 passengers, up by 26.3% on 2009, marking its fourth year of consecutive growth.

Details for the new flights from Zadar can be found on the right hand side, in the new route launches section.

Yesterday, the United States Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) granted Croatia a category 1 rating, allowing airlines from Croatia to operate flights to the country. The FAA stated that Croatia has fulfilled all security requirements. This in turn allows Croatia Airlines to code share with United Airlines on flights to Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago from several European destinations to which Croatia Airlines operates to.

De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth ZK-ANL , c/n 82512 , captured with its tail on a can near the bushes ! Still rigged in spraying mode. Since its civil life began in 1947 it has spent all its life east of the ranges.

 Ray Brown's Druine D.13 Turbulent, ZK-CAQ , c/n PFA/573 , has just had its sliding canopy re-fitted.
More on this beast can be seen at,

http://design-plane.blogspot.com/2010/05/turbulents-of-new-zealand-4.html

Vans RV-3 ZK-WHO , c/n AACA/612 , was a Canterbury Aero Club members project, I guess in the mid 80's. Incomplete, it passed to Ray Healey and was registered on 16-01-1989. Topflite Aviation took it over on 14-05-1993 followed by a re-list to the Rankin Partnership at Ohakea in October of 1996. Jerry Chisum of Hastings listed it on 19-07-2009. It had an engine fail, followed by a heavy landing (anybody know where & when ?). It has just come off a major repair and modification project, during which it acquired a new undercarriage, engine mounts, screen and a engine with only 207 hours since o/h. I believe it also has had the CN1 & CN2 spar mods to allow +9G. It also as a new paint scheme and a new instrument panel.
The above pic was at Masterton. The lower view was at Omaka on 08-12-2010.

 Towards the end of 1980, Cessna pushed this airframe, c/n 53170 , out as a model 180K Skywagon. It did nearly ten years in the US before being aptly registered as G-OPIX to Steve Bicknell Productions in the UK in September of 1990. It was freighted to Dairy Flat and became ZK-SCB (using Steve's initials) on 08-11-1994 and used in his photography business. It was sold to Ron McAulay of Wanaka in August of 1997 and to its current driver; Brian Atkinson of Hanmer Springs in April of 2008.

Cessna 180E ZK-TUA c/n 180E-51144 has every right to call itself a genuine warbird. From new in 1962 it served with the Australian Army until joining civil street in 1975 with the Queensland Police. From 1980 it had a bunch of private owners until it was damaged in 1994. It was shipped to NZ and over four years was rebuilt and registered to Kim Christophers as ZK-TUA on 24-09-1998 for delivery to Tim Unwin Austin - hence the "TUA" rego. In September of 2000 it went to Sam and Hugh Bethell and lastly, in October of 2006, to David Sinclair of Balclutha.

Lovely :

Cessna 180 ZK-WGT. A very early production machine, being c/n 30012 , in a period colour scheme.

I don't know much about this one, except that by 18-02-1953 it was in Uruguay as CX-AZP. It was shipped into NZ and became ZK-WGT on 05-01-2007 using the initials of its new owners W & G Thompson of Otorohanga.

I heard a strong rumour that there where aircraft on the Masterton airfield that where not Cessna 180 or 185's last weekend
I did managed to track a couple down.

Glaser-Dirks DG400 ZK-GVA was airframe number 54 and was imported for Paul Schofield,  Roger Sparks and Richard Le Pine and registered on 30-01-1984. It went to Richard Le Pine in February of 1986 and remained in the family until November of 1999 when it was listed to the Barton, Buchanan and Johnson Syndicate at Masterton. Since Christmas of 2007 it has been under the GVA Syndicate. (I am guessing that include Stu Barton and Craig Stobbs +?)

A surprise arrival was the Lancashire Prospector EP9 ZK-PWZ , c/n 42 , which Hallett Griffin of Kairanga Aviation flew over instead of bringing his Beaver. This aircraft arrived in NZ in June of 2002 and retains the last three letters of its Pommie registration (G-APWZ) as its Kiwi registration. Below is an information panel as seen on the left hand door.

Found in the visiting aircraft park was this AESL Airtourer T6 ZK-CPG2 , c/n A552 , currently listed with Astral Investments of Manakau. It started life with the RNZAF as NZ1762 in mid 1970, joined the NZ civil register in March of 1993 as ZK-JBZ with the Bay of Islands Aero Club at Kerikeri. From late August of 1995 it was with the RNZAF Auckland Aviation Sports Club at Whenuapai. It was damaged in 1999 and the remains went to Colin P Grounsell who rebuilt it to become ZK-CPG on 29-01-2004.

                         
ZK-JHS is a Cessna 185C Skywagon with the c/n of 185C-0677 which started life in New Guinea in 1964 and moved to Australia in about the early 1970's. It ferried in from Norfolk  Island to Auckland on 15-07-1993 to become ZK-JHS on 29-07-1993 with Stephenson's Pharmacy at Whitianga. The brighter "ZK" marks are a later addition, required for its off shore trip over the ditch.

ZK-JKH is a 1977 version of the Cessna A185F AgCarryall with a c/n A185F-03249. It had earlier aspirations of becoming ZK-EHL but it was sold by Dalhoff & King Aviation to John Harding of Rangitikei Air Services of Taihape; so  it adopted his initials of JKH. In March of 1983 it went to Aspiring Air at Wanaka and then to Peter Bowmar of Gore (now Wanaka) in late November of 1987.

ZK-KRM is a Cessna 180H Skywagon , c/n 180H-51889 . It served time in PNG from new in 1968 until ferrying into Auckland from Lord Howe Island on 19-04-1994. Again its registration is derived from the first owners initials. It was listed on 12-05-1994 to K R McKay of Tuakau, then to the Ardmore Flying School in October of 1995. It is now with the KRM Partnership.