Very simple this week.
What aircraft type are we looking at here ?

Second give away Clue 06-12-2008.

Different aircraft , but same model.

Imported to NZ in August this year is this example of the Jabiru J230, ZK-PSH. It ferried across the Tasman on its Australian registration of VH-FTE and arrived at Kerikeri from Norfolk Island on 12Aug08. It was subsequently registered ZK-PSH to Painter Sinton Holdings Ltd of Takanini on 28Aug08.

Parked up at Ardmore, where I guess it resides in one of the many hangers!

Came across this Hiller FH1100 at Ardmore last week, ZK-HXF c/n 211. Registered in December 2001 to Bay of Plenty Helicopters ex CC-CHI, the fuselage had been trucked from storage at North Shore/Dairy Flat. It was then purchased by Brendan Leddy of Kumeu, West Auckland in July 2002 who also owns Hiller FH1100 ZK-HHW and this is currently on lease to Stewart Island Helicopters.

Zivko Aeronautics Edge 540 ZK-ZAI c/n 0019 was cancelled from the ZK register on 28-10-08 as exported and was noted at Hoxton Park airfield to the west of Sydney being certified to join the Aussie register. This it did on 20-11-2008 as VH-AAI for Mark McNicol of Beaconsfield, NSW.
This I0-540, 350hp, powered aircraft joined the US register as N78L in May of 1998 and was cancelled at the end of July for it to become ZK-ZAI on 25-09-1998 for the Hawker Trust of Auckland.

Above pic taken at Wanaka on 29-03-2002.

This is at least the fourth allocation of theVH-AAI registration. The first was a DH82A which went to the RAAF in 1940. The second use was on the DHC-2 Beaver that came to NZ to become ZK-CMV, mainly for Air Contracts from 1965 until it was exported to Canada in 1970. Third issue was to a Cessna 421B.

PZL-Mielec PZL M18B Dromader ZK-MIB c/n 1Z006-05 has finally been cancelled from our register. It was noted being placed in a container at Masterton back on September of 2006 for export to Jones Air of St George, Queensland. with whom it was rumoured to be in line for refitting with a turboprop TPE331 engine. Afaik it has not come on the Australian register.

First entry I have on this large aircraft is of it being HA-MTK with Szemp Air in Hungary from 09-04-1981. By April 2001 it was working for Polonia Airways at Warsaw. It had the SP-KGD registration reserved but I believe these were never applied. It arrived at Masterton on 16-04-2003 to become ZK-MIB for The Little Aeroplane Co Ltd on 25-07-03. It appeared to spend most of its time parked as in the above pic taken at Masterton on 29-03-2004.

jcoxon77's photostream, Flicr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcoxon77/

They look pretty cool, don't they?

But 76500 ft looks even cooler:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/nebarnix/sets/72157607393699828/

Interestingly though, 42000 ft still looks pretty amazing:

Two shots of the resently revived Cessna 172A ZK-BWL c/n 47320. A Rural Aviation import registered on 16-03-1960 before delivery and listing to the Middle Districts Aero Club on 01-06-60. Top pic taken at Wellington in 1962. In 1964 B A Morice of Napier appears on the paperwork. Pic below taken at Napier 02-03-1969 by which time it was with the Napier Aero Club.
In mid December of 1970 Cookson Airspread of Wairoa were the operators with a transfer to Manawatu Aerial Top Dressing Co Ltd on 23-06-1975. It was withdrawn from service in June 1977 and stored at Feilding and its registration was cancelled on 03-04-1991.

It has returned to the register with Crusader Aircraft Co Ltd of Napier .

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has awarded the Serbian national carrier, Jat Airways, the IOSA (International Operational Safety Audit) certificate. The Serbian national carrier has thus for the third consecutive time officially received the top international grade certifying that it has attained security and quality as well as technical maintenance. The auditing was carried out last week, as Jat successfully passed the IOSA review by meeting every one of the 934 IATA-prescribed standards, nearly 140 standards more than in the previous audit. Jat Airways was IOSA registered for the first time in February 2005, as one of the 30 original IATA members. IATA rallies some 260 air companies. At the time of this first IOSA registration, Jat had passed the review without any negative points – a rarity in the aviation world. The certificate was renewed in 2006 and valid through February 25, 2008. Last week, the IATA-accredited London-based Wake Qa Ltd. auditing house performed a new audit of Jat Airways and issued IOSA registration validity to the Serbian air company until February 25, 2010.

Meanwhile, Jat has an uphill battle with finances although big changes may be ahead. More news about this will be published on the blog soon.

James has cracked Question time # 26.
Aerotek Pitts S-1S with c/n 1-0025.

Built in the USA as N8036 in about 1974 and cancelled in May 1988.

Shipped to NZ but wing damaged during transit.

Registered here as ZK-FRJ on 14-06-1988 to the Ashburton Aerobatic Syndicate which consisted of at least ten members. It carried "Inexcusable Extravagance" on port engine cowling. On 25-05-2003 it struck a fence during a cross wind landing at Cust. It is now on its way back to an airworthy condition by Maurice Till at Rangiora.

Pictured at West Melton on 09-12-1988

"Inexcusable Extravagance"

I believe the "RJ" in the FRJ registration comes from the first two initials of one of the syndicate members.

The nose in the background is that of a Titan Tornado.

Seems like, yes it did :)





Created with the latest iRhino alpha.

Changes:
* Placeholder engine nacelles added.
* Rudder added

I was reading today the book "Fluid dynamic drag" a bit and got kind of inspired: canopies and wind shield discontinuity contributes very much to the drag coefficient of the fuselage. Not only the laminar nose seems important, but all kinds of places where something ends and something else continues are sources of waste of engery.

So if the plane is completely faired with no discontinuity of any kind, theoretically the drag coefficient should be very low.
In this picture, the engine nacelle placeholders are just placeholders, because they are not yet accurate airfoil, and it has not been taken into account that in Rotax engines the propeller shaft is not in the middle of the engine, but almost on the top of the engine, this creates a fairing that has the lower side turned up a bit and is therefore not completely symmetrical.

The engine nacelles may need to be moved outwards, otherwise there is not enough clearance between the fuselage and the propeller arc.

I was also reading one day some NASA tech paper about wing tip mounted propellers. I have not drawn such things to this picture, but I may add it later - small brushless DC motor on each wing tip lowers the induced drag quite a bit according to the tech paper (although on high aspect ratio wing the effect is not that radical as on with a low aspect ratio wing that would otherwise be poor).

Potential issues for placing engine nacelles on wings (which seems pretty necessary for a twin, after all, may be the least bad compromise) and blending are the followings:
* the wings take a lot room to build (because they are very long)
* making the mold is difficult, because it has to be done from CNC cut pieces and glued together
* moving the center section to airport or transporting it in a container may be challenging, because if the area up to engine nacelles is continuous part of the center section and not separatable, it means that this is basically wider than the width of the container, shipping the plane to another continent might be a challenge (it seems that it would need to be flown like the design point has been set)

Croatia Airlines has announced that it will introduce flights to London and Paris from Pula, on the Croatian coast, in the second half of April 2009. Although the agreement with Pula Airport has not yet been signed it is almost certain that the deal will be successfully sealed. Croatia Airlines currently has some problems with financially supporting the London route although it is expected that this will overcome. Croatia Airlines’ main fear is that tourists will stay away from Croatia due to the global financial crisis while another cause of concern is the sliding value of the British Pound. If successful the lines will be operated during the winter 2009/2010 season as well which should help the sliding passenger numbers passing through Pula Airport. Flights to London will be operated to Gatwick Airport twice weekly although flights to both London and Paris will increase to 5 weekly flights during the peak tourist season. Croatia Airlines hopes that by linking Pula with Paris and London it will open passengers the opportunity to continue their journeys further on other partner Star Alliance member airlines. Meanwhile the low cost Germanwings will introduce flights from Berlin to Pula and Jat Airways will restart flights from Belgrade (currently meetings are being held between the Croatian and Serbian Aviation Directorate to completely liberate the airways between the two countries).

A quick lunchtime visitation to the Western side of Christchurch Airport found these Robinson helicopters.
Above is ZK-HMW2 c/n 2555 on the Helipro pad. This was a new import by Wing & Rotor & registered on 05-12-1995 for delivery to Marlborough Helicopters (listed to them on 10-12-96). It then went to the New Plymouth Aero Club from July 2000 until going to Helirange Helicopters of Ohope in September 2001. By May 2003 it was with Karamea Helicopters and November 2006 had it with Karamea Country Freight of Westport. On 03-09-2008 it was registered to CHL Investments of Christchurch.

In the Skysales hangar (above) two recently unpacked R44 Raven II's await purchasers. No registration requested at this stage. C/n's are 12463 ans 12466 (clearly visible on the end of the rotor blade crates). By the time you read this, two new R22's should have joined them.

And as mentioned in an earlier blog the R44 c/n 0630 has indeed become ZK-HAB2. It was registered to Maruia Springs Thermal resort on 19-11-2008. Given its US airworthiness certificate on 16-07-1999 as N7114A it was cancelled on 18-06-08 for export to NZ, whilst under the ownership of Kevin Farmer of Lodan, Ohio. Hard to see in this cramped hangar shot is the "Maruia Springs" stylised script on the fuselage side.

Pula is the largest city in Istria, Croatia and is considered to have high potential as a large tourist destination which it is developing into. Despite this, Pula Airport has struggled to sustain growth this year even though there is a high potential for European destinations. Croatia Airlines, the national airline, realising this potential yesterday announced new flights to London and Paris from Pula and is planning to open even more services in 2009. More about this can be read tomorrow at 07.00CET.

Recent flights to Belgrade proved to be very popular from Pula with load factors averaging around 75%, which is a good result for an ATR72 aircraft which operated on this line. Jat Airways and Pula Airport have signed an agreement for new flights to be operated to the coastal Croatian town and Serbia’s capital in the summer months, if Jat is financially able to operate at the time. Flights between Belgrade and Pula were the first scheduled flights between the two countries following the civil war. It showed that Croats had high interest in travelling to the once Yugoslav capital while Serbs had the desire to relax on the Croatian coast. German tourists head tourist arrivals to Istria. Berlin offers a high traffic potential which would be supported by strong local demand. Stockholm is currently served to Pula during the summer season. Scandinavian countries, especially Sweden, are regarded as the most promising markets to develop direct year-round connections. This line would also benefit from by strong local demand. There are currently no direct flights from Pula to Madrid. The number of visitors from Spain to Istria is rapidly growing and Madrid, as a destination with high traffic potential, would be a promising route. Substantial domestic traffic to Madrid can also be anticipated. The city of Dublin with its phenomenal economic growth is considered as one of the most popular destinations. It is an attractive destination tourist-wise for locals and for the broader catchment area as well. Croatia Airlines has announced that it will commence flights to Paris, London and Barcelona next year however details about this can be read tomorrow.

Pula Airport supports all airlines interested in taking up new routes with an incentive programme to reduce airline start-up costs such as landing and handling. The airport may also look to offer additional backing through Istrian Tourist Board marketing support (especially for low cost carriers). In addition the airport has a host of other marketing initiatives in terms of advertising, to strengthen the promotion of routes, to send out new route promotions, to promote flights and carriers at conventions, and to co-operate close with the local tourist board, Chamber of Commerce, and business development authorities.

In December you can read more airport analysis that will be published on the blog.

On the 25th of November 2008 Zagreb Airport welcomed its 2 millionth passenger of the year. The lucky passenger, Gracia Horvatin (pictured above), received a 750 Euro voucher to be used at the airport’s duty free shop. She also received a dinner for two at Zagreb’s exclusive restaurant and a return ticket to Istanbul on behalf of Turkish Airlines. Croatia’s main airport is reporting an 11% increase in passengers this year and is coming in second position, in passenger terms, when compared to other airports in the EX-YU region. While other airports in Croatia have struggled to maintain growth and a high level of passenger numbers, largely due to the global financial crisis, Zagreb Airport is projecting that next year it should have approximately 2.4 million passengers pass its doors. It is also important to note that Zagreb Airport is operating with a profit along with only 2 other airports in Croatia – Dubrovnik and Split. Meanwhile the airport is preparing for the construction of the much publicised and criticised new terminal while minor reconstruction is ongoing at the current passenger terminal at Zagreb Pleso Airport.

One of our October cancellations from the NZ Civil Aircraft register is this Agusta A119 Koala ZK-IHSc/n 14037. First noted on the US register as N48HH with the manufacturer Agusta Aerospace on 09-12-2003. It was re-registered as N928KR for TexAir Helicopters Inc on 14-04-2004. An incident near Big Bear City, California on 19-07-04 meant a trip back to the manufactures with whom it was recertified on 25-04-2005. It became VH-PSR2 in August 2006 and had an owners address on the Isle of Mann. It was noted in Northern Ireland among other places during this time. On 09-11-2007 Heliflite Pty of Bankstown appear on the paperwork which was cancelled on 07-12-2007 for it to become ZK-IHS on the same day for Heli Solutions Ltd at Tauranga. The above pic shows it on 18-03-08 at Ardmore.
It became N119JT with Skyrunner Aviation Inc Trustee of Wilmington, Delaware on October the 7th; the day following its NZ cancellation.
It has been replaced at Heli Solutions by the Agusta AW119 Mk11 ZK-ISR c/n 14710.

Hey watch this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU2elPTJyqA

Pretty interesting system built around the Subaru.

I have been thinking one idea for better utilizing the HALE concept (HALE = high altitude, long endurance).

Usually nobody flies higher than about 40000 ft. If you look out from a commercial passenger aircraft's window, what you see is blue. You can don't even see clouds very well since you are too high to see them closely and you are too low to see the curvature of the Earth and blackness of space. And the publicly available photography from that altitude is very limited, you don't really get to see even virtually how it looks like up there.

There are some interesting videos about balloon flights to high altitude in Youtube. The balloons go to about 80-100 kilofeets. According to videos, that looks already almost like space. Couple of examples:

Long Trail School High Altitude Balloon at Youtube

Nevada BalloonSat at Youtube

The view is so amazing that I feel it odd that nobody has started to carry people to near space experience with high altitude aircraft. Someone offers MIG-flights, but that is just a ballistic jump there from supersonic flight. Aircraft that can loiter in that altitude would give a whole different experience, it could stay there longer than just minutes.

That kind of aircraft would be impossible someone might say? Not so black and white. There are couple of HALE UAVs around which can go this high. And if you for example look Scaled Composites Proteus which can reach 70000 ft, if you'd replace the telecommunications load from the center section with space grade pressurized passenger cabin, the plane could lift several people at one time to the abovementioned altitude.

According to material I have been seeing from high altitude balloons, it seems like the sky is starting to look like space from about 60000 ft upwards. You need afterburning jet engines to go that high? Not necessarily. Look at for example Burt Rutan's UAV that had twin turbocharged modified Rotax 914 (with fuel injection). It was designed to have positive climb rate at 63000 ft. Seems feasible with piston engines in other words. The company that did the Rotax-conversion for the Scaled Composites UAV, have done triple turbocharged and twin turbocharged versions of the Rotax. The triple turbocharged Rotax is usable to over 80 kft, however, the installation looks really complicated (and the biggest turbo is so huge that must be from a truck).

Here is a design paper about Tecnam P2006T. I find it quite interesting.
www.aidaa.it/3-2008/P2006_corr.pdf

Interesting detail with the used Rotax 912S is that it provides actually better thrust at takeoff and climb than same horse power with a Lycoming engine (because the engine nacelle has smaller frontal area and the propeller rotation speed is lower).

A resonably recent arrival in the Rangiora region is the Avions Pierre Robin R1180 TD Aiglon ZK-TZW c/n 263. Built and registered in December 1980 as F-GCRR it was imported into NZ by Izard Pacific Aviation and became ZK-TZW on 31-05-2005. Ownership moved to Fiona James on 15-09-06, initially of Auckland but listed as Rangiora on 03-10-2008.

This is a view of the construction plate showing the type, serial number (or construction number) and registration. A closer look tends to indicate that it is a "TO" model and there is no hyphen following the French national letter "F".

The work of Serbia’s parliament on Tuesday was blocked as members began discussion about Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport CEO and his hefty monthly pay as well as large bonuses he secured for himself. Earlier on Tuesday, parliament members called for the dismissal of Nikola Tesla Airport CEO Bojan Krišto (pictured above) and said that they would block the work of the parliament until action is taken. Opposition party members enumerated a string of financial abuses, highlighting the six-figure salaries of the company’s directors and called on the government to hold a session to debate Krišto’s dismissal. They called for financial inspectors to be sent to the airport as well and urged the Interior Ministry to send the Anti-Organized Crime Administration to prevent “documents from being hidden”. Krišto, who became the airport’s CEO a few months ago, is one of the youngest CEO’s in a government owned company. In a country where the average wage stands at just over 530 Euros per month, Krišto’s pay was more than unacceptable for a government owned company whose wages are paid on behalf of the government and tax payers. After such a large uproar the Serbian president also demanded Krišto’s resignation. Late on Tuesday evening, Bojan Krišto handed in his resignation and returned his last wages. The issue became political as the CEO’s of the 28 government owned companies in Serbia are named by the government in power and they are usually a member of one of the parties in power. The party in question, G17+, as well as its coalition parties in power distanced themselves from Krišto and supported his resignation.

Mayer McCann, the advertising agency that designs ads for the low-cost airline EasyJet, recently accused studio 3S of copying their style. The 3S marketing agency, which developed an ad for the Slovenan national carrier Adria Airways that is displayed in washrooms (pictured left), denies the accusations and has stated that they hadn't seen EasyJet's advertisements (pictured right), which were published in newspapers and magazines last year in October and November. The EasyJet ad reads: "If you haven't been to London, get up!" Adria Airway's ad, which was put in women's toilets, reads: "If you've never been to Paris, stand up right now!" Marko Majer, director of Mayer McCann, said: "We aren't pleased because the ad uses the same wording". Majer said that they use each EasyJet ad for a short time and change them frequently, but emphasized they never copy them. He feels that now 3S has copied their idea in a "vulgar toilet context" and is deciding whether to take the issue to the court of arbitration. The head of the projects at 3S, Urša Detiček, explained that advertisers of competing products or services sometimes come up with similar ideas. Detiček, who says the two ads are graphically very different, and Adria Airways were surprised when they learned of Mayer McCann's accusations.

Despite EasyJet’s attempt to enter Slovenia’s aviation market it has failed as Adria Airways has managed to overcome the competition.

After exactly 10 years since the implementation of the “A flight more” frequent flyer programme, Jat Airways has decided to end it, instead replacing it with the new “Flying Dots”, appropriate due to the airline’s livery. With the full name being the Loyal Passenger’s Club – Flying Dots, neither the number of conducted flights, nor the mileage flown will no longer be the decisive factor towards receiving a free ticket. Under new regulations, Club members will earn points for each flight flown with the Serbian national carrier. The amount of earned points will depend on the ticket price, on board seat class and destination. Each new Club member will have a personal code enabling insight into their accumulated points. After a certain amount of points are accumulated passengers have the possibility to fly for free, reduce their ticket price or they may transfer points to a family member, colleague or friend. The new frequent flyer programme begins on December 3, 2008 and passengers may become a member by registering via the airline’s official website.

Adria Airways and Croatian Airlines use Lufthansa’s “Miles&More” frequent flyer programme while Montenegro Airlines has its own “Vision Team” programme. B&H Airlines and MAT do not have any frequent flyer programme available to passengers.

Following a conference organised in order to stimulate airlines to begin low cost flights to Serbia’s capital Belgrade, 3 airlines have announced their interest to commence flights – Wizz Air FlyNikki and Malev Hungarian Airlines, a major threat the struggling national carrier Jat Airways. These airlines should join the current two low cost carriers, German Wings and Norwegian Air Shuttle, that currently operate flights to Belgrade. Wizz Air would make the largest commitment operating to 6 cities from and to Belgrade – one in Spain and one in Germany (the cities are yet undefined), Paris, Milan, London and Gothenburg in Sweden. Malev would commence flights from Budapest to Belgrade while Nikki would commence flights to Vienna. This could seriously harm Serbia’s national carrier that has recently announced that even more workers will lose their jobs (over 800). Furthermore the airline has struggled to maintain services after significantly downsizing its fleet. The 3 new airlines should commence flights to Belgrade from late March 2009 once the summer season starts although their arrival depends if Serbia’s parliament ratifies the Open Skies agreement by then.

Low cost carrier Belle Air recently launched a new service between Tirana and Zagreb. Albania's only low cost airline has already started the new service between Tirana and Zagreb, which operate three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. According to the airline’s website: "Belle Air commenced operating low cost flights two years ago with flights between Albania and Italy. The airline has shown steady growth since”. The airline currently boasts a network of 24 airports that connect Albania with Italy, Belgium, Israel, Egypt and Turkey - with Croatia being the latest nation to link up with Albania's capital city. Belle Air operates a mixed fleet, with 1 MD82, 2 BAE 146, 1 ATR42, 1 Fokker 100 and an Airbus A320. The low cost airline was launched in May 2005 and began operating flights between Albania and Italy in March 2006. As well as Tirana, Belle Air also operates flights from Priština.

Meanwhile the world’s leading low cost carrier EasyJet is expected to commence daily flights to Dubrovnik from the 2009 summer season. Final details will be made public in the upcoming month as talks between Dubrovnik Airport and EasyJet intensify.

A 750XL not previously reported on is ZK-SWA, serial number 130 and previously registered ZK-JNV from April 2007 until June 2007 when its ownership changed from the manufacturer to Kiwi Air of Gisborne. It was at Cork, Ireland 01Nov 2007 and then again on 17Feb (see attached photo) and commented that it was enroute from Africa (arrived from Lisbon). It was noted at Marqueete, Michigan on 01Aug and has now arrived in Australasia, being photographed at Toowoomba 08Nov and rocking into Cairns from Innisfail on 15Nov and then noted again flying into Cairns from Mareeba 21Nov. It carries the titles of UTS as does most aircraft operated by Kiwi Air.

Paul Daly photo via www.abpic.co.uk

Kiwi Air's fleet includes 750XL's ZK-FNZ, ZK-JBC, ZK-XLA and ZK-XLB plus Reims/Cessna Twin Caravan ZK-XLC which is apparently operating somewhere in Alaska and Cresco ZK-LTP in Australia!

Does anyone know how ZK-SWA left NZ, or was it built in the USA? The NZ Customs website has it listed so perhaps it left NZ around October 2007 to be in Cork by 01Nov07.

A late spring day had me take the opportunity to amble around Ardmore and today proved well worth the effort.

Tecnam seemed to be buzzing with recently registered P92 Eaglet ZK-NSR/2 outside the avionics workshop. It was registered to Neil Ross of Gore just 3 days ago.

A second Eaglet, ZK-WTF, was parked in front of Tecnam's HQ along with P2002 Sierra ZK-JAX/2.

Note the 2 seat Spitfire departing in the background!

Helicopters were well represented with Robinson R44 ZK-HQF/2 and Robinson R44 ZK-HJU/4 both outside. Coromandel based Robinson R44 ZK-IAY was beating the helicopter circuit.

Eurocopter EC120B ZK-IFZ has been around since June this year and is operated by Heliflight. It was returning from a local flight when snapped.

Eurocopter BK117 C-2 (aka EC145) ZK-IGT is NZ's only example and is flown under Advanced Flight Limited banner on behalf of its owner.

A couple of foreign registered aircraft were also on the field, check out www.mrcaviation.blogspot.com.

Macedonia’s main aviation hub – Skopje Alexander the Great Airport is currently suffering to sustain the growth it had in 2007. There is a lack of interest on behalf of international carriers with only 12 scheduled airlines operating to the airport, most of which are from the former Yugoslav republics. As a result passengers are forced to transit through Vienna in order to reach other destinations. Current trends show a strong need for new flights from Skopje to European cities.

Trends show that direct flights to German cities could be very profitable from Skopje. There is a concentration of Macedonians in Berlin, Bavaria, Hamburg and the Ruhr. 62.295 Macedonian citizens were living in Germany in 2006, although Macedonian sources claim the true number of Macedonians to range from 75.000 to 85.000. As a result daily flights to Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich could be potentially profitable. Flights to Belgrade have managed to captivate many travellers from Skopje which are now choosing to transit through Belgrade onto further destinations. This has also been seen by the increase of flights on behalf of Jat Airways to the Macedonian capital. Most passengers continuing from Belgrade continue to London and Paris. There is such a large numbers of Macedonians continuing their flights to the capitals of the United Kingdom and France that 3 weekly flights from Skopje would be profitable to both. In France there is also a significant Macedonian diaspora totalling 15.000. Developing business cooperation and a large Macedonian population in Denmark (12.000) could make 3 weekly flights from Skopje to Copenhagen profitable. Also, it important to remember that all of these flights could be operated via Ohrid, Macedonia’s second hub, which could further increase passenger numbers on flights, although this would depend if the Macedonian Aviation Authority would allow foreign airlines such a practice, most probably not however there have been some cases where they have, for example Jat Airways operated from Skopje to Belgrade via Ohrid.

Due to the small size of the Macedonian aviation market there is currently no need for transatlantic flights. Most transatlantic passengers from Macedonia travel though Vienna.

Here is my today's result from iRhino:



The idea is that the fuselage center section blends into wings like on blended wing body, but it only forms a minor portion of the shape, high aspect ratio wings continue from the blended part and there is a tail in the rear. I have not drawn this as I was thinking because I have been thinking either V-tail or T-tail. This picture doesn't yet have a rudder.

Now the difficulty is that I have hard time on getting the Rhino do what I think. The loft is challenging, because it follows airfoil shape, it follows the configuration and contour from the top I was thinking, but the problem is to vary the airfoil shape in the center section so that the transition from the right side to the left side is smooth and more circular than in this thing where it is pretty sharp (the sharpness there is completely unintentional and will go away as soon as I figure how to loft this thing properly).

The wing tips did not loft as I planned, and also the elevator has wrong airfoil shape in the tip, the scale2D produced results I was not planning to get. There is still something to learn in Rhino. I need to ask from maybe Jani tomorrow how to do this right.

What aircraft does this tail belong to ?
Just the type for a starter ; then maybe what model ; then you can add a registration:

Once that is sorted; what will the nose in the background belong to when it is completed ?


ADDITIONAL CLUE (maybe) Added 25-11-2008.

There is something special about this inexcusable extravagence !!!

Pete said...

Alexandra Z-37S - I happened across these today. The third wears a plate on the fuselage side as ZK-RJE. (all three have clearly visible plates) Where did you get the cns from? One of the bits in the pile on the other side of the shed had 040 in red painted on it but I didn't see anything to confirm 011 or 015.

November 2o, 2008 7:54 PM

******************************************************************************

Continuing the blog from November 4th.

Evening Pete.
The three fuselages by my calculations, from left to right, and from my notes taken on the day (08-10-2008) have - on the left with the blue fuselage stripe is ZK-RJI which is plainly marked on the fuselage side. Carefully check the background of the third pic below. I did not see the cockpit plate in this aircraft. There is a plate on the outside, visible on the pic below, towards the left hand edge of the pic and below the hand hold. I don't recall what it had on it.
The middle fuselage I noted as Z37T 011, taken from a plate within the cockpit.
The third airframe noted from the cockpit plate as Z137T 040.

Checking against my notes on the NZ Civil Register I note that ZK-RJI is c/n 015.
The c/n 011 on the cockpit plate on the centre fuselage tells me that this airframe did not come onto the NZ register. However The previous identity of this aircraft was OK-RJE. The only ZK-RJE on our register to my knowledge was a Tecnam P2002-JF c/n 032; now in Australia as VH-IMP. (did you mispoll this as ZK-RJE ? or have I got it all wrong ?)
The right hand fuse c/n plate giving 040 makes it ZK-RZN (ex ZK-RDZ) as per the aircraft register and also the black fuselage stripes narrow this ID down. This also had red wing tips, rudder etc, but I noted no red bits at LX during my visit.


The wing centre section and elevators I did not take much interest in.



The three fuselages from another angle. "RJI" visible on the blue stripe on the far away fuselage.

Pete you say "the third wears a plate etc" Which one do you class as the third one ?

Interesting feedback thanks Pete. All the more reason to take good & copious notes. It just prooves that two people looking at the same thing, can come away with different observations.

The feud between Montenegro Airlines and Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport regarding landing fees continues. The Serbian Minister of Infrastructure, Milutin Mrkonjić, has said that he is negotiating with the Montenegrin Minister for Transportation in order for landing fees, for Montenegro Airlines in Belgrade and Jat Airways in Tivat and Podgorica, to be identical. Jat Airways currently pays the same landing fees at Montenegrin airports as do other international airlines while Montenegro Airlines pays lower fees in Belgrade due to the fact that it is still categorised as a domestic carrier. However when Belgrade Airport increased prices for Montenegro Airlines, a few days ago, in order to bring them in standard with fees payed by international carriers, Montenegro Airlines accused the Belgrade Airport management of a political move while the Montenegrin Minister for Transportation, Andrija Lompar, threatened that Montenegrin airports would increase Jat’s landing fees. Jat Airways CEO says that the airline has been put in the centre of this feud even though it has nothing to do with it. He also stated that Jat will not increase ticket prices to Tivat or Podgorica.

Montenegro is the most profitable market for Jat Airways while Serbia is most profitable for Montenegro Airlines. The national carrier of Montenegro was forced to end services from Belgrade to Zurich after the nation declared independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro however operates many daily flights between Tivat, Podgorica and Belgrade. Montenegro Airlines currently pays fees at Belgrade Airport that are 90% lower than other international carriers and even Jat Airways.