Oshkosh is over but wait!  There's more!

One of the surprise hits last year was Chris Collins's Midwest LSA Expo.  Held at Mount Vernon Outland Airport (MVN) in Illinois, the new show attracted 42 airplanes and 30 exhibitors and what was reported far and wide as a focused and motivated LSA crowd.
Many sales were closed in the months following the 2009 gathering.  One main factor was the psychological continuity Midwest provided after Sebring (Jan.), Sun 'n Fun (Apr.) and Oshkosh (July/Aug).  By postponing the "end of summer" flying mindset into early Fall, normally an aviation wind-down time for pilots who live in the less temperate parts of the country, potential customers got one more opportunity to refine their buying decision process.
The Midwest LSA Expo will run a week earlier this year: from Sept. 23-25. Mark your digital calendars!
Attendance should be strong: there's a huge population base in the midwestern market that stretches from Chicago to New Orleans, Denver to Charlotte.
Chris Collins hopes to grow the event and does everything to make it as enjoyable an experience as possible, including shuttles to local restaurants and lodging from the airport.
So far, more than 35 vendors are scheduled to show up and they're bringing many of the most popular LSA.
Scroll down on the home page for the current list and you'll see that quite a few of the biggest players and several others you've wanted to see up close will be there.
I'll be there too to get in some flying and flight reporting that proved to be impossible in the crush of Oshkosh.
If you're flying in, here are some particulars:
<> 6500’ x 150’ main runway
<> five precision approaches including ILS
<> 9.25  acres of concrete ramp space

<> Class “E” airspace
<> ARFF (Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting) Index A for those of you familiar with this safety index.
<> Aircraft exhibitor spaces will be right out on the main ramp to make lots of demo flights easy...that's important when you're out there kicking tires.

Windjet – the saviour of Niš

Niš Constantine the Great Airport in Serbia has handled 16.000 passengers in the first seven months of the year, an increase of 25%. The airport has already handled the same number of passengers as it did for the whole of 2009. The big increase is mostly due to new airlines operating out of the airport, in particular the low cost Italian airline Windjet. Besides Windjet, the airport is also used by Montenegro Airline and Atlasjet. The authorities at Niš Airport are hoping to persuade Montenegro Airlines to commence flights from Niš to other cities, on top of the current service to Podgorica.

Although the airport is recording financial losses, the Government of Serbia recently created an airport investment fund. While Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport will receive 118 million Euros from the fund, Niš is second in line. The airport also has exemplary relations with its rival Belgrade, which has donated equipment to its Niš counterpart and is training Niš Airport’s staff. The airport has received more funds as the European Union recently donated 150.000 Euros. Niš also recorded a big increase in the number of handled cargo, with a total of 820 tonnes handled, more than in the past three years combined.

From Priština to Ljubljana, Munich and Frankfurt with Adria

After the recent announcement that Slovenia’s Adria Airways would introduce flights from Priština to Munich, on top of the existing Ljubljana – Priština service, the airline has now confirmed that it will commence flights on the Priština - Frankfurt route. The new service will operate five times per week using the Airbus A319. The new flights from Priština will see one of the airline’s Airbus’ based in the city, thus solving the problem of the aircraft’s utilisation during the winter season. If the German routes prove successful, Adria will most likely hand them over to Lufthansa at the beginning of the 2011 summer season and return its A319 to Ljubljana where it will be needed.

Meanwhile, Adria will reduce its current fourteen weekly flights from Ljubljana to Priština to seven times per week during the winter season. The 2010/11 winter season begins on Sunday, October 31 and lasts until the end of March 2011. In total, Adria will have nineteen weekly flights operating out of Priština to Ljubljana, Munich and Frankfurt.

All flight details for the new flights can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.

Aegean terminates loss making routes

The Greek Aegean Airlines will terminate its flights from Athens to Belgrade on October 30 as part of a series of cost cutting measures, after the airline reported losses for the first time in its history and passenger numbers remained unchanged. The airline’s management has made the decision to cull less popular services, one of which is Belgrade. “The negative economic environment had a profound impact on our first half financial performance. We proceed with the necessary adjustments on our network and costs, with immediate effect, so as to protect the company during the crisis”, Dimitris Gerogiannis, Aegean’s Managing Director said. “Among the restructuring measures undertaken, the company has already proceeded during the first half of 2010 with the reduction of its fleet by three aircraft. As a result of the fleet reduction and given efforts to improve the efficiency of its network within a particularly weak economic environment, the company will exit, with immediate effect, two domestic (Athens – Ioannina and Athens - Kavala) and three international routes (Athens - Tirana, Athens – Belgrade and Athens - Vienna) which are particularly loss making”, he said.

The director of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport said that Aegean’s exit and AirBaltic recent temporary service withdrawal won’t have a major impact on the airport’s results. Belgrade has seen major growth over the summer, with a projected passenger increase of 18% this August.

Aegean Airlines commenced flights to Belgrade on January 1, 2010 after Olympic Air handed the service over to them. Aegean’s announcement is a major coup for Jat, which will have no competition on the route for the first time in almost ten years. Aegean and Olympic will merge operations by the end of the year.

?

New round of Jat – Airbus talks begin

After a letter of intent for the purchase new aircraft was signed nearly a month ago between Jat Airways and Airbus, new talks are set to resume tomorrow in Berlin, Srdjan Radovanović, the airline’s CEO announced to the media. “This is the next step in the negotiation process and the clarification of the aircraft order. We are looking to strike a deal which will benefit both sides. The conditions on the market have drastically changed in the past few years and the Serbian Government will deliver the final verdict on the Airbus deal”, Radovanović said.

Meanwhile, Radovanović revealed that Jat’s financial balance has been drastically improved in the past twelve months. “We are trying to position ourselves on the Bosnian and Macedonian markets. However, in order for us to succeed we need the support of the Government, in particular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Infrastructure. Such support does exists but I am asking for more”, Radovanović said.

Piper PA-18A-150 Super Cub ZK-BOY , c/n 18-6172 , has found a new owner in Darlington Drilling & Piling Ltd of Paraparaumu from 12-07-2010. This Cub gained its CofA on 30-01-1958. By 1966 it was glider towing with the Hawkes Bay Gliding Club before moving into the deer recovery role in South Westland from about early 1968. The photo below shows it at Dunedin on 17-01-1975 whilst officially listed with Alpine Aviation Ltd. It still carried the S.W. Venison Packers title on the lower section of the cockpit door.
Are there any other photos of ZK-BOY lurking out there ?
If you have one and would care to share it with us - please send either to bluebus@windowslive.com or to Nigel at  darlington.hm@xtra.co.nz  . thanks.

*********************************************************
Robinson R22 Beta 11 ZK-IGD , c/n 2905 , came onto the NZ  register on 30-11-2007 for Whakatane Helicopters Ltd after a period of operations in El Salvador. In late August of 2008 it was listed to Rick Lucas Helicopters Ltd of Palmerston North and was transferred to Helipro Aviation Training Ltd at Paraparaumu on 08-08-2009. The pic below shows it at Paraaparamau on 17-02-2009. It returned to Whakatane Helicopters in November of 2009 and was listed to Bladehire Ltd at Taupo on 26-06-2010.

*********************************************************
Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus ZK-GYY , c/n 306 , was originally registered to Drake Aviation as ZK-GRZ5 on 03-12-2001.

ZK-GRZ5 at Wigram on 15-12-2001. Could well be the occasion of its first flight.

It was re-registered as ZK-GYY on 14-10-2003 and ownership finally moved to Glider Rentals at Omarama on 10-05-2004.

ZK-GYY at Omarama on 31-12-2007.

It was involved in a serious accident on Mount St Cuthbert, close to Omarama on 27-02-2009. The remains were listed to Lindsay Stephens of Drury in April of 2009 and then to the Smith, Brown & Gaddes Syndicate from 01-07-2010. It was again re-registered - this time to ZK-GYL on 06-07-2010.