Posting from the road:  I'm in Illinois covering a major DC-3 75th Anniversary event for Plane & Pilot for the next couple days, then on up to Oshkosh Airventure for the show all next week.  I'll be posting LSA news from the road but before I head out into the super-humid, super hot thunderstormy day, here's a couple things to look for if you're Oshkosh bound:
LAMA Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association headed by Pres. Dan Johnson expects a robust event schedule for Airventure so I'll bring you updates whenever possible.
Some tidbits for what's to come:
<> The LSA Mall is full again this year even with the sluggish economy.  Here's who signed up:
<> Flight Design (CTLS)
<> Remos (GX)
<> Piper (PiperSport)
<> Arion (Lightning LS-1)
<> Rainbow Aviation / 3Xtrim (Navigator)
<> Breezer Aircraft (Breezer II)

<> Pipistrel (Virus)
<> Hansen Air Group / FK Lightplanes (FK-9 ELA)
<> Tecnam (P-92 Echo Super)
<>  Evektor (Sportstar)
<> Jabiru, with two models (J-230 and J-170)
<> X-Air (LS)
<> Progressive Aerodyne (SeaRey)
<> IndUS Aviation's Thorpedo
<> Renegade Aircraft (Falcon)
LAMA also signals a surprise announcement from IndUS at the show.  
Aviators Hot Line, the sponsor of the LSA Mall, has a new "Aviators Helping Aviators" promotion to help LAMA members.
Also on the bubble from our friends at Flight Design:
At its annual press lunch next Tuesday, July 27, Flight Design USA prez Tom Peghiny and sales dude John Gilmore will have some things to talk about, including:
<> New CTLS Floatplane is flying and on display at the booth

<> CTLS Full-Motion Simulator (I've been wanting to try this out to see how well it mimics the CT - the ship I got my Sport Pilot ticket in)
<> the CTLS Lite, announced at Sun 'n Fun, will be on display, I'll be flying it soon
<> The MC is now an ASTM-certified legal SLSA (#109) and also approved in Europe
<> Updates will be announced on FD's exciting Hybrid Powerplant project which I blogged some time ago
<> And a surprise announcement from FD also.
   ---photos courtesy Pipistrel and Flight Design

Seven hour delay

Jat Airways is in damage control after its passengers were delayed for more than seven hours in Thessaloniki, Greece on Wednesday because the airline’s co-pilot did not have a valid license. Disgruntled passengers were forced to wait until a replacement from Belgrade was flown in. Subsequently, many flights were delayed due to the “oversight”. “Jat Airways apologises for the delay of flight JU445 from Thessaloniki to Belgrade, on Wednesday, and other subsequent delays. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. The delay was caused as a result of an administrative error and those responsible will be dealt with accordingly”, Jat’s apologetic press release reads.

Milutin Mrkonjić, the Minister for Infrastructure, who is also responsible for the aviation portfolio, said that those responsible for the seven hour delay should be penalized. He also promised that all passengers on the flight will be refunded. The ATR72 from Thessaloniki was scheduled to land at 14.50 at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport but instead touched down at 22.30.

1969 was a good year to visit the Chatham Islands. The old Hapupu airstrip was still in use and the Bristol Freighter still did the freight/passenger run.

Above is the shed used as the meteorological office/control tower on the day of the flights with Neville Brown on duty.

Bristol Freighter ZK-CRK , c/n 13159 , seemed to be the preferred aircraft for this service. I know that at some stage SAFE Air built a special container like structure with passenger seating etc which was slid into the Freighter fuselage. and I think only two Bristols were equipped to take it. Anyway CRK came from the Pakistan Air Force with whom it had been a VIP aircraft and carried the PAF serial S4406 and individual letter "L". It flew into Whenuapai on 06-07-1966 for registration to S.A.F.E. Ltd the same day and it was named "Merchant Wayfarer". 

S.A.F.E (Straits Air Freight Express) was rebranded to SAFE Air Ltd on 31-10-1967 and CRK was renamed "Merchant Islander" at about this time.

Transport to and from the main township of Waitangi was provided by the "Yellow Submarine" (as seen above) which took the short cut across the lagoon to the airstrip.

In the trees behind the aircraft are the moriori rahau momori/dendroglyphs (tree carvings to you and me).

ZK-CRK was withdrawn from use and stored from 06-02-1984 until being placed back in service a year later on 13-02-1985. It was finally withdrawn on 03-01-1986 with about 18,400 airframe hours. It was dismantled with the nose section going to John Fell of Blenheim. If my memory is correct; this was the nose section that protruded from John's shed. In about 1995 this was moved to the Ferrymead Museum in Christchurch where it is set up as per the pic below.

[Blue comment added 23rd @1530 following an off blog contact].

The second of the Bristol Freighters used on the Chatham Island run was ZK-CLT , c/n 13157 , ex Pakistan Air Force S4404. It was named "Merchant Hauler". This one was withrawn in 1986, going to the RNZAF Museum and was marked up as "NZ5913". It rejoined our register as ZK-CLT on 25-07-1988 for Trans Provincial Airlines out of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. It departed Auckland on 07-10-1989 and became C-FPTA on the Canadian register. An ownership change in August 1994 saw it join Hawker Aviation Services with whon it had an undercarriage collapse at Bronson Creek, BC on 24-04-97.

These two Bristols retained their fuselage windows whilst the others used by SAFE had most of them blanked over.

Photo below shows ZK-CLT at Woodbourne on 27-12-1979.

The photo below is a belated addition showing ZK-CLT as "NZ5913" at Wigram on 04-06-1987.

Not to be confused with NZ civil aircraft but of some interest all the same.

Mig 21 as parked at Turners Auction yard in Christchurch.

I believe it was at one stage destined for the Ashburton Aviation Museum.The two upper shots taken yesterday (21-07-2010).

The lower views show it cluttering the Street in Christchurch outside the owners bar on 19-04-2007.

New privatisation model for Montenegro Airlines

Talk of Montenegro Airlines’ privatisation is once again on the agenda after several months. The Government of Montenegro has decided to change its privatisation strategy for the national carrier. It will offer 30% of the airline’s shares with the possibility of the buyer increasing their ownership to 51% after two years. Although Israel’s El-Al was one of the most interested buyers, along with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, it is believed that the small number of shares offered was a strong deterrent for both companies. Furthermore, El-Al was requesting ownership over “Airports of Montenegro”, the Government run operator of Podgorica and Tivat airports. The Montenegrin privatisation agency states that other companies are also interested in purchasing Montenegro Airlines, including companies from Russia and Germany, the “MINA” news agency reports.

Meanwhile, Podgorica Airport was closed for traffic yesterday from 10.00 due to engine problems on an Ilyushin cargo aircraft. It has been reported that parts of the engine scattered across the runway upon landing. The airport was reopened for traffic at 12.30.

The never ending tale of 8 A319s

The twelve year old saga between Jat Airways and Airbus might finally be coming to an end after the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of new aircraft in London, yesterday. “I’m certain that this is a step forward in Jat entering the family of European airlines which are renewing their fleet through the purchase of Airbus aircraft”, Srdjan Radovanović, the CEO of Jat Airways said. Andreas Kramer, Airbus’ deputy vice president for sales in Eastern Europe, was also upbeat about the signed agreement. “Serbia as a country and Jat as an airline are one of our priorities and we are certain that the Serbian aviation industry has a bright future”, Kramer said.

The “Tanjug” news agency reports that this memorandum includes an outline of the way in which the acquisition of the new Airbus aircraft will be handled. In 1998, JAT Yugoslav Airlines ordered eight Airbus A319 aircraft. Although the carrier paid 23.5 million Dollars, the aircraft were never delivered. While the order was more of a political statement, many have also criticised Airbus for the overpriced aircraft (the entire order amounting to 580 million American dollars) and the fact that Yugoslavia was about to be hit by a fresh round of United Nations economic sanctions, thus forbidding Airbus to deliver the aircraft to the country.

It is believed that the Airbus order will be revised in order to suit Jat’s current needs. It is also believed that the airline recently signed a lease for two Boeing B737-700 aircraft from a North American airline, although exact details will be revealed closer to the aircraft’s delivery date in late September.

New look Skopje Airport

Construction at Skopje Alexander the Great Airport is in full swing as the Turkish TAV, the operator of Macedonia’s main airport, delivers good on its initial promise. TAV presented its plans for the new terminal which will be on par with international standards. A total of six air bridges will connect the terminal building with aircraft. Restaurants and shops will feature prominently in the building, together with twenty three check-in desks, an increase compared to the current eight. A total of 1.200 vehicles will be able to use the airport’s parking which will be connected to the highway heading into the Macedonian capital. If all goes to plan, the new building should be open by the end of 2011, the “Sitel” portal reports. Recently, a new building for the airport’s fire department was completed, which is part of the multi million Euro project.

Several months ago TAV announced that a cargo building would also be built at the airport and the runway lengthened, in order to handle larger aircraft. Meanwhile, Ohrid’s St. Paul the Apostle Airport will also go under complete reconstruction and modernization with a new car park, cargo building and VIP section to be built. The project in Ohrid would take a year to be completed.

TAV has announced that all construction work is on schedule and meeting deadlines . The airport posted good results this June as passenger numbers increased by 17% compared to the same month last year.