< PreviousKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 66 30 www.avcraft.co.nz Avcraft Engineering NZ Ltd. Feilding Aerodrome 06 212 0920 mat@avcraft.co.nz From a 50 hour inspection on a Cessna 150, to a KingAir Phase Inspection or a Pilatus PC-12 Annual, our experienced engineers have the skills, knowledge and tooling to assist you with all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance requirements. Plus: Aircraft recoveries, Insurance repairs, Rebuilds, Sheet metal work, Corrosion repairs, Paint refinishing, Fabric work, Maintenance Control, and Avionics.31 2019 #6 F K On July 9 I left Duxford for Sywell to fly with some of the aircraft from the Air Leasing stable. I had flown with some of their aircraft last year, but four more were added this year along with a couple of Duxford based North American P-51D Mustangs and a Hawker Sea Fury T.20. Among the Sywell based aircraft were two Buchons ‘White 9’ and ‘Red 11’ along with a TF-51D Mustang and a Mk V Spitfire. Red 11 is a significant aircraft in regards to pilots who flew it during the Battle of Britain movie. Red 11 is a two-seater and was flown by famous German ace Adolf Galland, then in one flight he flew with British Ace Robert Sandford Tuck. The TF-51D Mustang is a bit different to a stock P-51D Mustang with a longer blown canopy and full dual controls in the back. In fact Red 11 is Gavin Conroy Air-to-Air at Sywell In the prior issue of KiwiFlyer we covered Gavin Conroy’s trip to the UK which he began with a visit to the Shuttleworth Collection. The next part of his trip involved an air-to-air session with some famous UK Warbirds at Sywell. Gavin writes: fully dual controlled as well. The TF-51D is flown as ‘Contrary Mary’ now. Many readers will know that this aircraft had an engine failure during Flying Legends 2017 and was force landed in a paddock behind Duxford by Mark Levy. His story surrounding this forced landing can be found on YouTube. Fortunately he was not hurt. The Mustang didn’t come off so well, hitting an object that could not be seen in the long grass which badly damaged the wing. Luckily Steve Hinton of Fighter Rebuilders in Chino had a fully rebuilt Mustang wing which was fitted to the aircraft and following other rebuild work including an overhauled engine, it was shipped back to Duxford and is happily flying again. The two Mustangs were ‘Miss Helen’ which is privately owned and ‘The Shark’ which is operated by the Norwegian Spitfire Foundation and wears an authentic WWII era RAF colour scheme. The Sea Fury T.20 is also part of the Norwegian Spitfire Foundation. It is the aircraft that was once operated by the Royal Navy Historic Flight. During one flight a catastrophic engine failure led pilot John Beattie to force land in a paddock. Such was the lay of the land the aircraft skidded across the paddock and collided with the only tree in the area. That led to the aircraft fuselage basically breaking in half and the crew walked away. It was restored again several years later, then The Fighter Collection operated it briefly before on selling to its current owner. So, all in all a good day! It is normally quite difficult to fly with seven WWII era fighters in the same year yet alone the same day. In fact it almost didn’t happen due to a radio failure before starting up but that’s another story. Gavin Conroy Hawker Sea Fury T.20 Duxford from John Romain’s Harvard. Kiwi Flyers Overseas contributed by Gavin ConroyKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 66 32 Air to Air at Sywell Mk V Spitfire with Hispano Buchon ‘White 9’ on his tail. Tail Wheel Ratings Aerobatic Ratings PPL - CPL - BFRs Friendly atmosphere Regular club activities Competitive Rates Very experienced B-Cat MEIR Commercial Pilot-Instructor Wanganui Aero Club 06 345 0914 WanganuiAeroClub.co.nz or look us up on Facebook Hispano Buchon ‘Red 11’, a very rare two seater. ‘White 9’ and ‘Red 11’, both stars of the Battle of Britain movie.33 2019 #6 Close up of John Romain in the Bristol Blenheim.Flying with this very historic Blenheim is always an amazing experience. Lars Ness flying ‘The Shark’.Richard Grace flying ‘White 9’Steve Jones flying ‘Red 11’ A pair of North American Mustangs overhead the Sywell countryside. Gavin Conroy images2004 Cirrus SR22 G2 Please contact Bruce Brownlie 0274 438 371 sales@cirrusaircraft.co.nz Cirrus - The world’s best selling GA single $345,000 +GST Cruise 165 kts LOP at 9000 ft on less than 50 lph. This is a great opportunity for an astute buyer to purchase this marvellous aircraft. In this price bracket they just don’t come up very often. 1890 hrs since new and just had bulk strip and new 4 blade MT composite prop (with de-ice) fitted about 100 hrs ago. Continental IO-550 310 hp engine with hundreds of hrs left in it. Approval for PBN including twin Garmin 650 GPS touch screen GPS navcoms. ADS-B. Dual Avidyne 10” PFD and MFD. Emax engine monitor. Traffic alerting. Air conditioned. Oxygen. STec 55X auto-pilot. De-ice on wings. Rosen sunvisors. Just completed 100 hr check at Avcraft, the NZ Service Centre for Cirrus. Ready to go. SOLD ! Enquire now for the next one KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 66 34 Duxford and the Flying Legends For the rest of the trip I stayed at Duxford, first photographing activity at the Aircraft Restoration Company (ARCO) over several days which included the silver Spitfire that is currently on an around-the-world trip. The Mk IX Spitfire was restored over two years and has been After the Air-to Air session at Sywell (see previous pages), Gavin headed for Duxford, first for an appointment with the Aircraft Restoration Company and then for the annual Flying legends Air Show. Gavin writes: polished to perfection. It has no guns in the wings, but instead has been finished as an icon - and not painted in a traditional wartime scheme. It has an extra large tank in the fuselage to help with range. While I was there the aircraft headed off on a four- hour flight to test endurance - a flight believed to be the longest since WWII. The pilot landed back at Duxford after four hours and ten minutes. He told me he flew to Scotland, cruised around the area for a while then headed back. It was not on display at Flying Legends due to media and advertising agreements so being able to see it fly twice and photograph it alone following the last polish at Duxford was great. This adventure is happening now; the aircraft will fly 27000 miles over four months and visit more than 30 countries - but unfortunately it won’t make its way down our way. By now we were in the lead up to Flying Legends airshow, and the few days in Spitfire heaven at ARCO had come to an end. Great things were to come however. The one of a kind Bristol Blenheim needed a check flight before the show following some engine work, so John Romain set up a Harvard and pilot for me and we headed out for a ‘The Balbo’ is just sensational; a sight and sound that lives with one forever.Learn to fly with the Flight Training Professionals. Contact your local Flying NZ Aero Club to discuss your private or commercial pilot options. Fly for fun, sport & recreation, or fly for a career. Aero Clubs will assist you to achieve your aviation goals. For more information visit: www.flyingnz.co.nz or phone Lisa Macdonald, Executive Secretary on 0800 422 635. 35 2019 #6 Kiwi Flyers Overseas contributed by Gavin Conroy photo flight with this wonderful machine (see previous page). I had flown with the Blenheim in 2017 however the weather was not so good. This time it was sun and blue skies which made all the difference. Following that I left ARCO to head on to Flying Legends. This year’s show was fantastic. There were many memorable formations which is what Flying Legends is all about. We saw five Hispano Buchon’s in formation, the first time since the Battle of Britain movie filming back in the 1960s. We also saw the Blenheim lead a formation of the Mk I Spitfires and a Westland Lysander. The highlight for many though was the debut performance by the ‘Ultimate Fighters’ team. Flown by four pilots in their forties they put four WWII era fighters through close formation and solo aerobatics routines similar to what the Breitling Fighters used to do. The team is led by Jon Gowdy flying a P-47D Thunderbolt - on one wing tip he has a Buchon and on the other a Mustang and in the slot behind is a Mk V Spitfire. It really was a breath-taking display. On the Saturday the airshow started with the Red Arrows and finished with the Balbo consisting of 24 WWII era fighters in formation. Other notable displays were Peter Kynsey in the Grumman Bearcat. He opened his display with a low pass, then up to the vertical for a full 360 degree vertical roll, over the top and down the other side for a 180 degree roll on the vertical down line, heading back in the direction he came from at low level; most impressive. The T.20 Sea Fury we flew with a few days earlier opened its display with a pass at over 400 mph. So many great displays and I almost forgot the 12-ship Spitfire display. This has got better each year. This year they flew several passes in the 12-ship formation before breaking off into two separate tail chase groups. The sight and sound was just wonderful. One can only wonder at what the line up will be for the 2020 show. ( Go see for yourself – advert page 37, Ed. ) So that was that; the time always goes so quickly. With the growing number of contacts I’m making each year and the great people I get to spend time with, it just gets more and more difficult to leave. Gavin Conroy Republic P-47D Thunderbolt thunders into the air. The ‘around the world’ Silver Spitfire on a test flight. Amazing polishing, and a well thought out logo. John Romain in for a test flight with Martin Overall. Beautiful polishing on a beautiful elliptical wing. F KKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 66 36 Duxford Flying Legends The ‘Ultimate Fighters’ display team were fantastic to watch.The 12 Spitfire opening display; just wonderful and it’s only the beginning! Interesting view of a Buchon landing at Duxford.Low Pass by a Mk V Spitfire operated by The Fighter Collection.Ready to build kits | Factory built aircraft options as a Microlight or LSA Kits in stock | Kits, spare parts and full support available in New Zealand Contact your NZ ICP light sport aircraft agent Philip Seale at Westwind Aviation on 021 747 494 or philipseale@xtra.co.nz ICP Savannah S www.lightsportaircraft.co.nz ‘The Spitfire Trail’ You’ve read about Flying Legends, RIAT, and the Shuttleworth Collection in KiwiFlyer. Now experience them yourself with Aviation Tours NZ Visit our website for further information www.aviationtoursnz.com melanie@aviationtoursnz.com Learn about RJ Mitchell’s journey in creating what is probably one of the best loved aircraft in aviation history. See what is being done in restoration facilities to keep the remaining few in the air and accessible to us all. Witness the Spitfire Scramble opening the airshow at Flying Legends. See hundreds of military aircraft at RIAT along with the Edwardian favourites at Shuttleworth. You will also visit Sywell Aviation Museum, Fan Bay Deep Shelter, Imperial War Museum, RAF Manston History Museum, Spitfire & Hurricane Museum, Battle of Britain Memorial & The Wing, Kent Battle of Britain Museum, Dover Castle, Bleriot Memorial, Biggin Hill, Headcorn Aerodrome, Bentley Priory, RAF Museum Hendon, Farnborough Air Sciences Trust incl Wind Tunnels, Boscombe Down Old Sarum, Solent Sky, Wight Aviation Museum, Airframe Assemblies, Isle of Wight Railway, Boultbee Academy and Tangmere Military and Aviation Museum. NZD $11995 pp twin share for 24 days escorted from Auckland departing 2nd July. Call Melanie for a chat 021 076 8308. 37 2019 #6 Bristol Blenheim leading three Mk1 Spitfires and a Lysander.Four classic airliners in formation led by a DC-3. Mustang on finals following a fine display by Lars Ness.Westland Lysander flying down the crowd line during its display. Catalina running in for a fast pass at 120 knots!KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 66 38 Now announcing the ‘Companion’, a new side by side 2-place Bearhawk Professional GyroCopter Instruction Trial Flights from Tauranga P: 0800 FLY A GYRO E: fly@gyrate.nz www.gyrate.nz 2017 Limited this can be you f t V o u c he r s A v a i l a b l eRuth Allanson was invited to Centennial Park in Taupo for this edition’s Place to Go. She found an ideal place for central North Island exploration, and great hospitality too. Fly yourself to Centennial Park Centennial Park, NZCG has long been a mystery to me because I had never visited. This changed recently when we dropped in to say hello to Tim Norman (President) who, along with Tom Anderson, (Manager) had encouraged us to call in to see what the Taupo Gliding Club was all about. Flying in was hassle free because Looking down on Centennial Park at the grid during the Gliding Nationals back in 2010. NZCG sits at 1500 feet, within its own CFZ 134.45. It is 2.5 nm NE of Taupo township and on the other side of the hill from NZAP, the main airport in the area. You do need prior permission to land and for a briefing which can be obtained by calling 07 378 5627 (7 days a week between 1030 and 1600) or emailing: gliding@reap.org.nz It is important that people register with Taupo Gliding Club prior to arrival to obtain the briefing on the field and activities such as competitions where they can expect a large number of movements and restricted access times. Briefing and landing forms Places to Go contributed by Ruth Allanson Centennial Park is home to the Taupo Gliding Club. 39 2019 #6 All aircraft are welcome at NZCG, an ideal base for Central North Island exploration. Jill McCaw imageNext >