New Zealand News

It was no secret the airline found so little technicality between the two machines (the A310 was reputedly marginally cheaper) that the choice entered the realm of trade and diplomatic considerations. This too drew a fine line with equal concern about calls for protection against primary products in the EEC and America.

The three twin-jet, wide-bodies constitute, with a sixth Boeing 747-2008, a $400 million package for the airline.

The airline plans to fly the twin jets on trans-Tasman and regional Pacific island services, replacing Boeing 737s on the latter. They will also fly peak-time domestic routes.

The aircraft will return the airline to trans-Tasman services out of Wellington airport, last flown with DC-8s. At present, these are restricted to Qantas 8747 SPs because of the short, sea-bound runway.

Announcing the purchase decision, the airline’s chief executive Mr Norman Geary, said the company was firmly back in profit and was showing good growth on both international and domestic services. It was clear it would not be able to cope without fleet expansion from late 1985 onwards.

The airline was being tipped to make an operating profit this year of between$NZ50millionand $NZ70million. This represents a dramatic upward curve since 1981-82 when two years of losses culminated in a staggering $NZ90 million in the red. Last year after extensive restructuring, the airline managed to post a net profit of $NZ33. 6 million, but this was achieved through the sale of four DC-1O aircraft, and it disguised an operating loss of $32. 6 million. The airline went into the July election with another ‘cliffhanger’.

For 18 months board chairman, Mr Bob Owens, had been pressing for part-privatisation of Air New Zealand and the move had gathered strong backing within the airline – even the unions appeared unperturbed.

The Owens’ plan called for an initial 25 per cent of the shareholding to be made available to the public with early preference in share sales going to airline staff. Among the enthusiastic was the New Zealand Airline Pilots Association which proposed a system for complete privatisation.

The Muldoon Government coldly rejected the proposals, pointing out that the public was hardly likely to invest in a loss-making organisation. Then suddenly, in early June, it did an about turn, announcing that the company was among three Government bodies it planned to sell shares in. Later it indicated this might be done before the end of the year.

But the proposal came to hang on the snap election called for July 14. The Labour Party had expressed pre-election coolness to the scheme. . . but did not reject it entirely.

Orion Update Programme An Outstanding Success

The Air force admits it took a calculated risk when it decided to handle the modernisation of its Orions itself. The alternatives were buying new aircraft, or sending the (now) 18-year-old P-3Bs back to Lockheed for what would have been an off-the-shelf modernisation based on the US Navy pattern.

The Service assembled a task force of about 16 to define the requirements, design the systems and choose the equipment. The emphasis was on local operational requirements.

Boeing won the tender to work the concept into reality with the RNZAF team, and the New Zealanders took uplengthy residence in Seattle. The modernisation and working up of the first aircraft was completed satisfactorily, and work on the remaining aircraft then shifted to Auckland where Boeing had sub-contracted Air New Zealand to continue with the now bug-free nuts and bolts work.

The modernisation included the replacement of the old radar with the new Texas Instruments APS-134 which vastly improved all-weather surface surveillance; the fitting of information processing systems (together with an operations and software processing ground centre), new inertial navigation and an infra-red detector.

The latter was installed basically for night work but has proved valuable on coastal zone patrolling. Its ability ranges from detecting fishing boat machinery recently used, to evaluate the nature and amount of tanker cargoes – the cargo heat shows up clearly on the hull image.

Foundation member of the RNZAF team, Wing Commander Paul Sherson, says he believes the surveillance and detection capability of the RNZAF Orions now supersedes that of all others in operation -the RNZAF’s No. 5 Squadron recently carried off, for the second year in succession, the Commonwealth Fincastle Trophy for sub’ hunting.

With the completion of the final aircraft in June, the Service is now moving on to phase two which includes the upgrading of weapons systems, including the fitting of the Harpoon missile.

Skyhawks to Serve to End of Decade

After two years evaluation – in which it became apparent financial stringency was the predominating factor – the Ministry of Defence decided to stick with the McDonnell Douglas Skyhawk as the strike aircraft to carry the RNZAF through to 1990.

The choice was prompted by the availability of ten Australian A-4Gs which became redundant with the scrapping of the carrier, HMAS Melbourne. The Australian Government originally put a $NZ96. 6 million price tag on the machines, but this was whittled down to less than half, $NZ40. 1 million. They were tobe flown from Nowra to Ohakea.

The Ministry has earmarked $28. 5 million for conversion of the A-4Gs to A-4Ks, and for refurbishment of both the ex-RAN machines and the RNZAF A-4Ks, giving the service a total of 17 single seat and five dual ‘T-bird’ Skyhawks. The reconfiguration of the Australian machines involves the installation of an upper avionics compartment in the single-seaters, the fitting of a drag chute and some modification to communications and oxygen systems and the ejection seats.

Studies have shown up some cracking in the primary structure of the present RNZAF aircraft, so on all the aircraft the wings will be reworked and control surfaces replaced, all work being done by the R1\JZAF.

The Service is now planning aerial tanker modifications to one, or possibly two, C-130 Hercules to give the Skyhawks air-to-air refuelling capability.

The RNZAF came to terms some time ago with the fact that limited national resources would, into the foreseeable future, make the Service dependent on upgraded machines, and restrict many purchases to secondhand aircraft. It decided that the best way to overcome this drawback was to develop a sophisticated technical core to be used in partnership with civilian establishments in refurbishing and modernising aircraft.

The pilot effort, a five-year modernisation of five P-38 Orion aircraft, has just been completed at a cost of $ 75 million, less than half the tender price called by specialist US companies. Soon after refurbishment, the plan is to use the same system to upgrade the Skyhawks with the fitting of a new weapon delivery and navigation system (WONS) and head-up display (HUD). Future armaments envisaged include the Harpoon, smart bombs and laser designator-guided weapons. Commercial tenders for involvement in this programme are now being called.

Deregulation Inspires New Competition for Air New Zealand and Mount Cook Airlines

New Zealand’s two major carriers on the domestic network, Air New Zealand and Mount Cook Airlines, face competition later this year from two new airlines.

The new companies, Newman Airlines and National Air Freighters have filed for for Category A licences (aircraft of more than 7200 kilos), following deregulation last December 1. Newman has ordered two de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Dash-7s at a total cost of nearly $20 million, and National Air Freighters has obtained three ex-RNZAF Bristol Freighters with relatively low air time.

Newman Airlines is a subsidiary of the large TNL Group (road tours to chemicals) based in the South Island city of Nelson. Its proposed operation will be directly competitive with Mount Cook’s HS748 regular ‘tourist’ network; Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch, Glentanner Station (near Mt Cook) and Queenstown. The decision to launch the airline follows a corporate battle last year in which TNL unsuccessfully attempted to take over the Mount Cook Group, which includes the airline.

The struggle brought in Air New Zealand who attempted to increase its Mt Cook Group shareholding from 15 per cent to 45 per cent. Eventually, the examiner of commercial practises stepped in, barring the TNL takeover and restricting Air New Zealand to a 30 per cent shareholding.

So the coming competition between Mount Cook Airlines and Newman Airlines promises to be a battle royal. Both have parent companies who run the country’s two biggest road tour networks, and both are involved in developing tourist areas.

Mount Cook Airlines (which also runs an extensive fleet of small aircraft) plans to add BAe 146s to its muster of five HS 748s, and an order is believed to be imminent.

The deregulation opened the way for any organisation to provide regular air services, provided they had the technical and financial capability and were ‘of good repute’. Under the old system, which effectively barred almost all applicants for licences, proof had to be provided that there was a public demand which was not being met, and existing airlines and other bodies could oppose the granting of a licence.

A number of small, vigorous companies providing regular services between major cities and provincial centres, have evolved in the past seven months. Most are in competition with Air New Zealand.

National Air Freighters plans to concentrate solely on freight and believes it has identified a big chink, the airfreight of consumer whiteware and machinery between Christchurch and Auckland. The company was set up by eight shareholders, most of them people with former airline experience. Managing director, Mr Neil Randall, said it was hoped to begin flying in October.

Kiwis to Fly Man-Powered Aircraft

An August test flight is planned for the first known New Zealand man-powered aircraft.

The aircraft, which is virtually a swept flying wing similar in profile to that of a jet airliner, has a history dating back to the late 1970s, the time when Californian Paul McCready was preparing the Gossamer Albatross for the cross-channel flight.

McCready’s venture fired the enthusiasm of Air New Zealand’s then-director of technical services, John Frost. Frost was a popular figure and something of a legend. As a design engineer, his experience ranged from the wartime Mosquito to postwar development of the first supersonic fighters. He was a guinea pig when Martin Baker trie? out the first ejection seats, and before coming to New Zealand In 1960, he worked with de Havilland Canada.

Frost noted the poor manoeuvrability in McCready’s Condor and Albatross canards and decided to go ahead with his own machine in his basement garage. Lacking $4 million of Du Pont backing, he decided to use easily available materials, spinnaker sailcloth for skinning and stock aluminium alloy tube a channel.

The work went ahead in secret with the help of two friends, the late Mr Holden Mirams, an oil company executive, and Mr Geoffrey Rodliffe, an aeronautical engineer.

The machine was nearly completed in late 1979 when John Frost collapsed and died from a heart attack. He was 55.

The estate eventually asked the Auckland branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society to take the aircraft over, and the branch decided that if the machine was to fly, the man to get it into the air was Dr Peter Jackson, senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at Auckland University. Jackson is a world authority on the mechanics and aeronautics of bird flight.

For several months, Dr Jackson with a group of final year engineering students have readied the machine, fabricating the propeller and completing the drive mechanism.

The flying wing has a span of 28 metres and weighs less than 45 kilos. The pilot is suspended within the framework beneath the wing, on an a bicycle seat with conventional pedal drive. John Frost’s design had a tractor propeller, but the university team decided to modify it as a pusher.

The only controls are two twin sticks operating outboard elevons which are warped through the leading edge tube. The machine became briefly airborne in July while being tow-tested behind a car.

A few problems showed up, but none serious enough to suggest the aircraft could not be man-powered into flight. Drag was slightly higher than hoped for and lateral stability was not good – modifications were being worked out to overcome the latter.

The pilot in training who must produce a brief burst of 0. 5 hp is a student, Grant Shireff. Airborne speed is reckoned to be 18 knots.

Spitfire Replica to Replace the Real Thing

What is believed to be the first full-scale fibreglass Spitfire replica worked in fine detail is nearing completion at the RNZAF Base, Woodbourne. It replaces an original Mark XVI Spit’ which has flown atop a plinth outside the Christchurch Brevet Club for 20 years and which is now being restored by the RNZAF Museum at Wigram.

The real machine was built in 1945, flew for the 1955 film ‘Reach For The Sky’, and was presented to the Christchurch club by the British Air Ministry in 1963.

Replica work is going on alongside the original. The team led by Flight Sergeant Ray Allen and Sergeant Allan Woodley sought help from the Central Institute of Technology in designing a steel frame stressed to withstand 200 mph winds, and the replica will replace the original on the plinth.

Fibreglass moulds are taken from the real aircraft with care taken in reproducing even flush rivetheads and scratches. A four-bladed HS 748 propeller was reworked to match the original laminated wooden blades. The windshield was fabricated and the club managed to obtain an original cockpit canopy.

One more from the Supermarine stable, a Seafire left behind by a visiting RN carrier in the late 1940s, resides in Auckland War Memorial Museum.