New Zealand News

The airship will be exactly 200ft long, have a capacity of 157,000 cubic feet and be filled with helium gas. It will be constructed with inner fabric gas bags and a tough outer body fabricated from Kevlon or a similar product. The cost of the basic airship will be between $NZ3 million and $4 million.

The driving force behind the project is Pat Monk, the British-trained aeronautical designer who brought Pacific Aerospace’s line of Victa and Skytrainer aircraft into production in the 1970s.

Back in 1977, Pat proposed that Aerospace Industries establish an airship industry. A trust was set up, and a large dirigible designed for international services was planned.

However, other problems within the company resulted in plans being dropped. Monk became chief designer for Wren and was responsible for the Series 500 and 600 Skyships built in England. For several years he maintained his Hamilton links, virtually commuting to England. He returned to work on the airship plans after James Aviation took over the Aerospace Fletcher manufacturing facility.

The NZ 001 is similar in appearance to the Skyship 600, though bigger and more powerful (the 600 is powered by two Porsche piston engines developing about 200hp). Murray McGregor, chief designer for James, describes it as a “more aeronautical airship than any yet built, meaning it will have a precise degree of manoeuvrability and positive lift above that provided by the gas.

Uses envisaged for the NZ 001 include coastal patrol work as well as passenger and freight carriage. According to Mr James, interest outside Australasia is high and orders for the first two are imminent. It is understood the American Boeing Co is likely to be involved in the manufacturing programme.

Ready to go, according to Mr James, is construction of a manufacturing hangar at Hamilton Airport. It will be a steel-framed building 250ft long and 75ft high sheathed in a plastic material.

A Venom ‘Returns’ to New Zealand

Early 1986 should see the distinctive shape of the de Havilland Venom in local skies. The derivative of the Vampire has never flown in New Zealand before, but the type is familiar to RNZAF airmen of the 1950’s-No 14 Squadron leased Venoms from the RAF and flew them out of Tengah, Singapore, during the Emergency.

One of the squadron pilots was Trevor Bland, now a check captain with Air New Zealand. Trevor managed to obtain a former Swiss Air Force Venom through an intermediary (the Service would only sell directly to its own members and reservists), had it flown to Stansted and there disassembled and crated for the sea voyage to Auckland.

Unfortunately, the crating was not expertly done and it arrived with some mild corrosion and damage to the instruments. Stripping. repair and assembly was underway at RNZAF Base Whenuapai in November, and (Civil Aviation willing) a pre-Christmas test flight was targeted. The Venom will fly under the Warbirds banner and be painted in No 14’s colours.

The RNZAF’s Singapore Venoms were lived for only 750 hours (Bland used up two-thirds of one life). The Swiss aircraft were exactly the same aircraft built under licence but expertly maintained, they flew some thousands of hours. This one was in mint condition before shipping, and the Ghostengine still has 700 hours left before overhaul.

Amphibian Service Sets Record

Sea Bee Air’s amphibian service out of Mechanics Bay, Auck- land set a record in October. Thirty years of almost unbroken amphibian services is a record for the southern hemisphere and is thought to be matched anywhere by only one small operator in the Caribbean.

The service, with Grumman Gooses and Widgeons, began in 1955, when two South Island businessmen put up the cash and appointed the legendary Freddie Ladd to get the operation moving. The company was known as Tourist Air Travel (TAT) and its appointment: to provide a passenger and light freight service to the growing population of the Hauraki Gulf islands and to the Bay of Islands in North Auckland.

Ladd managed to purchase a decrepit Widgeon from two Frenchmen in Tahiti. The damaged machine was completely overhauled by the old TEAL Co (later to become Air New Zealand).

Freddie recalls that the problems which plagued the French men remained with the machine. It had a nasty tendency to water loop on takeoff.

Only by a chance remark he overheard while on a visit to New York did he solve the problem? It turned out that other Widgeons had long ago undergone a modification, a reshaping of the keel step. Somehow this aircraft had missed the job was done and it flew perfectly over a long life.

It was also Freddie’s debut as the “poetic pilot”. His rhyming couplets are well known to thousands of tourists who flew TAT and later on scenic flights in the Rotorua area. To reassure passengers on the early Widgeon services, he’d bellow out – “We’re up and away. In a shower of Spray”.

Mount Cook took over the service in 1967, weathered the oil shock and added Gooses to the fleet-the latter, ten as opposed to five passengers, ensured survival. In 1977, Mount Cook sold out to two of its employees, pilot Murray Pope and engineer Bruce Campbell. They renamed it Sea Bee Air.

The service continued to expand. It branched out into contract work in the Pacific islands, Tuvalu, Samoa and Fiji, added a McKinnon turbo converted Goose to the fleet and, more recently. a Bell Jet Ranger.

Fred in more recent years has become a cause celebre. Civil Aviation cancelled his license three years ago (he is into his 70’s) after a mild dizzy spell. His continuing and well-publicised efforts to regain the paper are a continuing thorn in the department’s side. Meanwhile, he swims a kilometre in Lake Taupo every morning and flies gliders in the afternoon.

Ladd, Pope and Bruce Packer (Mount Cook’s pilot manager of the operation) were at the centre of the hangar bunfight, together with a laudatory telegram from Grumman.

Power Lines Claim Another Victim

The fatal crash of a Piper twin which hit a power line in Tory Channel has prompted recriminations over the lack of markings or beacons on hazardous lines.

The aircraft had taken off from Picton on a regular flight to Wellington with eight passengers plus the pilot. All were killed except a small girl who was plucked from the water by a Cook Straits ferry.

Early inquiry suggests the pilot flew lower than the authorised 1000ft in order to give passengers a good view of the scenic Marlborough Sounds. However, it was also found that the line stretching about a kilometre across the channel could vary more than 150ft in height with temperature changes. The machine was operated by Air Albatross, considered by Civil Aviation to be one of the best and most meticulous of the smaller airlines. Most of its fleet are Metro II aircraft.

A number of similar lines exist in other parts of the country and none are marked with the big orange globes in general use throughout the world. Moreover, this accident brought the number of fatalities caused by such lines in recent years to more than 30.

As the debate widened, it became apparent that Civil Aviation had no mandate to enforce the marking of lines. Legislation was being considered.

Newmans Buys Dash 8s

New Zealand’s third and newest airline, Newmans Air, is to change its fleet from two de Havilland Canada Dash 7s to DHC Dash 8.

The decision to re-equip with the slightly smaller aircraft-36 as against 50 passengers is being done in the interests of flexibility, says chief executive Ken McDonald. The Dash 7s will be traded in for the new aircraft scheduled for delivery from DHC next September, November and December. The order is for 3 with 3 more on option.

Mr McDonald said the airline was well pleased with the Sevens and the only technical problem experienced was the ingestion of a foreign object in one engine. None of the problems experienced in Dash 7 operations in New Guinea had been experienced-this could be due to the fact that Newmans found the aircraft operated well on a reduced cruise power setting by 10%, and had followed the practice.

More flexibility was needed because of the growing demand for charters in addition to the normal scheduling. Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch and the Alpine resorts. The time between engine overhauls had been upped from 4500 to 6000.

The airline has made an impact on the public with revenue seat load factors going from 28% in the first months of flying to nearly 60% in November, a space of 10 months.

Veteran travel writer Les Bloxham of the Christchurch Press in a recent survey rated them top in comfort, food and service, ahead of the old established Mount Cook Airlines and with Air New Zealand trailing third.

Mr McDonald, who “grew up” in TAA (latterly nine years as NSW Manager) started the airline from scratch on about $35 million capital provided by the big transport company Newmans. Newman’s original intention was to force an “accommodation” with Mount Cook with the onset of domestic deregulation, partly with the intention of providing a bloc against competitive pressures from Air New Zealand.

However, in recent months the National carrier has succeeded in gaining a majority shareholding in Mount Cook. “That suits us. We know where we are and are looking forward to the competition,” said McDonald.

He added that an early problem when Air New Zealand refused Newman access to its reservations computer had been overcome satisfactorily. “We managed to get access to the Qantas computer and it’s working perfectly. What’s more we retain our confidentiality. ”

International Rights Issue Hots Up

While deregulation of domestic services has continued at an unfettered pace, the often-stated intention of Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Dick Prebble, to “Tree up” international services has a hollow ring lately. Questions about the moralities of international bargaining are also being asked.

It stems from Air New Zealand’s long struggle to increase its Auckland-London services from two to three a week. This was opposed by British Airways for more than a year on the grounds that the traffic did not support the need. But early in 1985, the two agreed on a third service each to begin late in the year.

All this was of passing interest to Japan Air Lines until one October Friday, it received a note from NZ Civil Aviation saying that as from the following Monday, JAL was forbidden to sell low-cost promotion fares from Auckland to London via Tokyo-a right the airline had enjoyed for four years.

The airline could apply for reinstatement, the note said, but it would also have to gain reinstatement from the British Government.

What had happened was that in the bargaining for the third service, the New Zealand Government had traded off JAL’s rights to fly the promotional fares to London.

Inquiries by JAL elicited the information that while the New Zealand Government was prepared to “favourably consider reinstatement, there was little hope of getting it from the British Government. With some smugness, the New Zealand Government suggested the problem lay largely with the British.

What appears to be a deceptive piece of manipulation has not been lost on JAL or travel agents who are still selling the tickets despite the ban.

They join Qantas in bucking Civil Aviation. For a long time the Australian airline has been flying the same London promotion traffic out of the southern centres of Christchurch and Wellington. A government directive that it had to add on a “ghost fare” equivalent to the domestic flight to Auckland has been ignored. Obviously embarrassed, Civil Aviation in late October had shown no signs of acting against the two carriers.

Meanwhile, the Auckland-Hong Kong service remains stalled over a related row. After the tripartite arrangement with three carriers broke down when Air Nuigini pulled out early in 1985, Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific were still unable to agree on a restart late in the year.

The Government (prompted by Air New Zealand) insists that Cathay should not offer promotion fares to London via Hong Kong. Cathay maintains it has every right to.

The dispute prompted an uncharacteristic broadside from Cathay’s assistant general manager, Mr Bob Dewar, who said he was amazed that the New Zealand Government appeared to be flying in the face of its stated aims in removing international shackles.

Methanol Trials Highly Successful

Trials on the use of methanol for fuelling agricultural aircraft have been completed by Pacific Aerospace, and the company is having its kit certified by Civil Aviation.

Aerospace’s chief designer, Murray McGregor, estimates the kit and conversion costs, fitted to the Lycoming 10-720 engine in Fletcher aircraft, will be between $15,000 and $20,000.

On present New Zealand fuel costs, a converted aircraft would pay this off within a 500 hour working year.

Trials totalling more than 200 working hours in “genuine agricultural economies showed $39 worth of methanol provided the same amount of flying time as $100 worth of 130 octane Avgas.

Mr McGregor said the trials were more successful than expected, and fears that there could be a corrosion problem in the tanker had not eventuated. The company was hoping the Government did not impose a heavy tax on methanol.