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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 29, 2006 19:32:27 GMT 12
Whilst at Rukuhia last week where Mum and I were dropping a friend off at Hamilton Airport, we drove around the perimeter where I spotted this mystery aircraft fuselage and tail empenage stored in a barn on a farm at the northern end of the main runway. To my unskilled eye (which thinks all civil planes post-1960 look alike) it looks kind of the shape of a Boeing 737 or Airbus of some sort, but it looked way too small to be such. Does anyone have a clue what this mystery plane is? Is it real? Is it a huge model? It's hard to even estimate the length, as it was quite distant from the road.  |
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Post by Bruce on Mar 29, 2006 22:09:29 GMT 12
Its a former Eagle Air Metroliner - It has been there for about 3 years, after the retirement of the Eagle Metro fleet. Exactly what it is there for is a mystery, but the photo shows that it has been turned on its side and paint stripped since I saw it last. I think the wings are some where there as well. The structure it sits in appears to be custom built, so whoever owns it is taking some care to preserve it - perhaps a modern day John Smith?
BTW other aircraft from the same (recent) era preserved in the area include the Former CityJet Bandeirante ZK-TZL (one of "my" old fleet) at the other end of the Hamilton runway being used as a smoke evacuation trainer for the airport fire crews, and Bandeirante ZK-ERA (I Think) at Tauwhare.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 29, 2006 22:41:48 GMT 12
Aw Bruce, you could have spun it out a bit to see what whacky theories came up...
Thanks anyway mate, I appreciate that. It had me quite puzzled. I hadn't been round that way for some time and never seen it before. Cool.
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Post by Bruce on Mar 30, 2006 13:33:22 GMT 12
oh... sorry for spoiling the suspense!  actually it is a rare, pressurised, single fin hudson derivative. It was trialled by the RNZAF in 1945 under extreme secrecy but found to be unsuitable for military purposes. It was broken up at Rukuhia postwar but significant sections remained partly buried on the field until dug up by a farmer in the 1970s, with a view to turning it into a dog kennel. The dog didnt like it so it was stored at the back of the farm until the current owner put it in the shed in approx 2000, at the same time recovering other airframe sections. The owner intends to restore it to its original RNZAF Pacific blue camo scheme. Is that a better story? |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 30, 2006 19:16:36 GMT 12
Are you certain it's not a V-2 rocket? Perhaps they're terrorists?
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Post by Peter Lewis on Mar 30, 2006 20:21:28 GMT 12
Interesting theories - perhaps Osmar has a hideout there? If it is a Bandit, then by elimation it would seen likely to be the former ZK-KML - ex Tranzglobal/CityJet/Eagle Seen here at Ardmore in 1993 (when it first arrived in NZ):  The one at Tauwhare is ZK-ERU - Last flight 29Jul01. WFU at Hamilton. Sold Andrew Moreland and on display at Tauwhare Military Museum, Victoria Road, Cambridge-Morrinsville highway. Pic taken there in 2003:  |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 30, 2006 20:37:08 GMT 12
Andy's Bandit looks a bit flasher there only three years ago than it appears now. It's a bit worse for wear up close now.
However Bruce reckons the mystery fuselage is a Metroliner, not a Bandit
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Post by Peter Lewis on Mar 30, 2006 21:50:56 GMT 12
Dang it, your right (fumbles for bifocals).
I guess that would make it either OAA or PBA
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Post by Bruce on Mar 30, 2006 22:34:29 GMT 12
Yeah KML was scrapped after the CityJet fallout - it was stripped of the few useful parts that hadnt timed out (long story - I was in the thick of it....) and broken up. Although sold to Eagle (as were the other 3 CJ Bandits) it and TZL never flew again. I think OAA sounds familiar, it was the Metro that did a wheels up at Hamilton in 1999. I think it was repaired after that accident, but was one of the first withdrawn - it sat outside the Eagle hangar for a while being stripped useful bits as well.
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Post by turboNZ on Apr 3, 2006 21:26:43 GMT 12
What actually happened to CityJet ?
The big boys push them out the way?
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Post by Peter Lewis on Apr 4, 2006 22:42:56 GMT 12
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Post by Bruce on Apr 4, 2006 22:56:07 GMT 12
What actually happened to CityJet ?
The big boys push them out the way?I hope I'm forgiven for wandering off topic, but the CJ saga is quite interesting, and being in the thick of it I can actually tell you a lot! Basically the CJ bosses did some very marginal finance deals to expand the company from TransGlobal freight ops to passengers. We had excellent load factors and they wanted to put more flights on. This and our low cash reserves cramped maintenance, and not paying bills got us off side with our maintenance contractor. They reported to CAA about a procedure for recording hours that in hindsight was very innacurate, but was identical to an Air NZ procedure. CAA pulled the aircraft Cof As until the hour recording issues were sorted satisfactorily and some "Safety culture" changes made and the finance companies, worried about their security (on aircraft that were overvalued....) pulled the plug. I was one of the few "key personnel" that came out of the CAA investigation unscathed, and I stayed on to work for the receiver to sort out the mess - it took 6 months! All the time during CJs operations, other accusations of bad practice (some well founded) were flying around from the big boys at Air NZ and Ansett. Lesson 1 for prospective airline owners - before you take on the big boys, make sure your own house is in order! one of these days I'll write a book on it all, but I suspect if I tell the truth I'll need a good lawyer! 
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 4, 2006 23:06:57 GMT 12
Was TransGlobal the Auckland company that had those two massive Russian Illusyn things for a while?
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Post by Bruce on Apr 5, 2006 8:39:16 GMT 12
TransGlobal was a domestic freight and charter company that operated Bandits KML and TZL. in June 1999 it commenced passenger services and changed its name to CityJet.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 5, 2006 10:29:46 GMT 12
Hmmm, domestic service called TransGlobal sounds like fraud in itself.... ;D
What was that company called with those massive Russian things?
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actually it is a rare, pressurised, single fin hudson derivative. It was trialled by the RNZAF in 1945 under extreme secrecy but found to be unsuitable for military purposes. It was broken up at Rukuhia postwar but significant sections remained partly buried on the field until dug up by a farmer in the 1970s, with a view to turning it into a dog kennel. The dog didnt like it so it was stored at the back of the farm until the current owner put it in the shed in approx 2000, at the same time recovering other airframe sections. The owner intends to restore it to its original RNZAF Pacific blue camo scheme.
