Out and About

[flyjoe180]

Interesting view through the bino's there Mike.

[flyjoe180]

A rare sight - the two Life Flight Metroliners together, photographed at Auckland on Friday. Even rarer, they are under a sunny blue sky! We'd just flown a baby from Wellington to New Plymouth, then a box of semen (yes I know, the jokes and puns on board were rife) to Hamilton, and then proceeded empty to Auckland where we picked up another baby and transported her to Nelson.

[flyjoe180]

Also on the apron was this rather worn looking Aero Commander from Australia. Note the tail-mounted boom.

[flyjoe180]

Tucked away in the corner was this jet. I have no idea where the registration prefix 'B' is from.

[flyjoe180]

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777.

[wccivil]

Nov 29, 2009 13:29:06 GMT 12 flyjoe180 said:

Tucked away in the corner was this jet. I have no idea where the registration prefix 'B' is from.


Don't know if this helps or not

B- Albania
AAAA - AZZZ N ? - ?

B- Bulgaria
BAAA - BZZZ N ? - ?

B- Latvia (19.. - 1929 ?, 1939 to 1991 USSR)
LAAA - LZZZ N 1929 - 1939 (?)

B- China (People's Republic of China, PRC)
1 - 9999 Y 1958 (+) -
(the '-' dash as separator is sometimes omitted)

B- Taiwan (Republic of China, RoC, was Formosa)
1 - 99999 Y 1949 (+) -

B Hong Kong (1997 to PRC)
HAA - HZZ, KAA - KZZ, LAA - LZZ Y ? - 1997

[flyjoe180]

Chinese it is then, thanks for the information. I see from Airliners.net that it gets around and has obvioulsy had a new scheme recently. It is apparently a Gulfstream G-V-SP G550.

[Brett]

Hong Kong, to be a bit more accurate.

Operated by Metrojet Limited.

[camtech]

I guess the Aero Commander is the one carrying out geophysical surveys around the country at the moment. I noted it flying as we drove into the airport on Thursday afternoon. The boom contains a magnetometer to measure the earth's magnetic field and distortions there off. A bit like the boom at the rear of the Orion. Results are analysed and used to determine the liklihood of things like coal and other ore.

[flyjoe180]

Thanks for the explanation of the boom Camtech. The aeroplane ws really worn on the outside and it had no de-ice equipment, not even on the props. I guess aeroplanes suffer in the Australian sun and heat. I hope they aren't planning on flying IFR anywhere with no de-ice at the moment.

[mumbles]

The Convairs, Gulfstream and Aero Commander were all still there on Sunday afternoon when I trundled past in a Jetstar A320 on the way home from the Pearl Jam Concert. My aviation novice friend had the window seat so I didn't notice the sting on the Commander. She was fascinated by the Gulfstream in a 'wow, thats an actual private jet!' sort of way, bless

[haughtney1]

Hey Mumbles, I had the pleasure of flying Pearl Jam around Europe back in August..very very normal guys.
That G550 gets around a bit, I've seen it in Luton(UK), Nice(France), and Vunokovo (Moscow)..can confirm it is one of 2 or 4 managed by Metrojet and nominally based in HKG.
Flown by 3 Ozzies I believe.

[flyjoe180]

Flown by 3 Ozzies I believe

Can't have it all perfect I suppose ;D

[haughtney1]

Keeping in the spirit of being out and about, I thought I'd share a typical out and about day for me as a contract pilot in Kazakhstan.

Today I am scheduled to operate on a 767-300 between Almaty & Beijing.
The day starts about 2 1/2 hrs before departure, when i am collected and driven to work in a company van..as you can see, its a bit chilly waiting outside..-14C from memory out of the wind.




A 20 minute drive later I collect the paperwork, get a mandatory medical check (before every flight in Kazakhstan) and clear security to board the jet.




Today we will be departing from runway 05L via the Dotal 3E SID, and I am pilot monitoring (not flying)



On the taxi out there are a few interesting views, including a good opportunity to see a company aircraft landing.






After the landing A320 we line up..



Its a bit icy, and has cooled to -20C in the late afternoon



More to follow in part 2 of my addition to out and about

[Peter Lewis]

Jan 21, 2010 1:25:47 GMT 12 haughtney1 said:

get a mandatory medical check (before every flight in Kazakhstan)

Jeeze - that's a bit rough.
I thought an annual check was bad enough,

Imagine if that idea caught on here, with the aerial topdressing guys!

[sqwark2k]

More a Vodka detection session than a blood pressure and eyesight check I've heard.

[Barnsey]

Interesting photos! Look forward to the next installment.

[flyjoe180]

Great photos Haughtney.

[flyjoe180]

I attended the ATC National Aviation Course at Woodbourne again this year. During my time there I snapped a few shots of NZ3803 undergoing post-maintenance test flying and ground runs. As you can see NZ7272 is now living outside, between the ATS hangar and the Safe Air hangar. It was open on one day, apparently being used for training pruposes still. The MU2's were present inside their new home. Three of the A4's were taken out of their 'pen' and taken to a hangar. A bit of work was being done on them each day, and interestingly a few of them had some of their protective coverings partially removed. Photos follow, the rain shots were taken on the last day of 'flying' at National Aviation Course, although very little flying was done except by Iroquois '03.


Cadets shelter from the rain under a derelict Beechcraft while NZ3803 starts another test flight.

[flyjoe180]