PROP TALK NORTH SHORE AERO CLUB BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE // FEBRUARY 2021 INSIDE: NORTH SHORE’S HELICOPTERS FROM THE ARCHIVES BARRIER AIR’S NEW ARRIVAL CONTACT THE OFFiCE iF YOU WOULD LiKE TO RECEIVE A PRiNTED COPY OF PROP TALK PROP TALK CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2021 Prop Talk is a bi-monthly magazine NORTH SHORE published by North Shore Aero Club. Views expressed by contributors are DiRECTORY .................... 3 not necessarily those of NSAC. FROM THE EDiTOR........ 4 Editor: Ian Couper PRESiDENTS [email protected] PUBLiCATiON ................ 6 Compiled By: Campbell McIver & FROM THE Stef Gwilliam ARCHiVES........................8 This Edition’s Contributors: NORTH SHORE David Saunders, John Punshon, HELiCOPTERS............... 10 Daryl Gillett, Ian Couper. BARRiER AiR’S NEW Photo Credits: ARRiVAL ........................ 14 Front Cover: Larry Bennett Rear Cover: Larry Bennett GNAR .............................16 Backgrounds: Chris Opperman, MANAGERS MEMO...... 18 Steve Matheson, Jamie Davis, Levi Daniel, Stef Gwilliam. NORTH SHORE HELiCOPTER Front Cover: Robinson R44, on the ground at North Shore. TRAiNiNG..................... 20 NATiONALS AT Rear Cover: Fleet of Helicopers parked up. NZWL............................ 24 CFI REPORT.................. 26 MEET THE TEAM.......... 28 NSAC BONEYARD.........30 MiLESTONES................. 31 2 NORTH SHORE DiRECTORY Phone: 09 426 4273 | 300 Postman Road, Dairy Flat RD4 0794 President: David Saunders 021 115 4696 Vice President: Brent Hempel 021 194 5546 Treasurer: Andrew Crowhurst 021 266 6656 Secretary: Ian Couper (09) 478 6351 Club Captain: David Wilkinson 021 468 270 Patron: Stan Smith 027 477 5475 Committee: Roy Crane 021 340 654 Douglas Kruger 022 545 6968 Lloyd Morris 021 493 360 Stephen Jones 021 737 268 Rodger Coleclough 021 705 859 General Manager (A-Cat & Flight Examiner): John Punshon Office Manager: Lynn Packer CFI (A-Cat & Flight Examiner): Office Staff: Claudine Allen, Daryl Gillett Stacey Olsen B-Cat Instructors: Paul Ryan, Tim Bar Staff: Brian Clay Marshall, Dawson Boles, Chantel Strooh, Rob Graham, Andrew Groundsman: Caleb Hanham Fisher, Jamie Davis NS Helicopter Training: Roy C-Cat Instructors: Ming Zhang, Crane Brendon Frame, Hamish McGill, Pierce Hargreaves, Campbell McIver, Josh McKoy, Brendon Sheehan 3 FROM THE EDITOR IAN Indeed increased demand COUPER from North Shore and Rodney residents is such that in addition to Fly My Sky offering North Shore residents up to 20 return flights a week travelling by air to Great Barrier in peak periods, Barrier Air island have a stark choice - has had to add a fourth 12 seat either a 40 minute plus drive to Cessna Grand Caravan to their Auckland International fleet. The airline now flies this Airport - or a much shorter hop quiet, state of the art aircraft to North Shore Airport, where twice daily, five days a week to both Barrier Air and Fly My Sky Great Barrier offer a regular service to the island. [ See article inside ] island. The Club’s application for “increasiNG North Shore Airport to be given DEMAND FROM Airport Authority Status is North SHORE primarily to protect its position and current status as an airport AND RODNEY and the increasing demand RESiDENTS to from North Shore and Rodney taKE ADVantage residents to take advantage of services from the airport OF SERViCES highlights the value of the FROM THE airport to the club and AiRPort” more importantly the wider community it serves. 5 PRESIDENTS PUBLICATION DAVID open days, Wings and Wheels SAUNDERS and aviation get-togethers in the aviation calendar to participate in and enjoy. Welcome to 2021! I hope that everyone has had a special Festive season for 2020 and that you were able to catch up with family and friends as best you could. Kiwis have been so fortunate in that we have been able to isolate ourselves in our slice of paradise and continue to enjoy a pretty The Great Northern Air much normal life, compared Race, that was recently held to the other parts of the world over Auckland Anniversary that are still being ravaged and weekend, succumbed to the disrupted by the coronavirus. coronavirus disruption. The original plan was to hold the I hope that you have been able race around Northland using to get out and about, and get NZKK and Paihia as a base, but in lots of flying in the great the recent community outbreak summer weather that we have in Northland put paid to this been having. As per this time of plan and it was decided on the year, there are plenty of fly-ins, Tuesday before to pull the pin, 6 Images courtesy of David Saunders and go to plan B. A huge effort been a long time since we ensued , very ably led by Steve last opened our doors to the Jones, to completely re-route public and it is long overdue. the race using NZNE as the The plan is to display as many base. It was a fantastic effort to different types of aircraft as get all the planning, routing , we can, showcase the different hospitality etc done in 3 days, users of the airfield and provide and the GNAR was ready to trial flights to those interested. go on time on the Saturday We will be promoting the day morning. By all accounts it was to all the northern aviation another fun-filled event that it clubs as a fly-in. We will need is renowned for. The weather a lot of members to help to was perfect and this made it all make this a successful day , the better. so please register your name with reception or call Stacey or Rodger if you can help, even if it is only for a few hours. Finally I would like to wish the team going to the FNZ Nationals to be held at West Melton Aerodrome in mid- February all the very best as they represent the Northern Region in the Wigram Trophy The North Shore Airport Open competition and in their Day is well under way with its individual competitions too. planning. It will be held on Let’s hope they can bring home Saturday March 27th. This is the Wigram and a host of other a great way to pull members trophies too. together and to showcase the airport and the club to the Safe skies, David Saunders. Hibiscus Coast and North Harbour communities. It has 7 FROM THE ARCHiVES IAN COUPER a Club sign on East Coast Bays Road – circa early-mid 1990s. Former Virgin 737 check and A youthful Andrew Fisher training captain Andrew is still assists Dave Donaldson (far involved at the Club as a part right) and club members erect time B Cat Instructor. September 2007 and construction of the Club hangar is well advanced. Robin ZK-UWZ is now ZK-TZI and both it, TZG and TZK are now resplendent in their new NSAC colours. In addition to the hangar providing security for the Club’s training fleet it generates a good income stream from housing members’ aircraft and has more than doubled in value since completion. 8 Images courtesy of Larry Bennett and Ian Couper 9 NORTH SHORE HELICOPTERS IAN COUPER A year later he left the Air Force and having gained his CPL joined Wishart Helicopters as a loader driver/training pilot. He One time owner, operator and completed his helicopter rating Chief Pilot of “North Shore in 1973 gaining helicopter pilot Helicopters” Larry Bennett, licence number 22 and became now semi retired, continues to the base agricultural pilot in add to his 16,500 flight hours Rotorua, flying the Bell 47 of in his role as an A-Cat Flight “Mash” fame. Instructor and Flight Examiner. Learning to fly in Wanganui in a trusty Cessna 150 Larry gained his PPL there and in 1971 started flight training with the Air Force where his flight log records almost 200 hours on Harvards and Devons. 10 Images courtesy of Larry Bennett Tourism was in its very early stages and in those early days helicopter flying for Larry consisted mainly of agricultural work and supply dropping for the NZ Forest Service, known better today as DOC. Loads often constituted timber for hut construction and loads of metal NORTH SHORE for track maintenance. “LARRY was HELICOPTERS OFTEN CALLED ON to CARRY OUT AN EMERGENCY evacUatiON company’s Bell 47 or Hughes USiNG ONE OF THE 500 helicopters. Neither company’S BELL machine was equipped for such 47 OR HUGHES 500 missions and any seriously HELicopters” wounded evacuees would be flown out on a stretcher secured Formal air rescue services such (hopefully) to the outside skid as today’s “Westpac Rescue and in some cases underslung Service” were not in existence loads. and Larry was often called on to carry out an emergency Moving to Auckland in 1984 evacuation using one of the Larry flew the Westpac rescue helicopter three or four days and nights a week and a year later formed North Shore Helicopters, based at North Shore airfield. An instructor’s course at the Robinson factory in the USA upgraded his licence 11 to a B-Cat and an A-Cat followed Helicopters consolidated the two years later. North Shore corporate management side of Helicopters was fortunate the business, managing a fleet in the early years to have of up to 13 advanced corporate trained several of Auckland’s helicopters, including the top business leaders who Squirrel AS350, Jet Ranger, eventually went on to purchase BK117, EC135 and EC145. In their own helicopters, which addition to advanced flight the company was contracted training the commercial to manage for them and to operations included Corporate use commercially which had charter, Government surveys, benefits for both parties. transport to gulf islands and golf courses, water sampling, In the mid 1990s the Abinito property and boat still and training side of the business video photography and heli- was sold off and North Shore fishing.