In April ZK-XLA received a Certificate of Airworthiness from the CAANZ….. and departed Hamilton with a loyal Flight Structures fanbase viewing her flight.
The Super Falco was developed by Andy Stevenson Aviation in conjunction with NZ Aero, with Flight Structures providing design and certification support. For more information on the Super Falco you can refer to this link.
We look forward to seeing her back here again at some stage in the future.
Whilst in some ways March was a “Business as Usual” month there have been many exciting things happening.
The most time consuming was the move of our workshop to our new premises - an especially large job involving the relocation of our large flat bed router and the arrival of our new vertical machining centre. Keeping on with client work during this process was achieved and we are pleased to have the bulk of the work completed. The photos below capture some images of the move. The VMC is up and running now providing extra capacity.
In March we hosted Keith Manch, Director of Civil Aviation of NZ along with Peter Gordon, also from CAANZ. We gave Keith a tour of our (newly relocated) premises and demonstrated some of the projects we are working on. We appreciated the opportunity to talk through our part of the aviation landscape - he is the first director in 20 years to take the time to come and visit.
Right at the end of March one of our team (David Roberts) headed to the Warbirds over Wanaka Airshow and took a photo of the V12 Fletcher. This project has been a long term project for Bill Sutherland and we understand it was a very popular display. David is a very keen photographer and has over 1000 photos from the airshow for us to look through.
And lastly, when we had a celebratory BBQ to welcome the workshop team to our Boyd Road building - we literally walked outside to a practice display by the Yak team practicing for Warbirds over Wanaka. It felt like it was especially for us (some of us may have pretended that it was). Below you can see a small snippet of some video footage at the airfield taken by one of our staff members.
It is great to finally be under one roof as a team. There are positives with remote working (we do have staff partly using this model) but there are so many good things about sharing a workspace and the collaboration this allows.
At the very end of 2023 we received notification of the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the Super Falco, a development owned by Andy Stevenson Aviation. This was very exciting as the programme to certify this aircraft was run in tandem with the SuperPac Certification programme of NZ Aero.
STC 22/21E/15 covers the installation of an upgraded powerplant to PAL 750XL aircraft configured for agricultural operations by STC 11/21E/8 and STC 13/21E/4.
The powerplant upgrade consists of the installation of a Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) PT6A-140AG turbo-prop engine and 4 blade Hartzell HC-E4N-3KA() / E10703S() propeller.
Changes associated with the powerplant upgrade include a lengthened nose gear to accommodate the propeller, installation MVP-50T engine gauge, 30° landing flap setting and Elevator Trim/Balance Tab travel changes.
Jon Kerr was the Senior Project Manager on this project, assisted by the team including Jamie Simmons, Scott Simpson, Clyde James, Duncan Wollen, Adam Jones, Murray McGregor, David Roberts and Hemi Jones. Partners in this project were Menzies Aviation (Hamilton Aero Maintenance), Andy Stevenson Aviation and final sign off was by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.
Jon Kerr states “We made the best ag aircraft in the world better. It was a fantastic team effort by all involved and we look forward to the C of A being completed soon”.
Just in time for Christmas (or on the Summer Solstice, the 21st of December) Flight Structures completed this worthwhile project.
The 8-week long project involved retrofitting and modernising the WDHB Incubator medical modules to a newly modified Flight Structures sled. The purpose of this project was to allow compatibility with both Life Flight’s Beechcraft B200 aircraft fleet and Search and Rescue Services Ltd.’s BK117 B-2 helicopters.
The completion of the project provides seamless integration between the Wellington and Waikato Incubators in the Beechcraft B200’s. Both are installed making use of the previously installed FSL restraints and TAS Aeromedical Stretcher Lifting Device to allow simple and easy loading of the Incubator Medical Modules, even in the worst of conditions.
Utilising the Flight Structures BK117 Stretcher Restraint System, the upgraded WDHB incubator modules remain capable to be carried in the BK117 helicopters further increasing the range of transfer locations.
This project had a tight timeline and we delivered the B200 module by the 14th of December and the BK117 module by the 21st of December. We have already seen the B200 in action transferring babies and whanau. Both Life Flight Trust and Philips Search and Rescue Trust provide a wonderful service to those in need.
Congratulations to the Project team - photographed below - which involved a mix of Design, Certification, Project Management, Manufacturing and Administration staff.
After 20 years we decided to enter the Waikato Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, in the Innovation Category (sponsored by Company X). Whilst we did not win the category we were delighted to be selected as a finalist, and to attend the fabulous evening with some of our team. Going through the award entry process- both nomination and judging - was a worthwhile exercise in seeing how our business has developed and endorsing of the company we have created.
The winner in our category was Emergency Consult, who were very worthy of this trophy. They deliver urgent medical advice using video technologies. The other finalist was Helix Flight Manufacturing Machines, another great Waikato engineering company.
Being a finalist meant we had a promotional video put together by INDx Media, thanks to Borden for all his support. Please check it out at the top of this post.
Photos on the night were taken by Barker Photography, who made most of us look good, and there are some casual snaps of the night added in as well.
I would recommend entering the awards to local businesses who want to experience a top quality event and grow their business. The Waikato Chamber of Commerce did a wonderful job of making the whole process smooth and professional.
We were delighted to attend the launch of the SuperPac 750XL-II at NZ Aero, New Zealand’s only aircraft manufacturer on Wednesday 22nd November.
The SuperPac is the newest and improved version of the 750XL aircraft - with a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-140A 900 SHP engine and Hartzell 4 blade 100” propeller. In addition, the aircraft features a state of the art Garmin G600 TXi EFIS and GTN 650 avionics suite.
The extensive flight testing programme has proven that this aircraft is quieter than the basic 750XL and uses 10% less fuel, whilst still having excellent short take off and landing abilities.
In addition, on display was the SuperFalco, created by Andy Stevenson Aviation, the agricultural variant of the aircraft with a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-140AG 900 SHP engine and Hartzell 4 blade 100” propeller.
These new aircraft are suited for utility, parachuting, agricultural use, fire fighting, medevac or providing aid into remote locations.
Flight Structures staff the Design Office for NZ Aero and have done so since the new ownership in 2021. We have had a team of up to six people involved at peak times, scaling up and down as needed. Achieving a Type Certificate amendment is a big deal - there are only a handful of Type Certificates in the history of aviation in NZ. We also acknowledge staff and contractors from previous years who contributed to this project.
Flight Structures have worked with Andy Stevenson for many years and helped him gain the STC for the first Falco aircraft, currently in use around NZ. The contribution of Andy was honoured on the day along with that of Brian Hare, a previous owner.
There were a fleet of aircraft on display representing the history of the predecessors to the 750XL.
There was significant media coverage for this wonderful event and we offer our congratulations to the team at NZ Aero both for the launch event and for the tenacity to see this project to completion.
For the One News article please view here
For the Newstalk ZB interview with NZ Aero CEO Stephen Burrows please listen here.
For the Newshub coverage please view here
For the Waikato Times article please read here
To view some coverage of the launch event please click here
On Friday 3rd November 2023 Jon Kerr was awarded a Silver Meritorious Service Award from the Royal Aeronautical Society New Zealand Division.
This award recognises Jon’s leadership and service to the industry for 30 years as a Delegate of the NZ Civil Aviation Authority, Designer, Project Manager and Mentor, and for his leadership at Flight Structures Ltd.
It was a busy week for Jon as he was a speaker both at the RAeS Symposium as well as at the Design Delegates Day, both held in Parliament Buildings in Wellington.
Flight Structures team members Daniel Stone and Sally Kerr will be attending the American Medical Transport Conference, held by the AAMS (Association of Air Medical Services) in Columbus Ohio in October 2023.
We will be on stand 904 and have examples of our AW169 and BK117 products with us. If you are coming along please drop by to say hi.
Flight Structures has developed snowshoes for the H145 (MBB-BK117 D-2 and D-3). Working with a local client, we developed the snowshoes from our existing BK117 snowshoes, designing, prototyping and testing in house. The snowshoes are manufactured at Flight Structures and sold with a CAANZ Form One.
The BK117 snowshoes are our best selling product so we are pleased to have another product to work with the growing H145 fleet.
To find out more refer to the H145 products for sale page.
In the second instalment of looking back at older photos for the archive we are remembering some of the launches and trips staff members have been involved in. If you want to check out the first instalment with work- do photos please refer to this link . There’s a mix here of older and newer photos over the last 20 years.
International work trips have included heading to the USA, Australia, Papua New Guinea, China, Japan, England, France, Canada and Italy - most recently in 2023 with three staff heading to the Mojave Desert. These trips have focussed around certification, prototyping and product development, and relationship building.
Flight Structures staff have attended many CAANZ Delegates Days, conferences in NZ and internationally, and hold our own in house sessions (one pictured at Waikato Stadium). Jon took some of our products to Perth in 2019.
In 2019 we celebrated Murray winning the EA Gibson Award for the Royal Aeronautical Engineering Society.
Product and aircraft launches included the Alpha Type Certificate in 2006 and the unveiling of IRU back in 2013.
We have hosted a few guests here in Hamilton - photos include team Merlin in 2022, the board of Westpac Rescue- Auckland in 2017 and Chinese Civil Aviation back in 2012.
As we move closer to our 20 year anniversary keep an eye out for more photos and more news.
