WARBIRDS’ EXPANSION By John Andrews

Trish Reynolds has taken over as general manager of the New Zealand Warbirds

Association as it launches into one of its most adventurous stages.

To create a world class working museum, the associa-

tion has more than doubled its available hangar space at Ard-

more Airport. And, having won approval from the Civil Avia-

tion Authority recently, Warbirds offers adventure rides for

people wanting experience 30 minutes in a wide range of air-

craft ranging from $3950 in a Spitfire to $275 in a Tiger

Moth. CAA has also given the association permission to

authorise and oversee airport open days and aviation-related

events around the country.

Trish told the Ardmore Flyer: “It will be a living mu-

seum and the only one of its size in New Zealand that will

have flying aircraft. The adventure rides are a major part. We

have this whole new concept of a working museum campus.

“We’ve gone from one hangar to four. We’ve bought the Wing

and Rotor hangar and that is becoming our WWI hangar and

our visitors’ centre.” Trish said the Warbirds was looking at

multi-million dollar developments over the next two years.

She said: “It is unusual for an airport of this size to have such a variety of aircraft and to be

expanding.” Palmerston North-born and educated, Trish is no stranger to aviation. She

learned to fly at the Manawatu Districts Aero Club in the 1980s and went on win several

competitions for pilots around the country. Trish had a nine-year association with Ansett

NZ, first as an airport supervisor for Nelson and Blenheim then as a regional sales manager.

After being made redundant, she went backpacking and ended up in Bristol, working

first for one of Europe’s biggest commercial hot air balloon businesses and then as a duty

manager at Bristol Airport. She landed a job as passenger service manager for Brymon Air-

ways, co-founded by New Zealand motor racing great Chris Amon. While attending a

training programme for aircraft crash scene co-ordinators, Trish met her husband to be,

Murray Reynolds, a technical officer for the British Airline Pilots Association.

Trish spent much of the next decade with a software company involved in crisis man-

agement and emergency planning before fate led her back to the land of her birth. Husband

Murray applied and was appointed senior technical officer for the New Zealand Airline

Pilots Association. (Continued on page 3)

Ardmore Flyer

December 2017

Trish Reynolds

GREETINGS FROM THE CEO

This festive season column is my third for the Ardmore Flyer.

Time certainly does fly! While we experienced incessant wet weather

over winter and spring, many of us probably appreciate the drier con-

ditions summer is bringing us these days. Regardless of the condi-

tions, airport flight movements have continued to increase noticeably.

Ardmore Airport Ltd intends its substantial maintenance pro-

gramme will proceed as planned. Since November, our crews have

been repairing runway, taxiway and internal roadway pavements, as

well as upgrading power supply, drainage and wastewater systems.

Our airport safety record is commendable. It is a testament to

how well people here work together. Our new CCTV network is

nearly complete. Testing has already started. It means we have much improved electronic

surveillance of the airport and subsequent accessibility to cameras and their images 24

hours a day.

AAL well understands that, with more than 600 people working or training around the

airport, we are a substantial contributor to the region’s economy.

We witness real co-operation between aviation-oriented people and businesses as we

work, train and follow our mutual interests in a close-knit space. It is a wonderful commu-

nity to belong to. I look forward to working with you all in the coming year.

From everyone at Ardmore Airport Ltd, have a very merry Christmas, happy holi-

days, stay safe and welcome 2018.

In This Issue

Warbirds Open Day Page 3

New Look Cafe Page 4

Security High On Airport Agenda Page 5

Bristol Nearly Home At Last Page 6

Dave Marcellus

Page 2

(Warbirds’ expansion cont’d)

Trish obtained a diploma in landscape design then, armed with her impressive CV,

introduced herself to every office in Ardmore. Pioneer Aero took her on for one day a week

for 10 months. “It got me excited again to be involved in aviation,” she said, hence her ap-

plication for the Warbirds’ job. “I have been taken on to manage quite a few projects. Our

vision is to have a world class facility with our hangars.

“We will have more WWI aircraft coming on line in the next 12 months. It’s unusual

for an airport of this size to have such a variety of aircraft --- and we’re expanding.” Trish

said: “I think I have got the best job in New Zealand. The whole role for me is perfect.”

TRI-PLANE WOWS THE CROWDS About 5000 people were on hand when a replica Fokker tri-plane stole the show at the

New Zealand Warbirds Association’s open day at Ardmore Airport on November 12.

The WWI-era aircraft, the Warbirds’ latest acquisition, went through its paces in close

concert with a rival of yesteryear, a replica RAF BE2 fighter bomber piloted by Warbirds’

president Frank Parker.

Blenheim-based Ryan Southam, a vintage and warbirds aircraft engineer, has been

flying the aircraft regularly since it was built four years ago by a private restoration group at

Omaka. So it came as no surprise to him when Frank asked him to demonstrate the plane’s

capabilities at the open day after the Warbirds had taken over ownership.

Ryan said: “I’m aware of its foibles. The engine is sometimes temperamental. It’s not

great to taxi on the ground. It doesn’t like turning and it’s not easy to see out. But, in the air,

it is very spritely.”

Ryan Southam with the Fokker Tri-Plane

Page 3

Ashlee Seamer, aged 8, of Mauku, thought the

controls of the Aermacchi jet trainer were “pretty

cool”.

NEW LOOK ARDMORE CAFE Big changes are afoot for Ardmore Café. New proprietors Gina and

Vimal Mudaliar want to run it as a licensed restaurant four nights a week.

They’re applying for a liquor licence so

that from Thursday to Sunday they can turn

their seven-day a week café into a restaurant

open until 9pm.

Originally from Fiji, Vimal has 20

years’ experience in the food industry. He

used to be chef tutor at the Auckland Hotel

and Chef Training School.

Gina, who has been involved in store

management, said: “We came out here for a

drive and saw it [the cafe] was on the market.

Three months later we took over the lease.”

They are introducing a modern twist to

the café-style menu they offer. As well as im-

proving the range of slices and cabinet food

available, the couple plan to stock fresh pies,

muffins and scones made on their own prem-

ises.

“We’re planning to paint and redecorate

the café,” said Gina. “And we are doing catering for anyone. We’re not confined

to Ardmore Airport. There’s a lot of potential for improving the business with

catering and functions. We have seen an opportunity to expand the business.”

Page 4

Gina and Vimal

Page 5

SECURITY HIGH ON AIRPORT AGENDA Safety improvements are a high priority for Ardmore Airport Ltd. Since September,

the company has been replacing existing CCTV cameras and adding new ones at strategic

sites throughout the airport.

Chief executive Dave Marcellus said: “The cameras are fixed on a mix of tenant and

airport-owned buildings. The aim is to have complete surveillance and be able to record in-

cidents night and day. They are monitored 24 hours a day using cloud-based technology.”

He said that as a result of previous CCTV coverage, the company had been able to

identify where safety procedures could be improved.

New barrier arms were being installed on airport roads and on three lanes giving ac-

cess to operational airside areas. Their punch key control pads represented a vital aspect of

the airport’s security upgrade.

As the festive season approaches Dave asked AAL’s building tenants and owners to

make sure their gates were kept closed so unauthorised people could not gain access to

operational areas. He said too many visitors seemed to think an open gate was an invita-

tion “to come on in”.

——————————————————–—

Ardmore hosts international golf tournament

Several thousand golf enthusiasts were able to make use of Ardmore Airport’s park-

ing facilities during the recent New Zealand Women’s Golf Open at Windross Farm golf

course. They parked in the disused runway area during what became a five-day tournament

and either walked to the course via a neighbour’s track or boarded shuttle buses.

————————————————————

Life saving equipment readily accessible Ardmore Airport Ltd’s defibrillator is now sited outside the front door of its office

headquarters in Harvard Lane. AAL chief executive, Dave Marcellus, said the potential life-

saving device, one of four stationed around the airport, could be used at any hour of the day.

Previously the AAL defibrillator had been housed inside the building, meaning that,

had a life-threatening incident occurred outside normal office hours, there would have been

access difficulties.

Gates to operational areas should remain closed.

FREIGHTER NEARLY HOME The bulk of the Bristol freighter, which lay grounded at Ardmore Airport for so many

years, is due in Britain about Christmas but it will be quite some time before it is restored to

its former glory.

The aircraft, formerly bearing the RNZAF registration number NZ5911, cannot be

fully reassembled until its new owners, the Bristol Aero Collection Trust, has raised funds

for a new hangar to house it and other notable Bristol Aeroplane Company products.

Bill Morgan, a trustee who championed the freighter’s acquisition, told the Ardmore

Flyer: “The restoration plan, which involves our existing team of volunteers, is to present

the aircraft to the public in its 1954 RNZAF livery as it left our factory here at Filton where

the Aerospace Bristol museum is located.”

He praised those associated with the project in New Zealand. “We are truly indebted

to them for, without their outstanding work and willingness to work together to save

NZ5911, we could not have accomplished the task of returning this unique type of aero-

plane back to the place where it was designed and built,” he said. He described how, after

learning the aircraft’s Ardmore-based former owner Mark Dwen of Dwen Automotive Ltd

wanted to sell it, trust members moved. “We negotiated with Mark and agreed a price and,

during 2016, worked out a

budget to get the aircraft

dismantled in Ardmore and

shipped back to the Bristol

factory where it was produced”

said Bill.

“One of our members

generously donated the purchase

price and our fund-raising team

secured what we considered to

be sufficient funds, with contin-

gencies, to dismantle and ship

NZ5911 back to the UK.

(Continued on page 7)

Photo courtesy of Pioneer Aero

Bill Morgan (left) and David Bradley, the trust’s restoration manager.

Page 6

(cont’d from page 6)

“The RNZAF engineering team from their Auckland base stepped forward and of-

fered, subject to operational requirements, to undertake the major dismantling activity in as-

sociation with Pioneer Aero.” Bill said the extensive use of asbestos in the aircraft’s air

heating system became apparent. Mark co-ordinated the removal of the material in accor-

dance with New Zealand and British regulations.

Pioneer Aero arranged for the Bristol’s engines, landing gear, propellers and sundry

parts to be loaded into a large container. It has already arrived in Filton.

The fuselage, centre wing and two outer wings left Auckland on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen

[WWL] ship Talisman in mid-October bound for Singapore.

Bill said the second leg of the airframe’s sea voyage, on WWL’s Tiger, began on De-

cember 1. The trust expected regular updates on its progress through the Suez Canal and

Mediterranean Sea before arrival at Bristol. —By John Andrews

———————————————————————

AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEER REQUIRED

Preferably licensed with Group 1 and 2 Engine/Airframe.

Working for small Ardmore based company. Interesting

variety of aircraft. Some offsite work involved.

Competitive Salary offered.

Ph: Mike Smith 298 8792 or 021 713500

Advertisement

Photo courtesy of Pioneer Aero

Page 7

(from left to right) Leanne Butler, Jacques Van

Oudtshoorn, Grant Ebelthite and Grant Halliday, all from

ICEA Aviation, with Liviu Filimon of Livia Avionics.

Lloyd Renwick, from a Starlet Lane hangar, with

Dave Marcellus (right)

Ardmore Airport’s Melanie Nel-

son recruited her daughter Sara

and son Blake to help look after

the guests for the end of year

event.

Dave Marcellus and Trish Reynolds

Ardmore Airport Ltd management and staff hosted the airport community

at the NZ Warbirds new visitor centre hangar in the lead up to Christmas

2017.

Page 8

(from left to right) Allan Bostock, Andy Russell and Nay-

dene Wiseman-Kerr from Ardmore Unicom.

Page 9

(from left to right) Barry Hall and Murray Kidd, Number 4

Squadron ATC trustees, and Ardmore Airport’s Andy Russell.

Brent Catchpole, Papakura local board chairman, with Barry Hall.

Dennis (left) and Bradley Thompson.

(Above) Dave Marcellus presented Ardmore

Airport Christmas hampers to three lucky

guests.

Page 10

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Disclaimer Notification Reference herein to any specific commercial products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark or company or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply endorsement or recommendation by AAL (Ardmore Airport Limited). The views and opinions of authors expressed herein shall not be used for advertising or product-endorsement purposes. AAL assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this publication or other documents or files that are referenced by or linked to this publication.

Events

If you have an event you wish to have listed here please contact Melanie Nelson on 09) 298 9544 or

melanie@ardmoreairport.co.nz

Ardmore Airport Limited

proudly supports

Westpac Rescue Helicopter Trust and

Kidney Kids and Burns Support Group

Page 11

Ardmore Airport Ltd - Team

Dave Marcellus - Chief Executive - dave@ardmoreairport.co.nz

Mike Gibson — Airport Operations Manager—mikegibson@ardmoreairport.co.nz

Roslin Quigley - Finance & Administration Manager - roslin@ardmoreairport.co.nz

Allan Bostock - General Manager Unicom - allan@arunicom.co.nz

Naydene Wiseman-Kerr - Airport Operations and Unicom Supervisor -

naydene@arunicom.co.nz

Melanie Nelson - Reception/PA/Events - melanie@ardmoreairport.co.nz

John Andrews - Journalist/Editor - johnandrews@xtra.co.nz