Sally Kerr Sally Kerr

Snowshoes for the H145

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.

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Sally Kerr Sally Kerr

Looking back as we look forward to celebrating 20 years....

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.

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Sally Kerr Sally Kerr

Flight Testing the SuperFalco

Last week was a great week for the SuperFalco team….Andy Stevenson Aviation, Farmers Air, Hamilton Aero Maintenance, and Flight Structures.

Flight testing was conducted with five flights over two days. It’s a collaborative process involving the Test Pilot, Flight Test Engineers, and Maintenance - with the purpose being to gather data for R&D and potentially certification.

The SuperFalco is based on the PAC750XL Airframe with the Pratt and Whitney PT6A-140Ag engine, the MVP -50T Electronic Instrument Display and other improvements to make this a safe, cost effective spreader.

The photos tell some of the story - you don’t see the preparation in advance of the flight testing, and the wrap up work on reports happening now. We will be releasing video next week.




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Sally Kerr Sally Kerr

Update First Quarter 2023

We are at the end of the first quarter of 2023. It’s been a hard time for so many in NZ with Cyclone Gabrielle and the ongoing fallout from the last few years. Flight Structures have been extremely busy with work including:

  • Certification support on major projects;

  • Prototyping and development for Aero Medical work;

  • Ongoing aircraft development projects;

  • Production of aero medical and role equipment.

We have updated our website with a “Products in Stock” section, check it out here. We have also had a new Graduate Engineer join the team and a new CNC Programmer and Operator. You can check out the full team here.

There’s been a lot happening behind the scenes too with a new inventory system, ongoing internal training and we are starting to think about our 20 year celebration in October 2023. As we start to look back here are a few images (from social occasions) from the last 20 years with more to come.


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Sally Kerr Sally Kerr

Christmas Closedown 2022

Flight Structures will be closed for two weeks from 23rd December 2022, reopening on Monday 9th January 2023. It’s the best time for staff to get together with their whanau and regroup. It’s been a good year for Flight Structures in 2022, with lots of achievements and progress on major projects. But it has not been easy - sickness, supply chain delays and change have made us more than ready to take a break.

Wishing all our clients, suppliers and partners all the best for a safe, happy holiday and a prosperous 2023.

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Sally Kerr Sally Kerr

Type Certificate Amendment for Glass Cockpit on 750XL

Flight Structures is proud to announce that the 750XL EFIS system (glass cockpit) has been approved by CAA NZ Type Certificate Amendment.

This system is a full glass cockpit consisting of a Garmin G600TXi, GTN750 and 750 Navigation and Communications units, MVP-50T Engine Instrument, and a MD302 Standby Attitude Module.

We congratulate NZ Skydive Ltd (manufacturers of 750XL aircraft) on reaching this milestone and thank the Civil Aviation Authority for their support to see the project through to completion.

Flight Structures has managed the design office for NZ Skydive Ltd since mid-2021 . Well done to our team, and to all involved at all stages of the project to get to this point.

Glass Cockpit on the 750XL
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Sally Kerr Sally Kerr

Items in Stock

As of early November 2022 Flight Structures has the following items in stock or within a week of being completed:

BK117

  • Snowshoes

  • 3 Pax High Density Seat

AW169

  • RULS Stretcher Loading System

  • Free Standing Rack

  • THRULS Trolley

750XL

  • Vortex Generators

  • Drive Shaft Assemblies (Wet or dry spine)

Please contact Sally at Flight Structures if you need any further information about these products, or would like a quote.

Snowshoes
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Sally Kerr Sally Kerr

Professional Development for NZ Aerospace Engineers

During 2021, Flight Structures took over the responsibility of running the monthly Continued Professional Development (CPD) Zoom sessions for New Zealand Aerospace Engineers, as part of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RaeS) New Zealand Division.

These presentations have covered a range of topics with a main focus on subject areas within aviation. The aim of the sessions is to educate the wider NZ Aerospace community on current and future advancements happening within the industry.

Since the start of 2022, we have had a range of different presentations:

  • Gary Freedman from Electric Air informed the audience about his Pipistrel Alpha Electro which he recently used to set the record for the first person to fly across New Zealand’s Cook Strait in an electric plane.

  • Akesh, a PhD student from RMIT University, shared his research into 3D Printed Aircraft Components and the wide range of uses these will have for aircraft in the future.

  • X-Aerodynamics founder, Cameron Garner, explained the process of creating a virtual model of an aircraft that can then be used in simulations to provide accurate data for companies trialing new aircraft designs.

  • The potential of using Solar Powered UAVs to capture high resolution, low cost, aerial images on a frequent basis, was explained by Mark Rocket, CEO of Kea Aerospace.

  • Colin and Freeman from Aeronavics, a drone company based in Timaru, informed the CPD attendees about their developments in the commercial drone space.

  • Seagliders are an exciting potential contender in the future of the New Zealand transport industry. Shah and John from Ocean Flyer presented their case for the REGENT Seagliders that they’re bringing to our shores in 2025.

The CPD sessions are held monthly. The team at Flight Structures are grateful to Hemi who has taken on this role and done an excellent job. If you are interested in attending or presenting at a future CPD session, feel free to email Hemi for more information


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