Having been a light aircraft fanatic for umpteen years it is not often that recognition gets the better of me but I confess to being well and truly stumped when following the parachuting aircraft ZK-JQK, currently busily engaged in disgorging 15 or 16 jumpers at a time over the Northamptonshire countryside, in to land at Hinton in the Hedges recently.
First guess was that it was a Fletcher of some kind (any connection?) but enquiries of the pilot indicated it was a PAC 750, one of only two in the UK, the other being still under repair at Cranfield at the time.
By chance the other one, operated by the North West Parachute Centre at Cark, flew into Shoreham on Monday for attention on the sharp end by MCA Aviation Ltd before returning to Cranfield this morning. This second aircraft ZK-KAY was the other aircraft involved in the unfortunate midair over Herefordshire last year, which the two occupants of a Luscombe sadly did not survive.
Also representing our Antipodean cousins, I am aware that there are a pair of US registered GAF Nomads in use for this task at Chatteris at present, but wonder what other interesting parachuting aircraft are currently used in the UK and how many parachutists can they accommodate?
Wicked Willip :diablo:
By: paulc - 24th June 2008 at 13:40
There is an ‘N’ registered King Air 100 at Dunkeswell used for dropping
By: mike currill - 24th June 2008 at 07:30
IIRC PAC took over/bought out Fletcher or at least the design rights to the aircraft. I’ve always thought the PAC750 looked like the old Fletcher (Cresco?)
By: Willip26 - 23rd June 2008 at 11:21
Willip26,
Thought the collision took place over Staffordshire.
Planemike
You’re right. I stand corrected.
The ill fated Luscombe was out of a farm strip at Abbots Bromley, which is indeed in Staffordshire.
Wicked Willip :diablo:
By: Arabella-Cox - 22nd June 2008 at 15:27
Willip26,
Thought the collision took place over Staffordshire.
Planemike
By: Auster Fan - 11th June 2008 at 22:32
The parachutists at Old Buckenham have used Nomad OY-NMH and recently Gippsland GA-8 Airvan G-VANA (below), as well Cessna 206s G-SKYE and G-AZRZ
By: Newforest - 11th June 2008 at 21:42
They do/did use a LET.410!
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June 11, 2008 at 9:07 pm