RMW spraying custom blend fertilizer in Gisborne
on the East Coast of New Zealand

Fatman flying DownUnder

by Bob Monds
Owner/Operator,
Rural Air Services 1986 Ltd

FEILDING, NEW ZEALAND — We are a small aerial topdressing /spraying company based in the lower western half of the North Island of New Zealand. The next place south of New Zealand is the South Pole. We operate three aircraft, one GA200C Fatman and two Fletcher 400s. Mainly spreading superphosphate, lime and high analysis fertilizers such as D.A.P, urea on farming pasture and cropping land, also the spraying of custom blend fertilizers, thistles and crops. In May 2000 after much consideration, we decided to replace our aging Fletcher 400 (30 years old) with a new aircraft. Although the Fletcher had given us many years of good service and even with the option to further extending its operating life with a Walter turbine conversion, we weren’t going to get ahead. The numbers did not stack up. We could buy a brand new aeroplane for the same price of converting our old Fletcher airframe, maintenance and operating costs on the Fletcher were increasing along with a shortage of readily available parts to keep it flying, and with the diversity of our work, the time had come to look for a replacement aircraft that would better suit our topdressing and spraying operation.

The only alternative was to buy a new ag-plane. The criteria for selection of a suitable aircraft was that it had to be piston powered, two-seat, robust enough to handle New Zealand’s hill country airstrips and weather conditions, easy to convert from a topdresser to a sprayer in minutes, simple to maintain and have low maintenance requirements, be reliable with good performance and handling capabilities, along with good support from the manufacturer. The only aircraft that matched these requirements, and that was already operating successfully in New Zealand, was the new Australian-built Gippsland Aeronautics GA200C 300 hp Fatman. Having already flown 200 hours in the smaller 250 hp GA200 on spraying and topdressing operations, the GA200 has proven itself to be a worthy contender. Three 300 hp GA200C aircraft are already operating in New Zealand and are performing well for their owners. So after many hours of consultation and deliberation, we decided to purchase a brand new Fatman or Fatty as it is affectionately known.

We were offered three engine options from Gippsland. A brand new engine, a factory overhauled engine or provide our own. We took the third option sourcing a first life Lycoming IO-540-K engine from Fred Nolan at Gwydir Air and along with it, a Satloc 99.5 GPS that was fitted at the Gippsland Aeronautics factory. We have since fitted a new Satloc M3 GPS, the Satloc 99.5 will be fitted to our Fletcher.

The aircraft GA200C0042 was completed and flown across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand to be delivered to the NZ agent Ray Patchett arriving in late October 2000. After receiving a NZ Certificate of Airworthiness the aircraft became ZK-RMW, and was ready to be picked up from Ray. My son flew me down to Blenheim (top of the South Island); about an hour’s flying from my base at Feilding in the lower North Island. The aircraft spent another two weeks on the ground being repainted and fitted out for work.

Like anything new, it takes time to settle into the handling characteristic of a new aircraft type and the GA200C was no exception, having flown some 10,000 hours in Agwagons and 4.000 hours in Fletchers, even with a short period of flying a GA200 in Australia on cotton spraying, it took a little while to get the feel of this new aeroplane. My first thoughts after flying it for a few hours was “what have we done buying this thing” maybe our competitors were right, had we made a mistake buying the Fatman. Three years and some 2,900 hours of flying later, the aircraft has certainly proven itself to be a worthy replacement for our old Fletcher and a real eye opener for our competitors who had ridiculed our decision to purchase the Fatman in the first place.

Once you have learnt the technique of how to fly it to its maximum potential, its load carrying and climb performance is outstanding, will handle crosswinds, downwind takeoffs and landings far easier than any of the Cessnas I have flown; it will carry an extra 100 – 150 kgs of payload more than the Ag Wagon and out climb it as well. She’s a great little sprayer with excellent visibility and superb handling characteristics. The Fatty handles working in turbulent air with ease, where as with the Fletcher and Ag Wagon you have to back off a bit to maintain control of the aircraft.
On the down side, after having flown 4,000 hours in Fletchers, riding in the luxury of a tricycle undercarriage, working off rough airstrips in the Fatman (as with any taildragger aircraft) can be a real bone shaking affair. But again it’s not the aeroplane’s fault, it’s just the airstrips that have been allowed to deteriorate over the years and are now in need of some serious repair work.

Overall, the GA200C is a very well-designed aircraft with low maintenance and operating costs. The costs of parts are minimal, allowing us to carry our own supply of spare parts, with prompt backup from the Gippsland Aeronautics factory when required. She paid for herself in the first twelve months of operation. The bank is happy they’re getting their money back and we’re happy the money that we are saving on maintenance and operating costs and the increase in our operating margin has allowed us to purchase brand new vehicles and equipment as well as overhaul our existing fleet of truck loaders and spray equipment.

The New Zealand farming economy has improved over the last three years due initially to the NZ /US dollar exchange rate and improved farm management practices. Farmers have increase their fertilizer tonnages, this increased utilization has unfortunately lead to a number of aircraft accidents with many of them being written off with some fatalities This has lead to a serious depletion of aging secondhand aircraft stock, mainly the NZ-built Fletcher. Operators are now faced with buying new, which is expensive and the choice is limited to finding an aircraft that is suited to the rigorous demands of the NZ aerial topdressing environment. The choice is limited to the NZ-built PT6-34 powered Cresco costing approximately NZ$1.5 million, (17 operating in NZ) a little expensive and over the top for smaller operators, the Air Tractor AT-402B, a very nice aircraft, there are only three operating here and one AT-602. The majority of NZ ag-pilots have only flown nose-wheel aircraft, the Fletcher, so it would be hard to convert some of these diehards to tailwheel drivers. A few Fletcher operators have opted to convert their piston-powered Fletcher fleet to Walter turbine power as an alternative to buying new. Also, having arrived recently into New Zealand from Europe are six Walter-powered Zlin 37T. The only new piston-powered aircraft operating here is the Gippsland Aeronautics GA200C Fatman. Again a tailwheel configuration, but with ten operating here, she is proving herself to be a worthy contender for operators wanting to get into new low cost, high performance aircraft that is affordable, cheap to maintain, operate and repair if the unfortunate happens. With insurance rates increasing, it is well suited for the training of new ag-pilots and hour building for the less experienced pilot before converting them onto larger turbine-powered aircraft. The GA200C Fatman may not be appropriate for every operator, but with the high attrition rate of NZ ag-aircraft, what are the alternatives? For overseas operators wanting to replace their Pawnees and Ag Wagons, the GA200C is definitely worth looking at.