Barber Snark HA/3

02/28/2010. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "Bill Barber, produced a number of Snark light aircraft, initially at Dacre, later at Queenstown, Southland, New Zealand.

The first was the single-seat Snark H/1, having the appearance of a down-sized glider it had a Y-tail, while the engine was fitted behind the cockpit, driving the propeller mounted behind the tail via a 7 ft 11.7 in (2.43 m). On August 11, 1987, it was registered ZK-FOU (c/n MAANZ/063) and was first flown in late 1987. The c/n was changed to MAANZ/409 on November 7, 1989, while the Snark H/1 was deregistered as permanently withdrawn from use on July 26, 1995. The aircraft is still in existence at Mandeville.

The second was the two-seat Snark HA/2, which had a partly fabric covered tubular aluminum frame. The cockpit had the glider appearance again and the T-tail was fitted to the end of a tail boom, below which the pusher propeller was mounted. It was registered ZK-FYE (c/n MAANZ/460) on May 30,1991. On April 24, 1998 the aircraft was sold to J.M. Young of Wanaka, and was resold on March 26, 2001 to G.D. McMillan of Invercargill, who had it reregistered ZK-DQL on November 16, 2001.

The third aircraft, the Snark HA/3, was of all kevlar/carbon fiber composite construction and of similar appearance as the Snark HA/2, the cockpit featured elevated tandem seating, while its wings featured full-span flaperons. The pusher propeller is powered by an 80 hp Suzuki G13 engine. The aircraft was registered ZK-JEK (c/n MAANZ/528) on March 20, 1995, and is still current.

The pictured aircraft was the fourth Snark, and the second Snark HA/3 built, and construction was started by David Laing of Dunedin before the first Snark HA/3 was flown. It differed by having flaps and ailerons in place of the flaperons, and by changes to the landing gear. The aircraft was registered to Laing as ZK-PIE (c/n 002) on February 28, 1996, and it was reregistered to J.R. Lissington of Otorohanga on November 17, 1999."