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Tag: heavy

  • Navigate NZ Winter: Essential Truck Parts & Checks for Optimal Cold-Weather Performance

    Navigate NZ Winter: Essential Truck Parts & Checks for Optimal Cold-Weather Performance

    Winter doesn’t wait—and neither should your maintenance. In New Zealand, low overnight temperatures, damp conditions, and frequent stop-start driving quickly reveal any weak points in your truck’s setup. A seal that holds fine in summer might fail in frost. Grease that performs well in the workshop can thicken just enough to strain bearings before you even leave the yard. To keep your fleet running reliably, it’s crucial to learn about heavy vehicle winter maintenance NZ and get ahead of the components most likely to struggle in the cold.

    Why essential truck parts for NZ winter need early attention

    Cold conditions can significantly affect vehicle performance after extended idle periods, wet loading zones, and tight schedules. Wheel-end components, in particular, are highly sensitive to temperature changes. If you’re relying on pre-assembled bearing units or insert assemblies, the internal grease must remain stable in freezing conditions. Trucks operating overnight in Otago or across alpine passes need parts that are rated for sub-zero use. Just because a component is sealed doesn’t mean it’s protected against winter’s harsh elements.

    The mistake many fleets make is assuming summer performance translates to winter reliability. But rubber contracts, grease thickens, and even properly torqued fasteners can shift under cold stress. Preparation begins with awareness—knowing which components suffer first when the temperature drops.

  • Can this ‘Air Scooter’ cross the English Channel safely? Franky Zapata attempts new feat

    The company’s CEO will attempt to cross the English Channel without a parachute to use in an emergency.

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    Imagine riding a scooter to your friend’s house for a barbecue – not on the road but in the air.
    A French aviation start-up wants to make that a reality with an aircraft resembling a gigantic scooter.

    ‘Air Scooter’ is an ultralight aircraft pre-programmed to fly a route. Thanks to the computers doing a lot of the heavy lifting, the pilot’s input is much less important than in a traditional helicopter.
    “It’s a kind of flying robot,” Franky Zapata, the CEO of Zapata, said.
    “When you are inside, you just ask the machine to go somewhere. You feel like the pilot. But the machine only executes what the computer wants, so it’s extremely easy,” Zapata added.

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    Zapata says the hybrid vertical take-off aircraft is easier to fly and cheaper to learn, compared to traditional aircraft.

    The company says it hopes to democratise air travel.
    “You need to be skilled to pilot an aeroplane. You need to be skilled to pilot a helicopter. And it’s very expensive to become a pilot. The machines are expensive,” Zapata said.

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    This Swedish company has built a fully electric ‘flying car’ it says anyone can fly

    Fly over the English Channel

    The French pilot and inventor will attempt to cross the English Channel between France and England in a stunt designed to serve as a proof of concept for his Air Scooter on Friday.

    He will take off from Calais, France,  and will cross the Channel and plans to arrive at St Margaret’s Bay, close to Dover, in the UK.
    He has told the media that there’s no parachute to use during this trip in case he has to bail out in an emergency.
    Zapata has already made a crossing, in 2019, on another of his machines, called the Flyboard Air.
    The flying hoverboard successfully surfed the sky on the second attempt, a week after his first bid failed halfway through.
    He completed a 36-kilometre journey in 22 minutes, reaching a top speed of 202 kilometres per hour during the crossing.

    Related

    Watch: Frenchman successfully crosses Channel on ‘hoverboard’ in second attempt

    Zapata admits the flying hoverboard required lots of skill to operate, and the Air Scooter is a much easier vertical takeoff hybrid aircraft.
    “What is very different compared to the Flyboard Air is the fact that this machine is able to be piloted by everybody. It’s not something so technical or so hard, so dangerous as the Flyboard”.
    For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.

  • Russian allies Belarus and Iran agree to boost defence as part of raft of agreements

    Russian allies Belarus and Iran agree to boost defence as part of raft of agreements

    Lukashenka, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for Moscow’ full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and later allowed the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear missiles.

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    Two of Russia’s closest allies – Belarus and Iran – signed agreements on Wednesday to boost bilateral ties in key areas including defence, both governments said.
    Presidents Aliaksandr Lukashenka and Masoud Pezeshkian signed a package of 13 documents in Belarus’ capital, Minsk.

    Both governments have been placed under heavy international sanctions, limiting potential trading partners.
    Pezeshkian said Iran would help Belarus to “neutralise” such measures, citing Tehran’s decades of experience circumventing Western economic restrictions.
    Lukashenka told Pezeshkian that Belarus was “ready to cooperate with you on all issues — from providing your country with food to military-technical cooperation,” calling the Iranian president a “friend.”The presidents of Belarus and Iran talk to each other during their meeting in Minsk, 20 August, 2025The presidents of Belarus and Iran talk to each other during their meeting in Minsk, 20 August, 2025
    AP Photo

    The two parties did not disclose any further details on how the countries intend to cooperate in the defence sector.

    Other areas covered by the agreement include industry and tourism, as well as joint initiatives in science, technology and education.
    The two presidents also said their countries would start work toward a strategic partnership treaty.

    The Ukraine connection

    Lukashenka, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for Moscow’ full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and later allowed the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear missiles.
    Iran has supplied Russia with drones, notably the Shahed, for use in the war and Pezeshkian signed a strategic cooperation treaty with Putin in January, although it did not include a mutual defence clause.Soldiers aged 18 to 24 practice military skills on a training ground near Kharkiv, 19 August, 2025Soldiers aged 18 to 24 practice military skills on a training ground near Kharkiv, 19 August, 2025
    AP Photo

    The Iranian president’s visit to Minsk has been postponed several times due to US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
    Lukashenka called the strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure “a serious threat to regional and international stability and security.”
    “We support Iran’s legitimate right to develop peaceful nuclear energy,” Lukashenka said.