WARBIRDS OVER WANAKA - PART 4

Waikato Aero Club Trip to Warbirds Over Wanaka

5 - 8th April 2012

 

Sunday 8th April - The Journey Home 

The point of returning home on Sunday was to have Easter Monday as a "reserve" day if we didn't make it all the way back.  We needn't have  worried.  the weather was still ideal and a light tailwind most of the way back helped us.  Same personnel in FWS as on the way down with Allanah instructing young Hamish on the Queenstown to Timaru and Kaikoura to Foxpine legs and myself flying the other two.

It was a pretty uneventful journey.  Once clear of the Kawarau gorge out of Queenstown Allanah and the other pilots decided to fly direct to Timaru as the skies were so clear and we could get above the mountains.  So I was "landed" with the renavigation getting the protractor and map out to give Allanah a new vector.  That worked OK and we were into Timaru in good time.  I refuelled with a cheese and tomato bun while the aircraft got some Avgas and it was off to Kaikoura.

This was a fun leg following WIT with its fancy GPS and other navaids helping to reduce the workload.  I followed about a mile of so behind with UFS and WAM not too far away.  We had a look for marine mammals closer to Kaikoura without any luck.  It was a fairly good landing, Allanah commenting I was a bit high on mid base but then said, "looking good" after I turned final (I closed the throttle!) and I pretty much glided in for a smooth but not as perfectly precise landing as on Friday.

We came across the Cook Strait in a loose formation and spaced ourselves out for a group landing at Foxpine.  Then it was the final leg.  Being Easter Sunday Ohakea Tower was off watch and after conversing with control we all got a clearance through the military zone to track direct to Hamilton.  We ended up the lead aircraft coming into Hamilton.  Allanah asked for a straight in approach for 36R with a 9 knot tailwind (more that I would have accepted if alone, I reckon).  Not a bad landing, really although Allanah was hovering over the controls while I was "floating" down the runway.  All good, though - refuel, unload, park up and off to middle daughter's place for some family time.  Fantastic trip!!!!

Yours truly in the left-hand seat

Kaikoura flightline

Cook Strait - WIT alongside (looks closer than it really was - love telephoto!)

WARBIRDS OVER WANAKA - PART 3

Waikato Aero Club Trip to Warbirds Over Wanaka

5 - 8th April 2012

7th April - The Show

Well, it is over a week since the show and I am only just getting around to blogging about it.  Actually, words fail me!  It was a fantastic show on a stunningly cloudless day and I will let my photos and video tell the tale.

 

Check out my youtube channel, ZKBJC - will be posting videos over the next week or so (MX-2 display already there) and a few photos are below:

 

Red Checkers 5-ship split

Just love these old biplanes - The Bristol FB-2 "Brisfit"

Camel approaching for landing

Spitfire landing

MX-2 awesome display!!

Speaker level Corsair pass

 

WARBIRDS OVER WANAKA - PART 2

Waikato Aero Club Trip to Warbirds Over Wanaka

5 - 8th April 2012

Friday 6th April

Another fabulous day - not a cloud in the sky.  A few of us went to suss out the local aero club with the thought it might be possible to do some mountain flying or, failing that, at least refuel the aircraft for an early Sunday departure and find out if we could get the weather forecast from the club on Sunday morning before flying back home.
Well, there was one instructor there and a charter pilot who were free until the early afternoon so two pilots plus a spouse went up with the instructor while myself and one of the Waikato students, Chris (CPL) flew to Milford Sound with the charter pilot acting as guide and safety pilot.  Chris flew Queenstown to Milford and I flew back in WAM.  Brilliant conditions with fabulous views - what a great way to spend our "free" day!!

Climbing out of Queenstown Airport

Pig and Pigeon Islands on Lake Wakatipu

The Rees and Dart Rivers at Glenorchy

Up at the snowline

Yours Truly at Milford with "WAM"

WARBIRDS OVER WANAKA - PART 1

Waikato Aero Club Trip to Warbirds Over Wanaka

5 - 8th April 2012

What a truly AMAZING weekend.  This tale will take several posts to tell as a lot of (mainly aviation) activity was crammed into a short space of time.

Thursday 5th April

An early start at the Aero Club - 0700 "sharp" was the instruction.  I arrived a few minutes before that and set to work unwrapping and preflighting Archer "FWS".  My day had started an hour previously, though, with a printout of the weather to update the flight plans I had done for each leg of the trip, make my packed lunch, and double-check I had everything before setting off.  The weather forecast was good for the South Island but rather breezy with a stiffish south-easterly for the central North Island and the possibility of low cloud over the Cook Strait.
It was still deemed a "go" by the instructors (three on the trip), so we loaded up the four club planes (Archers FWS, UFS, WIT and C-172 WAM) and the privately owned 172 DXP with the 18 travellers, luggage, etc., and off we went.  I was with instructor, Allanah and father and son Andrew and Hamish.  Allanah was instructing Hamish for the first leg to Foxpine, then I was to fly to Kaikoura (shortest runway of the four), Allanah P-in-C again to Timaru and then self again from Timaru to Queenstown.  I was jolly glad Allanah had experience of flying into Queenstown as it is not at all straightforward and she would be able to guide me through the approach between the mountains along the Kawarau Gorge.

It all went swimmingly well.  It was a bit bumpy in the lee of Ruapehu (initial plan to go to the East of the mountains was thwarted by low cloud over the Desert Road corridor) but by the time we were abeam Wanganui the coast was clear, literally, and we landed at Foxpine for a refuel.

Foxpine - Jacob gasses up DXP while WAM waits its turn

Then it was over to me for the awkward take-off from 09 at Foxpine which requires a turn to the left ASAP to avoid the pines to the east of the field.  This was fine - short field technique with 10º flap saw up climbing away in a gentle left hand turn towards the coast and the Cook Strait.  The "low cloud" turned out to be a cloud base of around 2700' half way across the strait on a direct track from Foxpone to Kaikoura with good visibility throughout so there was no need to take the "reserve plan" of crossing east-west (shortest distance over water) and around the eastern Marlborough coast.  The approach to Kaikoura went really well - 05 was "duty" runway, joining left hand downwind - the landward side - for a pretty landing which one of the other guys said looked really good watching from the fuel pumps - thanks for that :)
We did a quick refuel and change round of seating and it was off to Timaru with Allanah "driving" again from the right hand seat.

"Smile", Allanah

The conditions were perfect from here southwards.  We stopped at Timaru for a refuel of plane and personnel (late lunchtime) and then it was over to me as P-in-C for the flight over the mountain passes to Queenstown.  With Allanah's local knowledge it was unevenful with an approach along the Kawarau gorge and straight in for runway 23.  I flew while Allanah did the radio calls and acted as local guide for me.

Group photo at Timaru

The scale of things - WAM almost lost among the mountains on the way to the Lindis Pass from Timaru

All aircraft arrived safely and were all tied down by about 1600 - excellent timing reflecting efficient work by all concerned at the waypoints to minimise time on the ground.  A good start to the weekend - more to come soon, watch this space!!