Monday 25 April 2016

NZCW - Shortened

The runway on the Sugarloaf is in the process of being shortened. Smallburn Farm Ltd, who owns the land, is installing a Pivot Irrigation system that extends onto the northern end of the runway.

This has been an ongoing project, with most of the dry areas being brought into production. Peter, the farm manager, has been keen to retain the 1550m strip, and offered to re-align it, parallel to the trees. However, with only light aircraft now using the strip, an upgraded 800m runway was a more practical solution.

Runway markers were removed last year, and the southern end extended by 100m. Work has been ongoing with the runway surface upgrade, and the fences and northern windsock are in the process of being removed.

An updated AIP Aerodrome Chart should be issued soon. However, while the northern end will remain open until a new chart is issued, no maintenance or repairs are being done. The southern end is of course available for general use


Hangar BBQ


Thanks to Pauline and Dave King for a great BBQ on Saturday evening. It was a good opportunity to meet new members and to talk flying with some familiar faces.


I would encourage as many as possible to make the effort to attend some of the clubs social events. They are a good way to get to know other members and to do some informal planning.


And of course, we wish Pauline and Dave every success with their Project. What we can see already looks fantastic.






Existing 1550m runway (left) and new 800m runway (right)












Saturday 16 April 2016

Cecil Peak - Fly in



Saturday was another brilliant day for flying. And Alexandra was a refuelling stop for the Otago Aero Club’s Fly in to Cecil Peak. By 10.00am there were seven aircraft parked outside the terminal building.

Most of the planes were in the Microlight, or the Light Sports Aircraft (LSA) catalogue. It’s great to see the enthusiasm shown by their pilots. This type of aircraft is becoming extremely popular in New Zealand. They are new and affordable, have a good safety record, low on maintenance, and a lot of fun to fly.

Among the line up was ZK-WET, owned by Craig Buist. This is a Aerodyne Sea Rey, float plane. It has made several flights into Central and was on display recently at the Wanaka Airshow.

Another plane that caught my attention was ZK-ETC. It was an all metal low wing LSA aircraft produced by Alpi Aviation. Called a Pioneer 200, it was owned by Geoff Laing. There was also a couple of Rans, a S-6S owned by Corran Munro, and a S-20 Raven. All the aircraft were very tidy and well maintained.

After a short break and a chat, the pilots were given a final briefing on the transit through the Queenstown airspace and some landing instructions for the Cecil Peak strip.

Thanks to Nigel for opening up the club room and making our visitors feel welcome.
ZK-WET  Progressive Aerodyne Sea Rey
A Light Sports Aircraft (LSA) by Alpi Aviation - Pioneer 200




One of three RANS 6

Final Briefing before flying through QN airspace





Building Progress

Great to see the number of hangars being completed, or well under construction. The transformation over the last two years is enormous. It’s also great to see that ERW is being kept busy. Our Scholarship winners have now started their flight training. It would be great if we could get them integrated into our club, perhaps through the Young Eagles programme. Another idea may be for pilots to adopt a student and to share our interest by taking them with us on some flights. If you have any thoughts on this, let Nick or myself know.


New Hangar under Construction





Friday 15 April 2016

Gliding Sunday 10th April 2016

It was a fine day, thermals at first with wave above but hard to find. John instructed 4 flights with Nick and Masato. All soaring flights. Russell towed and Phil winched the last couple of launches. The westerly came in mid PM allowing Pete to gain the wave for a nice long flight.

Saturday 9 April 2016

CAA Safety Seminar

Alexandra Airport was full of activity on Saturday. A Corporate Jet had landed in the morning and was parked on the apron. The Air cadets were holding a camp on the field with their Airforce tents pitched near the hangar. And there were about twenty young cadets marching in formation in front of the hangar.

ERW has been busy over the last month, with around thirty hours in the air. Nick, Greg and myself have been flying during April, with Gary towing gliders as well. Saturday was perfect for flying. Greg and I both had local flights in the morning, while Nick had a flight into the mountains with his passengers in the afternoon.




CAA Safety Seminar
They say that the most dangerous part of any flight is the drive to the airport. While that may be true, a reminder about what can go wrong, is always helpful.

On Thursday evening, I attended the CAA Seminar on recent air accidents. There were about 50 pilots at the Seminar held at Wanaka, including five members from our club. We looked at five different cases, including single and multi-engine planes, helicopters and gliders.

Each case was well presented with actual video footage, re-enactments of events or computer animation. The one that interested me the most was the recent fatal crash at Arrowtown. Not only was it in our area, but it was easily preventable. Like most of the other Case studies, it was not just one error of judgement that caused the accident, but a series of events that eventually lead to the fatalities.

There were lessons to be learnt from all five cases, which often applied regardless of the type of aircraft you are flying, or how experienced you think you are. Learn to recognise the problems and manage the situation. Prepare well, know your machine, keep calm and continue to fly the aircraft.

It was good to be introduced to some of the CAA staff, including Steve Moore, (the boss) at CAA. Well done and it was nice to see the Seminar so well supported.

Happy Flying

Stephen Morton

Monday 4 April 2016

Gliding Sunday 3rd April 2016

It peeeed down in the morning but cleared by noon and was a pretty good soaring day. Gary towed us all into good convergence lift over Conroy's Dam. We all had long soaring flights. Flying were John and Mark (trial flight) in JW, then Nick Sherlock, Jacques, Masato (all being instructed by Doug). John and Roland had long flights in their single seaters. Roland to Garston and John to Waikaia (both in wave). Phil helped out on the ground. JW did about 4hrs.

Saturday 2 April 2016

Warbirds over Wanaka - 2016


It is always been a mystery to me, why Warbirds over Wanaka is so successful. I know that there are enthusiasts like myself, who will always turn up. But again this year, over 50,000 Kiwi’s were there.

Perhaps it is that there is always something different to see. Yet, you know at the end of the day, there will be a spectacular dog fight.

The Aerobatic displays were extremely professional. There was a time when I was right into aerobatics. It wasn’t hard to visualise myself in the pilot’s seat and remembering all the basic skills. But this was so different. The speed and the close formations were just incredible. But these were the top pilots from four different Airforces.

New Zealand has a reputation for innovation. I had heard about the Jetpack. While I might question the demand for such a product, I had to admit that the quality and finish of the Jetpack was outstanding.

It was good to see some local input again this year. The Alexandra Air Cadets were on hand to look after visiting veterans, and to give out maps. Also the Otago Aero Club had a display of aircraft. Even ERW landed at the airfield on Saturday morning, piloted by Dave Burke. Dave reported that although he was well prepared for some delays, he was cleared to land on 29 without any problems.

However, the highlight for me was in the static displays. I spent some time studying the photos and listening to the NASA Scientific Team explain the technical difficulties and the objectives of their programme. Their inaugural launch was about this time last year.

And there was the aircraft that I just kept going back for another look at. It was the RV 12. I was fortunate to get a full interview with the Factory representative, who had flown to New Zealand from USA to be at the Air Show. The RV 12 is the latest in the Van’s Aircraft range. It is an all metal low wing two seater GA aircraft, competing in the flight training and Recreational flying roles. It features a glass cockpit, removable wings (just like a glider), and a Rotax 912ULS 100hp engine.

Fighter aircraft from WW2 -  From the USA, the P-51 Mustang
A nice touch to finish the practice day on Friday, was a free 30min Air display over Lake Wanaka. It featured the Catalina Flying Boat and a aerobatic display by some of the fighter aircraft. It was watched by a crowd of several thousands lining the lake shore. What a great promotion for aviation and our sport in general.
From Germany, the Messerschmitt Bf 109

From the UK, the well known Spitfire






 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Monday 28th March

Phil winched John up into thermal and rotor. He had an OK flight but pretty chilly flying up and down the 3 major waves (Nevis, Garvies and Old Man). The wind was too west for Dunstans to work and it was cloudy to the south.