Day 11 - Journey's End

Matt, Jo, Fred, me, Anna, Bruce, Doug and Carrie

Fred strapping in

North Island Bound

All good things must come to an end and so too is this flying adventure. There is no rush to get up on our final day as the flights are short, to Wanaka and then on to Queenstown, but not without a small diversion.  Our hosts had arranged for us to have a training flight in a Tiger Moth with Peter Hendriks at Classic Flights at Wanaka, the first in the pilot's seat.  Our past vintage flight in a Stampe was in the front seat, this time we were in the back so the hours were loggable. After breakfast we went up to the main house for coffee and cakes and a chance to say goodbye to some of the station staff who had come in for their morning break.

Awaiting the instructor

The plan was for Fred, Matt and me to fly over to Wanaka in TRS and Jo would come over later in WAX, which was due a service.  Bags loaded I took off from GHS and headed straight over the hills to drop down in to Wanaka and a longish taxi over to the hangers at the back of the aerodrome.  The Moth was already in the circuit when we arrived, so we were kitted up in suit and helmet while the plane returned.

Wanaka show with mountain backdrop

A short time later I was strapped in and opening up the throttle to get her airborne. With the inverted Gypsy engine it was left rudder for the roll and rudder for every turn, as it won't go round without it. She was a joy to fly.  Several turns and stalls later it was back to the airfield for a couple of circuits.  A few more hours and I think I could really get the hang of this!

Looking from the tower to the threshold of 23

With me back on the ground it was Fred's go and the grin on her face as she went off could have been seen for miles.  What seemed only a few minutes later we were back on the ground and heading off in to town for the annual Wanaka agricultural show.  It was, as you might expect, very similar to many UK county shows, only with the backdrop of the Southern Alps.  By now Jo had joined us and WAX was in the hangar with its engine being inspected, and we were soon ready to head off to Queenstown.  Forty five minutes later, having said our goodbyes, we were unloading our luggage on to an airport trolley and heading off to a week of ground based touring.  On our way in to Queenstown an Air New Zealand jet was ready to depart and we were rather amused to note it had to wait at the hold until we had landed and vacated the main runway.  That does not happen very often at our home airfields.

It had been an amazing 11 days.  The weather had allowed us to fulfil the itinerary as planned and we were able to couple seeing some absolutely stunning scenery with some challenging flying.  Having a local guide with us who knew the area

Inbound to 23 at Queenstown

and was familiar with mountain flying turned out to be a real bonus.  It enabled us to enjoy the flying without having the uncertainty and worry of unfamiliar flying and geography.

Jo & Matt McCaughan who run Flyinn, http://www.flyinn.co.nz/ and whose home they shared with us, are marvellous hosts.  The evenings around their dinner table will be fondly remembered sharing flying exploits with a bunch of other like minded aviators.  Jo's cooking made each meal a real pleasure (as did Matt's wine cellar).

Our guide pilots, who shared their knowledge, advice and experience and who were patient and calm as we got the hang of this mountain flying thing, were great company and I am sure we will keep in touch with them as well.

We had a few more days in the area before exploring some of North Island, by road.  I knew it would just not be the same.  Over the next few days, with clear blue skies every time a plane went over we were looking up.

PS.

The Monday after we finished our trip I had an opportunity to visit the tower at Queenstown where Megan, our guide for a large part of our trip, was able to show me around and see what goes on.  I recounted our final arrival at Queenstown and the Air New Zealand flight having to wait while we landed.  A few days later we were in the back of a Jetstar flight taking us up to Auckland and taxied as far as the hold and then had to wait for another aircraft to land.  Imagine our greater amusement at the irony of seeing TRS taxing across the apron to the GA area!