Sunday 28th June 2015

Sunday dawned better than forecast. We had considerable interest for gliding. However the weather Gods had other ideas...John and Wills were airborne early in JW, but already the wind was picking up. Pete was next up. After this tow the cross wind was gusting 20+ kts and further launches where going to push the limits. This was a disappointment for Louise from Australia, and Roland and Phil who where lined up but wisely stayed on the deck. The wind got strong enough that ground-handling the gliders was difficult.

Meanwhile Wills was whistling north with a good tailwind. He turned at St Bathans and slowly plugged south with a 40-50kt headwind. There was a lot of snow up-valley. Nothing much had melted during the last week!

St Bathans Range

Once back at Alex John and Wills had plenty of time and height for loops, stall, spins and turning instruction. 

Wills piloting JW (note snow in Manuherikia)

Pete also had a quick trip northwards but found the wave disorganised. He had a good flight to Ben Ohau Range and arrived back just before the front came through., landing on the crosswind runway.

Many thanks to Gary for the tows in trying conditions.

Sunday 21 June

Just one quick winch circuit for John and Wills in JW. After we cleared a rope tangle the forecast southerly front came in with a roar and we packed up in the cold rain. The fire in the clubroom was most welcome.

June 14th 2015

Sunday was a typical SW wave day with about 30-40kts up high. The Old Man Range was pumping from early morning and Gary gave us quick, easy tows to the edge of the wave-front. Phil, Roland, Pete and John all had good flights. Firstly we went south to about Millers Flat where the low cloud of Southland made further progress risky. Then northwards again: Pete and John got clearance into the Pisa Wave so headed up towards Wanaka and back, saying hi to Darren Smith who was dropping meat-bombs out of ROK and through the cloud over Wanaka Airport.
At the end of the day Pete snuck into the Nevis, flying a credible 330km for a mid-winter SW'er. We landed late with cold feet, but soon had the fire cranking in the clubhouse. It rained not long afterwards.

In the Pisa Wave looking north at 16000'

Sunday 31st May

Garry in ERW getting ready to tow up our 5 gliders

Yet another crisp wave day. Wind was 20-40kts W up high.With short days we barely had enough time for everyone to take off and climb into the wave but we all managed.

One of the few wave clouds about

 Tows where high but pretty quick (thanks Gary!) and there were no relights needed. Flying in the singles were Pete, Phil, Roland and John. Allen flew JW solo for two hours.

We landed at sunset (430pm)

Sunday 17th May 2015

Sunday was a somewhat cloudy SW wave day for the glider pilots. Russell towed us quickly up into the Old Man wave. Flying were John, Pete and Phil in the singles, and Allen and Doug in the Twin. We flew the usual SW wave routes down to Roxburgh (or further south for Pete), and the Waikaia and Nevis Valleys. It was pretty socked-in to the south, and the wind direction limited the selection of wave-bands available. Wind was light and the wave generally weak.

Looking south down the Nevis wave from 10,000'

Meanwhile  Stephen Morton reports on the power fliers attempts to go south during Saturday and Sunday:

Our flight for today was a trip to Mandeville via the Nevis valley, and Kingston.  Dave Mitchell had done most of the organising, but the only thing he had little control over was the weather.  While the forecast was for an improvement on what we have been having during the week, there was still light rain expected in Southland.

By Friday night, the trip was put on hold until Sunday.  However, for me Saturday was my only option, so after checking the weather again, I decided to see if we could go at least as far as Kingston.

Once in the air, it was clear that today was not a good day for a trip south.  A solid belt of cloud blocked the Roxbough Valley, and it extended right through to Queenstown.  Tuning the radio to QN – ITIS  the current airport information was giving the visibility at 40nm reducing to zero visibility. Not good for a flight through to Kingston.  However, we made use of the time by landing in Cromwell, and changing to the co-pilots seat.  With more two pilot flights coming up, I needed to brush up on some old skills and flying from the right seat again.

By Sunday the weather had improved, but still Mandeville was not a good option.  Instead heading north to Wanaka was a much better destination.  Thanks Dave for organising the trip and to all those who participated.

Those who attended the last CAA course will remember some mention about changes in the navigation system in NZ.  I have been looking at the website giving the details and it is the biggest update in New Zealand aviation history.  Gone are all the traditional Nav-aids.  No more ADF or VOR approaches.  New Zealand will be fully R Nav ( ie totally GPS dependent ).  This won’t affect most Recreational pilots, but it may have implications on Flight training and hiring our aircraft for advanced training. We may need to look at replacing our ADF avionics with an approved Performance Based Navigation (PBN) system at some stage.

Gliding 10th May 2015

Winds were forecast light and low-level wave unlikely, but upper winds of 30kts showed some promise if we got high enough. John launched at noon with a high tow to rotor scraps in the lee of the Dunstans and then headed northwards. Roland and Pete soon followed. Both Pete and John made it to Mt Cook via differing paths, both flying over 440km. Wave was poor in the Omarama Basin but the Ben Ohau wave worked well at height.

Lake Tasman and Mt Cook

Ohau Wave from FL200

Roland got into the Dunstan wave too, and later in the day Wills took an instruction flight with Doug in JW but by then then local wave had gone. Thanks to Russell for the tows.

Cromwell – Spot landing May 3^rd 2015

Saturday morning and the day looked perfect for flying.  Heading to Alexandra through the Cromwell Gorge and lines of cars coming towards me with their lights on was not a good sign.  Sure enough, by the time we got to Clyde, we were in dense fog.  Our 10.00am take-off time may be on hold again.

With a welcoming cup of coffee in Dave Mitchell’s new hangar, the conversation moved from the weather to planes and flying.  By 10.30am the fog had lifted and four aircraft were being fuelled and prepared for a flight through to Cromwell.  I had planned to do some Spot landing practice and had invited some of the new members along to become familiar with what was on offer in Cromwell,

Cromwell has a long history in aviation with Kingsford Smith landing on the Racecourse, and early records of an Aero Club based there.  My mother talked of landing there when she was in the Airforce.  But with commercial flights using DC3 planes, the Racecourse was replaced by a new Airfield  on the Sugar loaf just north of Lowburn.  Both airfields still operate, although the Lowburn field is used for flight training, while the Racecourse has because more of a Helicopter base.

After a short 10 minute flight, all four aircraft were on the ground in Cromwell, and I give the pilots a quick talk about the airfield and the area.  Before long we were back in the air and in the circuit for landings as close to the mid-way marker as possible.  While Fin tried different flap settings, I was focused on accuracy and a precious landing with the main wheels touching down in line with the marker.

With my three attempt, one was slightly short, one about 15m over and one spot on.  By now it was time to return to base.  With the delayed start, I was well behind my ETA back to Alexandra, should the plane be booked for other flights.

Thanks for Dave Mitchell, Fin White, Dave King, and Pauline Hogue  for their company and participation.

Happy flying

Stephen Morton