December 2003
The North wind doth blow and we shall have --- Crappy flying weather!! This is the time of year for BBQ’s and living outdoors . This month we will be doing a bit of both .
Set aside Saturday 6th of December and come out to the club for the day and night over stay. A big boys night out. Flying all day, talking aeroplanes, BBQ lunch and dinners followed by a few tinnies and fellowship ,a few video’s and a lot of tall stories mixed with a whole lot of fun. $10 head for lunch and dinner and two tinnies. Bring a tent and a sleeping bag and make a night of it ,you might say it’s almost a compulsory club event. So get a clearance form the partner and fill the chilly bin with some grub and come out.
Aeroplane building is going on flat out up at the Karatoo factory with the Sky Ranger taking shape very quickly and the engine due very soon. The big bits happen quickly but an equal amount of time will see the engine, instruments and other fitting attached. Mike Kindon’s Sky Ranger is also well advanced and with the engine also arriving this week a race to get into the air must be in the minds of the owners. Dave McPherson’s Karatoo has had wings fitted and is looking really good .
Our Library is being well used . If you have any old books lying about bring then in . You don’t need to donate them just lend them is you like.
For those who did not know ,we had a setback with the delivery of our Rans. It was dropped in the container and had to be sent back to the factory for checking. We think it is on it’s way again so we may have it by Christmas.
For those who wish to ring the club during the week you can now get hold of Brent or Paul on an extension to the club phone located in the Karatoo factory. This means you should we able to get reliable weather reports direct and book flights with Brent at any time.
So What’s Happening Out There?
Congratulations to Bevan Kendall on his first solo at Rangitata Island with Russell Brodie. We have seen the video and all looked in control, well done Bevan.
Bevin Chamberlain has moved his half built plane over from the coast . I had a look at it and was very impressed with the quality of workmanship. It has an impressive one piece wing that is at the covering stage and the fuse is well on the way. Now that Bevin and Janet are settled in here I expect to see some rapid progress on the building front. When was the time you last flew Bevan?
The simonini (http://www.simonini-flying.com/) motors have arrived for the Sky Rangers and look very professional with their twin chromed mufflers. (They look they have come from a Honda 900). Paul Woodley and Brent Thompson are working away on Graeme Mains while Mike Kindon is working on his in his own workshop.
We are continuing to gain new members and we welcome Wayne Woodward , Deborah Gill -Fox, Anthony Smith , Greg Doran &Thomas Williams. We hope you enjoy your flying with the club. If you have any queries contact the President Mike Sheffield at any time.
MILFORD SOUND FLIGHT
Noel Vallence
In November 2001 I was living in Queenstown, New Zealand,
working as a tandem hangliding pilot. My business partner and I had
purchased a Cosmos Phase II trike, 19 sq. metre Zoom wing, 582 Rotax
with a 4:1 “c” box and 6-blade Ivoprop. We had hopes to use it to aero
tow our tandems rather than time-consuming foot-launching. I needed a
minimum of 100 hours on it before I could get my tug rating, so I flew
several long flights in the area including my dream flight to Milford
Sound. I approached the local aero club for advice and they gave me a
free 45-minute briefing on routes, calling points and the three radio
frequencies used. I was thinking might have bitten off more than I
could chew and must have shown it by my “ stunned mullet “ look. The
instructor then offered to try and arrange a free flight with Fiordland
Air to familiarize me with the flight. Great! Soon I was winging my way
into Milford
in an empty plane to pick up passengers they had dropped there in the
morning for boat cruises. The scenery was so fantastic with snow-capped
mountains, glaciers, solid native forest and near-vertical sided
valleys that I ( almost! ) didn’t notice the complete lack of landing
options. The Cosmos stalls at just over 20 m.p.h so if everything went
quiet my best options would be an uphill landing on scree slopes that
cut through the bush down to the valley floor or the occasional tiny
shingle bar on a riverbed. Not good! The approach of flying out to the
head of the Sound and back didn’t thrill me either. The microlight
pilot’s mantra of “Always fly your aircraft with a safe landing option
available “ was constantly nagging me. I soon found out I could join on
finals and stay over land. Phew! Next week the weather obliged by
stalling a huge high over the South Island for three days. This was
perfect flying weather with crisp frosts and light-wind days. I rigged
the trike from its trailer the night before on a local airstrip to save
time the following day and tied it down against an implement shed
confident of a frosty night. That night I checked and re-checked the
weather, repacked my emergency / overnight gear, maps, routes and radio
frequencies, then tried to get some sleep strung out like a guitar
string with excitement. Damn! I’d slept through the alarm after a lousy
nights sleep. I scoffed my breakfast, made a call to the tower for
current weather in Queenstown and Milford, which was perfect, then shot
out the door like a scolded cat. I got to the airfield in record time
and crunched around on the frosty grass packing the Trike. I tied a
twenty-litre Jerrycan of mixed petrol into the back seat with the
sailbag as padding which made a very comfortable backrest. Using the
passenger’s seat belt I secured my emergency bag onto the top of the
fuel tank and wedged it under the back seat. It seemed to take forever
to wing-mount my old Minolta to the dive strut for aerial photographs
and the 1 kg of lead counterweight on the opposite wing. A thorough
pre-flight and finally I was ready. I received clearance from the tower
and took off into crisp, silk-smooth blue sky clearing Queenstown
airspace via Arthurs Point with a cheerful “ Have a good day! “ from
the controller. I leisurely climbed on half power to 6,000 feet passing
historic gold workings at Sefferstown and on the Shotover River. I gave a position report as I flew over the distinctive horseshoe-shaped Moke Lake when Tower politely informed me to change my frequency to uncontrolled airspace. Ooops! Sorry guys. I was too excited about
the trip to remember! I continued climbing to 8,000 feet into freezing cold air to cross over Lake Wakatipu giving myself a safe glide either way, then descended to low level at the mouth of the Caples / Greenstone Rivers. I thawed out my aching fingers as I
cruised up the Caples Valley
looking for landing areas with future trout fishing trips in mind. At
30 m.p.h I could even see trout in the crystal clear water. Aaarggh!
Where’s my rod! I climbed high again at the head of the valley over the
Greenstone Saddle with
only tree-landing options underneath, when
the Milford air traffic “ gaggle “ caught up with me at exactly the
same height. The lead plane asked me to confirm my position so I
frantically tried to read where I was while trying not to lose the map
and my mitten through the prop. Someday try and hold a map steady on
your knee in 30 m.p.h below zero wind with freezing fingers while
flying
a trike AND make a radio call! I gratefully descended into warmer
air(relatively speaking!) and followed the Milford Sound access road,
climbing over the Homer Tunnel and into even more stunning scenery. I
snaked my way down the Cleddau Valley
up against near vertical 6,000 feet faces topped with snow. I was in
awe of the scenery and amazed that solid forest could hang on and
thrive on the lower half of what appeared to be solid rock. I was
suddenly scared rigid when an aircraft flew overhead VERY CLOSE and
within seconds had banked steeply around the next bend of the valley
and disappeared. Shit! I swear I could see individual
rivets on it.
With the steep, winding valley neither of us could hear each other’s
position reports. I dropped 2,000 feet and hugged the trees until soon
after I sighted Milford Sound airfield wedged between vertical cliff
faces with the sea at one end and bush at the other. I orbited out of
the way while I watched “ The Gaggle” approaching from the sea flying
over the airstrip and do a descending 180º turn to line up for finals.
Tower advised to land after the Nomad so it was lucky for me I watched
“The Flying Doctors” on
T.V. and narrowly avoided making a fool of myself by
asking
which one it was! I touched down, watched by every pilot and passenger
there and taxied to park amongst the “ Tin Tops “. I immediately dived
into my kit for insect repellent before the sandflies could give me a
blood transfusion. The bloody things are legendary in the area and have
to be experienced to be believed. Some of the pilots wandered over to
look at the Trike and shook their heads in disbelief. Each to their own
I say! I walked around the local café for a cuppa, then back to the
Tower for some local advice. After topping up the tank from the
Jerrycan backrest I lined up and took off in 20 yards in a building sea
breeze. I turned left and climbed quickly to 4,000 feet to minimize
noise as I followed the Milford Track. As I flew towards the Sutherland Falls
(1904´ ) in the distance there were distinctive “ U “ shaped valleys on
my right that had been formed by glaciers. I flew over the falls and
into the rock bowl that surrounds Lake Quill
which feeds it and noticed an even smaller, higher rock tarn feeding
into the lake that was solid ice. I descended down to the lake surface
and couldn’t resist rolling 20 feet over the falls then diving past a
rainbow in the mist. Yeeha! As I approached the nearby Mackinnon Pass “ The Gaggle “ caught up with me again, but passed to my left through Balloon Pass
on their way home. I continued to follow the Milford Track until it
reached Lake Te Anau, and then climbed to 9,000 feet to get above
strong thermal turbulence. I had a smooth but freezing cold trip back
to Queenstown sighting some very “fishy ” areas I would have to check
out another day. I was cleared to enter Queenstown airspace via
Skippers Saddle and waved to friends “ at work “ rigging their tandems
on the Coronet Peak ski-field. I happily cruised down our home range
towards Arrowtown feeling strange being under power amongst my
paraglider and hanglider workmates. I asked the Tower if there were any
“ Big Birds “ approaching and was cleared to maintain height and cross
the valley through the busy entry / exit air corridor. With my airstrip
in sight I continued onwards and seconds later I could see up the
valley on my left and straight into the 4-barrelled engines of a
descending jet. *@--+@ !! I’ll bet the Tower Boys were choking on their
afternoon Latte’s, they were laughing so hard. No matter how far away a
jet is approaching, if you’re flying a lightweight 30 m.p.h Trike it’s
too bloody close! I touched down tired but still “ high “on the awesome
scenery I had flown through. The trip took five hours and I only used
35 litres of petrol. Thanks again to the aero club instructors,
Fiordland
Air, and the Tower.
WHAT A TRIP!!!
Noel Vallence
Aeronautical Joke of the Month
Why I Like Aeroplanes over Women
Aeroplanes usually kill you quickly ,Women take their time.
Aeroplanes can be turned on by the flick of a switch.
Aeroplanes don’t get mad if you do a touch and go.
Aeroplanes don’t object to a preflight inspection.
Aeroplanes come with an operations manual.
Aeroplanes can be flown at any time of the month.
Aeroplanes don’t come with inlaws.
Aeroplanes don’t care who has flown them before.
Aeroplanes and pilot arrive at the same time.
Aeroplanes don’t mind if you look at other aaeroplanes.
Aeroplanes don’t mind aeroplane magazines.
Aeroplanes expect to be tied down.
Aeroplanes don’t comment on the pilots skills and technique.
However , they do have one thing in common—when either one of them goes quiet ,it’s definitely not good!!.
CONGRATULATIONS
MAURICE
IT LOOKS GOOD AND SOUND GREAT
WELL DONE