Gyrate New Zealand Limited

Flight training was curtailed last week for Hub Hall, he was required to attend the annual gathering of the New Zealand Deer Industry and to be awarded their prestigious National Trophy.

Whilst this is actually a substantial sized gold statue the recipient takes away a small replica which in itself is quiet impressive.  As you can see Hub was anxious to establish if he could attach this, as a ‘flying lady’, to the nose of his  prospective aircraft!

Congratulations Hub well deserved I’m sure.

Today we had two Eagles in the circuit at Tauranga which is an indication of the growth the modern fleet of gyroplanes in New Zealand.  No longer the butt of uninformed jokes but serious aircraft proving very capable of long distance cruising and offering many of the capabilities of helicopters at a fraction of the price.  

Police and other government agencies have recognised these features overseas and it is likely NZ will follow suit as the realities of the current economic situation hit home.  To this end I was able to fly the Kahu prototype again this week following some significant modifications, performance of all the new systems proved very satisfactory and longer proving trials are planned to follow.

Despite the weather bomb and the Southerly winds straight from Antarctica flight training is progressing well, the picture shows our octogenarian Rhys Jones complete with ski suit enjoying the challenge.  While we are dealing with everyday flying events Mark Humbke left us to return to the Yemen travelling via Frankfurt.  This coincided with one of Europe’s major trade showcases for aviation held at Friedrichshafen and so under the influence of jet lag he hired a car and sent back some pictures of the gyro section, state of the art or what!

So back in the real world last week end saw the Northern Microlight club organise a fly in to North Shore Airfield which as the name suggests is just North of Auckland.  To demonstrate that gyros should not be left out we took a Xenon(ZK- XEN Tony Unwin and Hub Hall) and an Eagle (ZK-RGG Bruce Watson) from Tauranga on what turned out to be a superb day weather wise and excellent socially.  We planned an early start to make sure we didn’t miss out on the sausage sizzle and so the early morning Waikato mist and fog was still hanging about as we approached the Waihi Gap.  Fortunately by the time we reached it breaks were appearing and we continued ‘clear of cloud and in sight of the ground’.  

We transited over Waiheke Island Airfield in crystal clear air, Bruce Watson in the Eagle declared it to be ‘ice crystal clear’ as even his thermals were struggling to keep the chill out.
How about buying that nice heated jacket that we have in stock Bruce? Right on schedule after 101nm North Shore showed up, an unusual runway with grass to each side of a narrow concrete strip.  Gyro formation reported overhead and did a standard join to be greeted warmly by the assembled microlighters, thanks guys it feels so good to be accepted as ‘normal’ aviators these days.  After lunch and a look around some interesting projects and unique aircraft we set off towards Matamata to meet up with to other gyronaughts, Steve Holmes and Sibie Haakma who had been flying their single seat Dominators locally.  To enhance the party we found Stephen Chub with his Magni M16 also flying around at Matamata.  A few yarns over a brew and we headed back over the Kaimai Hills with a brisk 30knot tailwind carrying us back to base.   Next weekend its off to Tokaroa for the Queens Birthday when New Zealand takes the Monday off as well.

Has Your Airplane Been Drinking?

We surely hope not. While the cost-savings of using autogas in your aircraft may be enticing, it is important to ensure it doesn’t contain ethanol, a mix that can be extremely dangerous inside your engine. Among the primary concerns for using ethanol in airplanes not designed for its use are vapor lock, incompatibility with certain engine parts, and its tendency to absorb water. To learn more about the dangers of using ethanol in GA aircraft, see Peter Rouse’s article “Why Does My Airplane Smell Like It Has Been Drinking?” in the May/June 2009 issue of FAA Aviation News. For a live presentation on this important topic, you can catch Rouse at the Virginia Regional Festival of Flight in Suffolk, Virginia, May 30 and 31. The important thing to remember:  The aircraft owner is ultimately responsible for determining autogas does not contain ethanol. 

Having just published the last sunny picture I have to record that the mild Bay of Plenty was hit by what the media called a weather Bomb.  This involved water spouts, torrential rain, high winds and a hail storm so ferocious as to leave a layer of hail stones the size of kids marbles some six inches deep.  

The temperature dropped and the remains could be seen still lying around two days later.  Some would think that open cockpit flying would stop in these conditions but far from it we have been flying almost every day.  With suitable kit and the large windscreen the Eagle offers year round aviation however it also offers heated clothing for those that need it.  

That may well include Sid Lane as he now contemplates an altitude record in his well travelled machine.  This time of year official night starts around 5.30pm local time and we have been using this to train students in low light landings, an experience best experienced first in controlled conditions rather than when struggling home late one night in failing light.   The first thing to realise is how dark it can be on the surface while you are cruising along still enjoying good visual conditions  a thousand or two above.  Descending into a black pit can become a serious challenge to a safe arrival so we have been practicing and experiencing such matters as well as also enjoying the fully lit runway at Tauranga.  

On the subject of lights let me ask ‘how bright are you’.  When you leave the airfield at any time of day you are at more risk than when flying but you probably don’t think about putting on your anti-collision lights unless you drive a motorbike.  Why not? It can only be that you havn’t thought about it because you know that in bright sunshine your pupils close down to exclude light yet that same bright sun creates the darkest shadows to hide vehicles and other obstacles.  

In New Zealand the Government is running adverts to warn of the huge accident rate at intersections, the use of headlights on vehicle makes them more obvious and allows better judgement of speed, it cost nothing and it could be considered to be your anti-collision beacon, why not turn them on always!