ZK-UBD on Tour
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Beach Party -- NZ style!!
Taking advantage of super low spring tides, Airmaster joined a group of pilots landing on Carters Beach on the west coast of the North Island, New Zealand, about 30 minutes flying south west from our home base at Ardmore. After a brief diversion to Raglan airfield about 10nm further down the coast (espresso coffee while we waited for the tide to ebb), we experienced a super hard, flat black landing surface along the beach.
This beach landing provided a very interesting experience visually, with the escarpment along the coast dominating the view, and giving the misleading impression that the beach was "too short for a safe landing". From short final, it was evident the landing area was very large. The uniform expanse of black sand also lacked visual cues for flare. |
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After parking our Europa, we enjoyed fresh barbecued shellfish from the rocks at the north end of the beach. Time for a brief exploration in the afternoon sun, then airborne again with a left turn over the rocks after liftoff.
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Kaukapakapa Fly In
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On the 28th of September, Airmaster visited a fly in at Kaukapakapa, just North of Auckland, landing in Logan McLean’s paddock. Curving approaches are required to two of his grass runways, and with a gusty crosswind landing conditions were rather tricky. Maximum number of go-arounds was six!
We enjoyed the great atmosphere, meeting a wide variety of people from neighbouring farmers to experienced builders. Variety of aircraft was also great, from Trikes to a Cessna 185. Airmaster customer aircraft included Sky Arrow, Titan Tornado and our own Europa. Mark this event in your calendar for next year, and be sure to stay for the amazing buffet dinner! |
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