Watching Weather

Flight, by its very meaning infers being above ‘terra firma’ and then somehow like a force of magic, being supported in the atmosphere. We know that possibly from the very first time creatures were observed in flight man has also dreamed of being up there with them.

Fortunately for us the eons of time have eroded many myths and nowadays, unlike those times of old, we know there is definitely no magic involved in flight….its all up to physics. Knowledge and advancements in the physics of aerodynamics has fostered aircraft development and enabled man to fly and enjoy the same environment as birds. 

Whilst continual development has delivered significant improvements in man’s ability to fly, the environment in which flight occurs remains the same as it has always been. The air surrounding our planet has not changed. Wind, rain, clouds and temperature all have an effect on flight in some way and not always with beneficial outcomes. Flyers refer to these factors as ‘weather’.  

Long-range flight, especially in a small airplane like ZK-BAZ, requires many hours in the air. The time and distance involved means the Bazflyers will invariably encounter different weather conditions along the way. Although man is unlikely to discover any meaningful way to influence weather, technology developments in forecasting future weather have been one of the biggest advancements beneficial to flight during the past 50 years, and continues to improve. 

With a particular long-range flight in mind, the Bazflyers will typically consult and monitor three or more different weather forecasting sites on the internet, looking ahead to choose an optimum time for the flight. Yesterday’s flight from Kerikeri (NZKK) in the far north of New Zealand over the Tasman Sea to Australia’s Gold Coast airport (YBCG) was a distance of 1,150 nautical miles (2,130 km). The Bazflyers were in the air for 7 hours and 15 minutes. The day chosen for the flight was not a random decision. It was based on a couple of weeks of observing forecast weather patterns for the flight and even then departure was delayed 24 hours to take better advantage of forecast tail wind conditions. When it comes to weather even the best of technology available today has not changed a saying born in the very early days of flight….”If you’ve got time to spare, go by air”. 

Flight path over the Tasman Sea from Kerikeri to the Gold Coast



Forecast weather pattern for Bazflyer’s flight. Our lovely tail-wind was due to the southern hemisphere anti-clockwise circulation around the high pressure area. However, such conditions also typically deposit warm moist air onto the Australian coast which meant an instrument approach (RNAV-Z 14) and cross-wind landing at the Gold Coast airport.  



Halfway across the Tasman Sea with cloud below and blue sky above.