Te Maru

Weather is one of the biggest variables in general aviation flight. While pilots, and that includes the Bazflyers, may never control the weather there are many ways we can avoid unplanned encounters with Mother Nature. Sometimes that will involve taking shelter on the ground.

For the past few days the Bazflyers have been visiting family in the familiar South Island east coast town of Timaru. As far as New Zealand’s colonial history goes, Timaru is an old settlement, first surveyed in 1853. It’s indigenous (Māori) name is “Te Maru” meaning “place of shelter”. With potentially damaging northwesterly winds forecast for our stay in Timaru, “a place of shelter” for the trusty Comanche ZK-BAZ while parked at the airport, was important. That would be it’s usual tie-down position on the leeward side of the South Canterbury Aero Club hanger.

Timaru Airport is known locally as Richard Pearce Airport, named after a local pioneer aviator who allegedly flew in powered flight before the Wright Brothers. Witnesses interviewed many years afterward claimed that Pearse flew and landed a powered heavier-than-air machine on 31 March 1903, nine months before the Wright brothers flew. True or not, the aviation exploits of Richard Pearce are staunchly embedded in local history. A replica of his flying machine has (almost) flown and a memorial proudly overlooks the rural site on which legend decrees the pioneering flight took place.

But there are even more legends to be discovered at Timaru, like Bob Fitzsimmons for example. ‘Fitz’ was a local lad who learned to box. Defeating all opponents, he was obliged to travel abroad and in 1891 became World Middleweight Champion. Then in 1897 at the age of 34, he captured the sporting world’s greatest prize, the Heavyweight Crown. In 1903 Fitz won the Light-Heavyweight title to become the first man ever to win three different world championship weight divisions. 

Another local lad was John (Jack) Lovelock, Head Prefect and ‘Dux’ at Timaru Boys High School before taking up a Rhodes Scholarship in 1931 to study medicine at Oxford. However, it was his Gold Medal and World 1500m Record at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games for which Jack is probably best known. On the the cusp of a brilliant medical career Jack was just 39 years of age when he tragically died as the result of a New York accident in 1946…but his legend lives on as an inspiration for today’s students at Timaru Boys High.

Any mention of Timaru legends would not be complete without including the local connection to that famous race horse ‘Phar Lap’. The champion racehorse was born and bred at Timaru, but never raced in New Zealand before being sold to an Australian owner. He won 37 of his 51 races and 32 of his last 35, including the 1930 Melbourne Cup. In the gloom of the Great Depression, Phar Lap's racing exploits thrilled many followers across two countries. These days in Timaru, the Phar Lap legend continues in the name of hospitality establishments and of course the local racecourse where there is a statue of the famous horse.

So perhaps the moral of this blog could be…”do not become inwardly focused when sheltering but look outside for inspiration”.      

Huey’s Birthday

A few days ago, on the 20th October to be precise, it was Huey’s birthday. It had been 65 years since the ubiquitous Bell UH-1 (Iroquois) helicopter first flew. Nicknamed “Huey”, over 16,000 examples were produced. Often heralded as the DC3 equivalent of the ‘fling-wing’ world, the Huey has been immortalised in our history, film and music. Bazflyer1 is privileged to have flown some 1,500 ‘Huey’ hours. No question, the sound of that distinctive rotor beat still stirs the soul and reawakens a treasure trove of memories. 

Memories such as the occasion, early in 1974, when we flew a young Prince Charles out of Wanaka on a trout fishing expedition. As it turned out, my camera was the only one there that day. It was a Kodak 35mm loaded with colour slide film. His Royal Highness Prince Charles agreed to a group photo, which from memory was taken by his bodyguard. Here is a scan copy of the original.

The mission involved three Iroquois operated by RNZAF No.3 Squadron. Iroquois 3812 had been specially prepared for use by the Royal Family with two other squadron Huey’s, 3813 and 3814, designated support. Prior to flying any of the Royal Family, the crews involved were required to conduct familiarisation and recency flights for each of the likely destinations involved. My logbook records that aside from Prince Charles, we also flew the newly married Princess Ann with her then husband Mark Phillip, to a farm near Masterton. Here is a photo of one of the support Huey’s on approach to land near Wanaka.

Below is a photo of the Royal Huey being checked by crewman Sgt ‘Stony’ Burke while waiting for the young Prince Charles to return from his trout fishing expedition, and if memory serves correctly, a couple of freshly caught trout were loaded for the return flight to Wanaka.

Bugger..!

Bugger’ is New Zealand's socially acceptable, bendable, all-purpose swear word for when you really can't keep that negative emotion inside. For example: “Oh bugger, the Covid19 lockdown.” 

For the past few weeks, Bazflyer’s have been packed, planned and primed to fly our trusty Comanche ZK-BAZ once more over the Tasman Sea. This time for a top-end flying safari in the company of great Comanche mates. 

To better appreciate the anticipated flight it might be useful to examine its compelling magnetism. Down-under, a 'mate' is more than just a friend, it implies a sense of shared experience, mutual respect and unconditional assistance. Add to that, ‘top-end’ being a colloquialism for Australia’s far northern latitudes where in the middle of a southern winter the region’s warmer temperatures are temptingly attractive. 

Normally, flying ZK-BAZ over the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia, simply entails suitable weather conditions and about an eight hour over-water flight. However, never since the beginning of aviation has anything like Covid-19 been a pre-flight consideration. 

As if charting a course through an ever changing minefield of Covid requirements bureaucratically imposed between various Australian States was not sufficient, tenuous conditions for travel between New Zealand and Australia have also been in play. Then outbreaks of the Delta strain in Australia saw all these factors building up to a crescendo, when ’snap’, the New Zealand government closed quarantine free travel with Australia. Bugger…!

Flying to Australia is no longer an option, at least for the next three months. So now what? Well, the Bazflyers are not about to waste a good preparation. We’re packed and ready to go. Bugger it being winter and cold outside…let’s get the trusty Comanche in the air and go fly around inside New Zealand. Jump onboard, we’re off….. 

Pilot Maker

As the trusty Comanche ZK-BAZ is unleashed at full engine throttle to gather speed down the runway at Taupo Airport, its wings transform the air into lift, the same air that is so transparent as we breathe and walk through it. The process is so flawless that after only a brief roll along what is little more than a very straight road, the airplane is once again in the endless sky. 

Flight might be one of the great technical and poetic achievements of our species, but the moment itself always seems like magic. Check…positive rate of climb…gear up. The wheels retract, little doors close over them and the Comanche’s form is smoothed to its purpose. 

Bazflyer1 earned his pilot wings more than half a century ago and has since accumulated many thousands of hours flying various types of aircraft. Bazflyer2 got her wings a decade ago. Together, they have flown 1500 hours in their trusty Comanche, travelled around 370,000 kilometres, and even circumnavigated the world. 

Some might say the desire to fly an airplane resides deep within, but for the Bazflyer’s it can be explained as an articulation or affirmation of what they do. For them flying is one of the easiest and most natural things in the world to love.

It is true, the matter of learning to fly remains forever indelibility inked in the memory of every pilot. For Bazflyer1 that includes the North American Harvard, also known as the T-6 Texan. More than 15,000 of these sturdy single engine planes were built during World War Two, many of them used to train pilots. So successful was the Harvard in this role that at one stage the type was operating in sixty countries.  

All together 202 Harvards were shipped to New Zealand during the war years with the first of these very fittingly taking to the sky on Anzac Day (25 April) 1941. It has been said on numerous occasions over time that if you could fly a Harvard, you could fly anything. It was ‘the pilot maker’. Bazflyer1’s pilot log book records his ‘first solo’ flight and 171 flight hours in the Harvard. 

Although it is almost 50 years since the New Zealand Air Force disposed of its Harvard trainers in favour of more modern aircraft, many examples remain flying in private ownership. Anzac Day this year (2021) commemorated 80 years of Harvard operations in New Zealand, an occasion recognised with a flying event hosted by NZ Warbirds at Ardmore Airport. 

The trusty Comanche delivered Bazflyer1 to Ardmore for the gathering and needless to say, many antidotal yarns echoed around the hanger. One particular Bazflyer1 recall was performing a stall-turn manoeuvre at night and momentarily thinking the engine was on fire...such was the unexpected halo of exhaust flames exiting the big radial engine exhaust. 

Bazflyer2 learned to fly in a Piper Tomahawk, a two-seat ‘pilot maker’ she affectionately referred to it as ‘Tommy’. Her first solo flight at the tender age of 60 years was a significant own-goal milestone. 

Everything in life has its own time and place, and this includes exploring the endless sky in a trusty Comanche. However, as surely as the sun rises in the morning others will follow, inspired and motivated by the magic of flight, and with skills honed in a ‘pilot maker’. But, for Bazflyer1 the memory of learning to fly in a Harvard…the iconic WW2 pilot maker…will last a lifetime.

Taupo airport (NZAP) Runway 17

North American Harvards lined up at Ardmore (NZAR) for the 80th year commemoration

Thousands of WW2 pilots, including many from Australia and New Zealand, trained on Harvards in Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, between September 1939 and August 1945. Brandon, Manitoba Canada was one of The Plan's main training bases and has a memorial to 18,039 of those men who died serving British Commonwealth Forces. Bazfyers flew into Brandon on their round the world flight.

Bazflyer2 on completing her first solo flight in “Tommy”.

Bazflyer1 on a Harvard wing (far left) with other aspiring pilots

Bazflyers up in the endless sky

As surely as the sun rises in the morning others will follow, inspired and motivated by the magic of flight

Ruatōria

The furtherest east one can fly in territorial New Zealand and putdown at an aerodrome is the Chatham Islands. But for the Bazflyers to get to this far-flung island outpost a flight of some 400 NM from mainland New Zealand is required, out into the Southern Pacific Ocean. We have yet to visit the Chatham’s, a flight that is definitely on the to do list for another day. Meanwhile, last Saturday we were presented with a compelling reason to fly to the most eastern aerodrome on mainland New Zealand. 

Ruatōria is a small settlement insignificantly tucked away among the sprawling rugged hill country that geographically characterises New Zealand’s east cape region and determines its physical isolation. There are not many roads and this absence of infrastructure further accentuates the remoteness. Highway 35, a winding and twisty road, traverses the region 335 kms north to south. It bisects Ruatōria, easily missed should you blink while driving. 

But, why drive when Ruatōria has an airfield? Even more compelling for the Bazflyers was a fly-in to mark the 60th anniversary of this remote airfield with a colourful history. Built by a farmer with a home-made grader, the original clubrooms were an old house that was dragged across the Waiapu River by bulldozer in three pieces. One of the original Ruatōria Aero Club members, 85-year-old Hughie Hughes QSM, got into a conversation with Bazflyer2. He recalled fly-ins being so popular hay bales would be bought in for overnighting guests and activities including cricket and softball challenges with the Ruatoria locals.

The first appearance of aviation in the East Coast Region was in 1922 when a De Havilland DH6 having been shipped from Auckland was flown from the Gisborne racecourse. Subsequently, airplanes not only facilitated access between the region and more populated centres, aircraft also played a major role in immediate post war rural productivity from spreading fertiliser on the steep hill country to dropping fence posts, critical economic contributions that continues today.

Route to Ruatōria

Over the rugged hills. Not many places down there to land...

BAZ at Ruatōria (NZRR)

Ruatōria (NZRR) at 178 degrees East is the first mainland airfield in New Zealand to see the sun each morning and for the auspicious occasion its sole grass runway had been freshly manicured and marked with a while centre line.

An elegant visitor among the more than thirty visiting aircraft.

Bazflyer2 enjoying the company of local ladies 

BVA resplendent in its blue and white colour scheme is the only DHC-2 Beaver in the world fitted with a hopper and used for top dressing. It serves a special role for its owners, Farmers Air, who use its side by side cockpit configuration to train agricultural pilots before going on to fly specialised single seat aircraft.

Locals and visitors alike enjoyed the occasion

Local catering (Kai) was superb. Three of the outlets were family (whanau) raising funds for two of their boys with aspirations to become commercial pilots. The boys had already soloed and passed exams. By the end of the day this auntie had contributed to the cause selling thousands of her absolutely scrumptious dumplings. Great effort indeed...!

One Moment in Time

‘One moment in time’ happens to be the title of a well known song, an anthem for believing in yourself against all odds. Written for the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, it subsequently shot into prominence as a world-wide hit for singer Whitney Houston. 

Moments can be self-made or delivered, but inescapably much like a fragrant bloom, moments in time are always temporary, destined to become a memory. Furthermore, when considered in proportion to life already lived, moments in time become proportionally smaller as years are accumulated. And, that’s where Graeme comes in.

Recently the Bazflyer’s trusty Comanche departed Taupo runway 17 then headed west on airway H191. Just two persons on board. One of them was ninety one year old widower Graeme. A commercial pilot in his day and career air traffic controller, Graeme was onboard ZK-BAZ for a fly-in visit to his former place of work, the New Plymouth airport control tower. 

The flight was IFR with a STAR arrival and RNAV approach, which was Graeme’s first encounter with the GPS technology aviators nowadays take for granted. Access to the control tower followed the push of an intercom button. After entering details in the visitor’s book Graeme ascended the stairs inside the tower building all the way up to the controller’s cab. He said it had been a very long time and a much younger self when he last climbed those stairs. The control cab not only afforded a global view of the airport and its surroundings. More importantly on this occasion, it also enabled Graeme to enjoy his own one moment in time.      

Small aircraft flying over the years has provided the Bazflyer’s with a treasure trove of moments in time, each one a pearl unique in its own identity. But, when moments in time are strung together they become a priceless necklace of joy. Thank you Graeme for sharing your one moment in time and as expressed in the lyrics of that song…’ You're a winner for a lifetime if you seize that one moment in time, make it shine’.

Graeme, a young 91 years of age, with Bazflyer1 at Taupo Airport (NZAP) before they boarded ZK-BAZ for the 40 minute flight to New Plymouth (NZNP). 

Graeme signing-in for a ‘One Moment in Time’ return to his former work place as an Air Traffic Controller in the New Plymouth Airport control tower.

View from the control tower.

Enjoying his very own ‘One Moment in Time’

The ride home to Taupo (NZAP) and a combined cockpit age of over 165 years.

Thank you Airways New Zealand and the New Plymouth controllers for facilitating Graeme’s visit

Up in the Air

Here we are now more than 100 hours into the year 2021. Its considerably more than that for those of us living on the edge of time, the International Date Line that is. Therefore at this point, be it good bad or otherwise, the whole world now has a toe hold on the current year. A new year with an unfamiliar outlook. Leaving politics aside, because who knows what might eventuate on so many different fronts all around the world, the opening blog for this year is uncontroversially about the weather. 

Very recently many star-gazers were privileged to observe a rare conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. It has been hundreds of years since these two planets appeared as close together as they were just prior to Christmas and it will be a few hundred years before it happens again.  Its a phenomenon known as the "Bethlehem Star". However, this wondrous bright light in the sky is a predictable galactic occurrence and to stay on focus this blog is about the weather.

It has been a very long standing arrangement that the Bazflyers witness the close and opening of each year with siblings living in the province of Taranaki. This annual ritual has existed for so long it could legitimately be a tradition. The only decision for us to make is whether to drive or fly.  The latter being our usual mode of transport which is where the matter of weather comes in. 

As the old year was gasping for breath an interesting weather precedent for New Zealand was taking shape. Bazflyers could not recall ever seeing a similar weather pattern.  A stationary high pressure system to the south and east of New Zealand was causing unstable atmospheric conditions over the entire country.  Perfect conditions for thunderstorms, hail and very heavy rain. Now thunderstorms and hail are not unusual even for New Zealand but it is unheard of for such conditions to prevail over the entire length and breadth of the country and remain stationary.  A fascinating phenomenon. 

Bazflyers watched the weather system take shape which in turn prompted an early decision on New Year’s day to fly back to Taupo from New Plymouth, in perfect flight conditions. Retrospectively it was a very good move. An interesting aspect was none of the available computer generated weather forecasts accurately predicted the resultant widespread outcome. 

Errors forecasting this weather event left the Bazflyers thinking of the year ahead and wondering about the efficacy of expert economic opinions, government decisions, or even dare we say, matters concerning Covid19. Much like weather, what will happen in 2021 is very much up in the air.

A rare and unusual weather system 

It didn’t just rain, it deluged. Looking west from the Baz Base on NZAP

New Year’s morning view of Mount Taranaki 

Flying up the Tasman Glacier past Mount Cook on the 2nd to last day of 2020

ZK-BAZ at Westport (NZWS) on the day before the last day of 2020