Life's a beach

Wellingtonian's are proud of their city. That's not surprising as it really is a nice city. Most things are within easy reach and the people are friendly enough. Wellington has everything that a big city should have. They are also proud of their beaches.

I was not convinced of that one, so I went hunting around, and found a typical example of a Wellington beach [below]. As you can see, surf's up, and the sun is shining. What could be better than going to the beach, setting up a picnic by the seaside, and enjoying the atmosphere? Well, sand would be nice...


















Also, snapped this picture of an Air New Zealand B737 about to land at WN on rwy 34. Unfortunately there are not so many good locations for photos at this end of the runway, but such is life.

Wellington Aero Club

Just got back from some circuits at Wellington. This time I went up and got checked out by the Chief Flying Instructor [CFI] in a Piper Arrow III before doing some solo circuits... I'm current on type again. Yippie! The Arrow is a really nice one to fly, what's more, everything in it seems to work [unlike another Arrow I have flown...].

Anyway, you're not here just to read my [irrelevant] ramblings, so here's some pictures. In order, they are a view of the Wellington International Airport terminal [domestic and international, from across the runway at the aero club], the PA38-112 [Piper Tomahawk] and PA28-201R [Piper Arrow III].

As always, if you want the original hires, just ask :-)

Yankee Invasion!

Well, not quite. But I did spot a US Air Force B737 at Wellington yesterday. It took off today and I managed to get a couple of photos. Apparently there was some US military big wig in town, which I guess explains the presence of the plane.

Unlike the other photos in this Blog, today aircraft are using rwy 34, so I got some OK-ish shots after they got airborne [I got one as it lifted off, but there's not much to see with my limited 3xoptical zoom lens...]. Here goes!

And the motto is... "Formation Flying is Fun!" [and that is an order!]

:-)

I've finally managed to fish out one of my old formation pictures.

This one is a [very] loose formation of 3 Grumman American AA1C aircraft in early 2005. When this photo was taken we were a few minuites south of Ardmore airport heading to New Plymouth [then on to Foxpine then Motueka]. Aircraft are ZK-FVS, ZK-FPA and ZK-FVA, all from Auckland Aero Club.

The camera ship is a C172N [ZK-ELU]. I'm in the lead Grumman.

Below the formation picture is a close up of the Mighty Grumman.

Pics from Auckland

These pictures are proving popular... so here are a couple of pictures from Auckland International. These were taken some time in 2005.

They are of two B747's, one from Air New Zealand, the other from Qantas.

Enjoy!

More pics...

I must be keen - more pictures from Wellington. Pictures are Freedom Air A320, Qantas B737, Airwork SA227, Mt Cook ATR 72 and looking down the taxi way (see, it can almost get busy here!).

Enjoy!

More plane spotting...

I've found a really good viewing area to take photos of aircraft at Wellington. Best of all, it's less then 5 minutes walk from home, so it is very easy to get to!

As you can see, with the exception of a few power poles and stuff, there are almost unobstructed views of the airport. Looks like this will be a near-perfect spot for when aircraft are using on rwy 16. One day I'll see if it's any good for when rwy 34 is in use.

Here's a few of the photos. Obviously, they're all reduced size, but if anyone wants a copy of the originals, just get hold of me [I'm usually happy to oblige]. I won't get too upset if you want to use them for [almost] anything, just ask first [!], and attribute them to me.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

First Solo in Wellington

Yippie! Soloed in a PA38-112 (Piper Tomahawk) at Wellington International Airport today!

Loads of fun!

It seemed like most of the time was spent holding "east of Point Gordon" (late downwind position), but that's OK :-) There was also a "healthy" wind blowing which helped to keep me awake, especially during the final 200ft until touchdown.

Anyway, another picture. This time it's a QF B737.