A nice day for a flight plus an awesome helo

Finally, a nice day for a flight! I got to take the Club's Cessna 172 up for a whiz around - a few circuits then off for 2 simulated FLWOP and a few turns. Nice. The weather was a little bit lumpy at times, but this was good practice anyway. No scares and everything went well.

Photo of just 3 aircraft today. The first is the Cessna 510 Citation Mustang, ZK-MUS taking off. Next is the Nanchang CJ6, ZK-MAO. Lastly are 4 photos of a Royal New Zealand Navy [RNZN] Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite, NZ3601, arriving and departing Wellington. An awesome sight! It will have been here in support of the RNZN's 70th anniversary celebrations. Enjoy!

Wings Over Wairarapa # 8: RNZAF Helicopters

The Royal New Zealand Air Force [RNZAF] sent all three helicopter types to the air show this year. Most exciting for me was the Navy-operated Kaman SH-2G Seasprite, NZ3604, which I had not seen being demonstrated before.

As expected, military pilots are extremely good at their jobs, and today was no exception. Despite the wind coming from approximately a 10/11 o'clock position, the Bell B47G-3B-2 Sioux [think M*A*S*H :-)] trainers, Bell UH-1H Iroquois and Kaman SH-2G Seasprite stayed exactly in position when hovering. It was a real pleasure to watch.

One point to note is that over the next couple of years, the RNZAF is re-equiping with AgustaWestland A109 LUH [Light Utility Helicopter] to replace the Bell B47G's and Nato Helicopter Industries NH90 [to replace the Bell UH-1H], so this is possibly the last time that the Iroquois and Sioux will be displayed together at Masterton.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures!