Wild and Woolly in Wellington

It's probably the worst day weather-wise in Wellington this evening. Wind gusts up to 120km/hr with the airport reporting winds of 60-63 knots [111-116 km/hr] on several occasions. Seas are running at 8-9 meter swells [Cook Strait ferries are cancelled for the evening].

Needless to say, this makes for some awesome sights ready to be photographed. Shame I'm not much good with the camera - most of the ones I got were of a car windscreen covered in seaspray... doh! I did take a couple standing up outside, but couldn't keep the camera still enough... anyway, here's one that turned out all right [It doesn't really do justice to the situation, but never mind] during a calmer period.

In fairness this is by far the worst day so far, and it's been like this in a few places around New Zealand [I realise that one or two of you are ready to defend the lovely Wellington weather to the death... :-) ], but it's still bad.

My flat has been shaken in the wind a few times, but all in one piece so far!

Formation Fun at Auckland

Here's a picture from a formation sortie while I was based at Ardmore airfield near Auckland. The picture was taken near Ardmore on the way out to the Hauraki Gulf for a practice.

Typical sortie was around 1 hour including the trip out and in, plus a run through of the display sequence.

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.

They called back

Vodafone called back yesterday.

I can move to a plan that would cost me $10-$20 per month more and get a (more or less) free phone. Alternatively, I can stay on my current plan and pay $379 (ex GST) for the same phone.

In both cases I would need to sign up for another 2 years (which is fair enough).

Excuse me for being a cynic, but it's either "pay more over time" or "pay more now".

I turned them down. I've got 5 months left on my plan commitment, after which I can move to another provider with no penalties. Now that sounds more interesting.

Another interesting plane...

Here's another interesting plane. This is one of two B757's owned by the RNZAF on its regular visit to Wellington.

So far I've missed taking photos of the C130H's that also visit, but maybe one day...

Phone companies... Don't ya just love em???

It seems that it's my turn to have trouble with phones!

Firstly, my setup. I have a Telecom home phone with ADSL and a Vodafone mobile. Not that complex.

My cellphone is almost dead. It's got a little "feature" built into it that means that parts of the keypad die from time to time. Can make it very hard to switch on, write text messages, or even take it out of the keyguard mode. It's a Sony Ericsson T610. Not the phone's fault, it's getting old and has had a hard life [mainly from it's previous owner... would that be right Simon??? ha ha ha].

I went to my local Dick Smith outlet as they are a Vodafone reseller. Everybody knows that Vodafone will usually give some sort of credit against the phone if you sign up for 24 months or more. What's more, Vodafone are advertising new 3G phones for $199 [usually $599] if you sign up on a certain plan for 24 months. Do you think that I could get a discount for signing up on my CURRENT plan? Well, according to Dick Smith, about $40...! What?

Phoned Vodafone directly last night, and there might be hope. After all, I've been a customer for at least 9-10 years and they have a good enough reputation. We had a chat, they took my details, and a manager will look at it and someone will get back to me. When? I don't know. In fairness to Vodafone, I do have 5 months left on a plan that I need to honour [and fair enough too].

Looks like my best options are to a) get a cheap phone off Trademe and use that for 5 months then look at other options, or b) struggle with the current phone for 5 months then look at other options. That is, unless Vodafone gets back in the next couple of days with a reasonable offer...

Contrast this to Telecom NZ who have a reputation for pig-like customer service. My home phone stopped working. Noticed this yesterday afternoon [Sunday]. Looked like [and turned out to be] a problem "further up the line" [on the pole outside my house to be precise]. Despite it being a local public holiday today, they got the techie out today and it's all fixed. No dramas, no hassles. OK, they are different sorts of issues, but still...

Only funny thing is that Telecom won't provision ADSL without a phone line connection [they have got you by the short and curlys], but during the time my home line is dead, my ADSL keeps working just fine and dandy.... someone is pulling someone else's chain I think...

First flight at Wellington Aero Club

Had my first flight from WN earlier today in the Piper Tomahawk [PA38-112].

The "Traumahawk" [as it is affectionately know] is a 2 place, side-by-side trainer aircraft. I last flew this type around 5 years ago. It's quite a nice looking aircraft, but there are a couple of "issues" [in my arrogant opinion] with it.

Firstly, it feels a bit "mushy" [that's a "technical" phrase :-) ]. That is great if you are training people with a view to flying larger planes [which is exactly what the PA38 was designed for], but not as much fun in turbulence as it is not as responsive.

Secondly, it's gutless. That's a criticism that could be leveled at a lot of light aircraft though, such is life.

Everything went well, although [surprise, surprise] it was a bit bumpy most of the time, but I seemed to handle it OK. It doesn't glide very well though [not like a C172 anyway]! Next weekend is a session of circuits, then I should be off by myself.

Right next to the airport...

I moved to Wellington at the end of December and shifted into a house right next to the airport. Some people think that I'm nuts [hard to believe, I know :-)], but such is life.

It's really not too noisy, there are comparatively few larger aircraft [B737/A320 or larger] around, most of them are smaller, and anyway, I like planes!

I have big windows that allow me to see much of what is happening. Yippee!!!!

Here are a couple of photos. So far I've missed the Freedom Air aircraft [budget airline, brightly coloured aircraft].