Tagebuch Neuseeland-Safari April 2010

Aside from a brief three-day stay in 2005, this safari is only my second trip to New Zealand. The long flight had a stop-over in Dubai, where I was able to collect a few new impressions - one engineering artwork next to the other and a small climate miracle in itself. But now I was glad to have landed at "Middle Earth", as New Zealand is often referred to, and to have received a hearty welcome by Tony. Tony, our sales partner in New Zealand’s Tauranga always amazes me: despite his 80 years, he is certainly not a member of the “old gents club”. Quite the contrary, in the business arena he is still very popular and as Chief Flight Instructor he sets the bar quite high. Unaware of the purpose of this flight, we took off from Tauranga Airport NZTG and headed to an airfield 15 km away. I experienced for the first time how much radio activity there is, mainly because Tauranga is, like Hanover, an airport that is servicing anything from commercial aircrafts up to mid-sized airliners. After an explosion of radio transmission, we finally started and I only learned upon landing that I had passed the test to obtain the New Zealand pilot's license. I like that about Tony; he does not do things half way. His attention to detail is as complete as his gyro fleet, which sits on the green lawn in front of the hangar. Temperatures are around 26 ° C; autumn in the North Island.

 

The north island of New Zealand is the most densely populated part of the insular state, which consists of two main islands and more than 700 smaller islands. The safari, which was organized by the New Zealand Aero Club, will lead us along with 65 aircraft of General Aviation to all parts of the "Main Land" (as the New Zealanders call the two main islands): from Ardmore on the west coast north to Kaitala, over the top on the east coast back south to Whitianga and back to the starting point. We take off again from Tauranga on the west coast, head south to Gisborne and Masterton and visit for the first time Omaka on the South Island. From there, we go further south on the west coast to our final destination, Timaru. Every day we will travel 400 to 800 kilometers and, with a total of 74 planes, will probably put a few smaller airports in a state of emergency.

After a restful night and the first impressions of a beautiful New Zealand, we got down to the business at hand. A few check flights have been scheduled for today. My pilot friends Melanie and Andrew arrived yesterday evening and they still do not suspect that they also have to face the same test flight. License approvals are not granted worldwide and often subject to additional tests.

I was not surprised to see, that one of our gyronauts was asking for some spiritual support before the start of the safari. A priest blessed his MTOsport with prayers and all good wishes for the Safari.

 

All together we start with four MTOsports and me in a Calidus. My anticipation is rising more and more as we collect all the papers and get everything ready for our departure. The next morning was still somewhat overcast, but hopefully the sun will take over soon.

 

As I arrive in Ardmore, our starting point, I realize for the first time the actual size of our fleet and I'm curious to find out how we will manage on a daily basis to get some 70 aircrafts in the air within two hours. But before we start tomorrow for the first time, Liz, the organizer of the safari, explained the planned route, the timetable and the tasks that await us.

We are ready to go! The strong winds, a daily occurrence on the island, give us a good idea about the climatic conditions. The mountain range that runs from north to south on the North Island represents a weather barrier. We will have to call on our flying skills during this safari, for the island holds many challenges. I’m already facing my first challenge for today - my clutch, which is part of a previous series, had failed due to a technical defect. Therefore, we needed to put the rotor manually in rotation, but thanks to the high winds, my start wasn’t a problem at all. The gyros fly at about 100 m distance from each other. As I'm the fastest, I put myself at the end of the chain to keep everyone in sight.

 

This is how I imagined New Zealand: mountainous and green, with beautiful beaches. From the air we see many small islands and marvel at the textures and hues of the ocean below. Sometimes the water looks like liquid metal and the next moment it gleams again turquoise blue. The beaches are sandy, sometimes white and sometimes made of black volcanic stone.  Other times, only edgy rocks define the border between land and see. A mountain is covered softly by a cloud, as if the cloud wanted to take a breather. Full of impressions, we reach our destination for today and land as a formation of five gyros within less than a minute.

Even today, I have to start my rotor by hand since I will only be able to fix the unexpected coupling loss in Tauranga. Luckily, I had taken precautions and brought the newly designed version of the clutch with me. A special highlight of our safari is the Catalina, a 74 year old wooden plane, which requires a lot of momentum to start. She is powered by two 1,000 hp motors and I had hoped to put my gyro in her wind field to enable my rotor to rotate. However, the desired strong wind remained solely behind the flying boat. The props were arranged far too high for my needs and simply roared over my head - manpower was needed. Once aloft, the route takes us across the island and then along the west coast to Norfolk, where we had a stop-over. Strengthened by a short break, we flew over the mainland to Tauranga. The mainland offers a lot of new scenes: thick, green pine forests, lakes and cities. But today I hasten a little to reach Tauranga. In Tony's hangar I was able to fix my defective clutch without further problems and was done by the time the others landed.

Well rested, we begin our journey with a breathtaking sunrise. This day’s tour takes us over the mainland in an arc to Taupo and then on to the east coast of Gisborne. As in the days before, the landscapes were so diverse: valleys, canyons and mountains, lakes, rivers and the Pacific, towns, villages and deserts made our tour go by rather quickly. It always amazes me that New Zealand's towns are only interconnected by small streets. There are no highways. Greater distances are traveled by boat or plane - unthinkable for us, but normal here. Often, private houses are built right next to well-developed airfields, or water channels are directed to a housing area, so that the boats can anchor in front of the house. Once again, I realize that back home, it is the German road network that has made the car our main means of transportation. After we touched down in Gisborne, we were welcomed by a group of children with traditional face paintings and clothing. As a backdrop, the sunset puts the landscape into an indescribable light.

Again we follow the sunshine on our current route from Gisborne to the south along the coast to Waikerarmoana Lake. We continue on the mainland to Hastings, following an almost zigzag route to Masterton. The coasts here are as different as they are fascinating. Looking down on the mainland, I can see the clouds creep slowly over the ridge to the sea. We can see whales and dolphins in the water, as they appear for air and disappear again into the depths.

 

Our next few days should be as memorable as today, for our Safari route takes us through the 23 km wide Cook Strait to the South Island of New Zealand. As the last of the five gyros, I keep my friends in sight while we are flying along the east coast to the south. The sea is rough and the waves clearly show that the offshore wind pushes the water out to the Pacific. A few kilometers further, shortly before we cross the Cook Strait, I can already recognize the change in winds. Suddenly, the sea in front of us is calm again. Concentration is called for though, because the sea makes it very clear: There’s a different wind blowing in the Cook Strait. I can already see how the gusts make the four gyros that fly out over the spit of land in front of me shoot up in the air like champagne corks. Ready for anything, I fly out over the headland and although I feel the outside forces, the Calidus is stable and I’m able to maneuver it effortlessly through the strait. I am thrilled and euphoric, and supported by appropriate music in my headset (I marvel at the capabilities of a mobile phone nowadays), we land the first time on the South Island of New Zealand.