New club trainer
On Sunday, the Fiordland Aero Club held a fly-in at the club's new hangar at Te Anau Airport, Manapouri., Aircraft from around Southland took part in a Navigation Skills event in magnificent Fiordland weather. Later, a ceremony was held to thank Meridian Energy for their contribution to the purchase of the club's new Alpi 200 trainer aircraft.
John Twidle, Meridian Energy's representative, enjoyed a flight in the Alpi 200. John took the controls during the local flight and could not believe what microlight flying had evolved into.
In fact, the Alpi aircraft had recently been flown down from Whangarei in a single day.
Peter Garlick, the delivery pilot, said the flight was uneventful with perfect weather and showed just what modern microlights were capable of. The total flight time was a little over 7 hours.
Club Captain, Murray Hagen, and Secretary, Lynne Stewart, formally thanked Meridian Energy for their generous donation. In his speech, John referred to the new aircraft and to the club itself as both being class acts, and that learning to fly was a valuable opportunity for local youth.
The club has gone from strength-to-strength recently, with a growing list of members.
It will soon award a flying scholarship for high school students, with 10 hrs flying training towards a career in aviation. The student will go solo in that time and the hours can be credited towards a commercial pilots licence.
A further scholarship open to the wider community is possible in the future.
Fiordland Aero Club would like to acknowledge the support of Southern Trust and Te Anau Lions who provided additional grants for the scholarship.
On Sunday, the Fiordland Aero Club held a fly-in at the club's new hangar at Te Anau Airport, Manapouri., Aircraft from around Southland took part in a Navigation Skills event in magnificent Fiordland weather. Later, a ceremony was held to thank Meridian Energy for their contribution to the purchase of the club's new Alpi 200 trainer aircraft.
John Twidle, Meridian Energy's representative, enjoyed a flight in the Alpi 200. John took the controls during the local flight and could not believe what microlight flying had evolved into.
In fact, the Alpi aircraft had recently been flown down from Whangarei in a single day.
Peter Garlick, the delivery pilot, said the flight was uneventful with perfect weather and showed just what modern microlights were capable of. The total flight time was a little over 7 hours.
Club Captain, Murray Hagen, and Secretary, Lynne Stewart, formally thanked Meridian Energy for their generous donation. In his speech, John referred to the new aircraft and to the club itself as both being class acts, and that learning to fly was a valuable opportunity for local youth.
The club has gone from strength-to-strength recently, with a growing list of members.
It will soon award a flying scholarship for high school students, with 10 hrs flying training towards a career in aviation. The student will go solo in that time and the hours can be credited towards a commercial pilots licence.
A further scholarship open to the wider community is possible in the future.
Fiordland Aero Club would like to acknowledge the support of Southern Trust and Te Anau Lions who provided additional grants for the scholarship.
18 Jan 2013
Congratulations to Kevin Flynn who went solo today.
Good one, Murray, for teaching him to this stage.
Kevin is keen on the Bantam microlight - his next challenge is to solo in that.
Good on ya, Kevin. Welcome to the ranks of those who enjoy the sky as a playground.
Congratulations to Kevin Flynn who went solo today.
Good one, Murray, for teaching him to this stage.
Kevin is keen on the Bantam microlight - his next challenge is to solo in that.
Good on ya, Kevin. Welcome to the ranks of those who enjoy the sky as a playground.
,Well done to Mike Blomfield who sat and passed all his exams with excellent marks. His tutor must have been awesome - it wasn't me.
Thanks are due to Syd and Kevin Harvey, the owners of ZK-SYD, for leasing us their machine.
It really has opened a new era for the club and a lot of us are grateful to them for introducing us to the world of modern microlights.
Kevin is keen to learn to fly, I hope so - it would be a pleasure to keep ZK-SYD around. It's been a good plane.
It really has opened a new era for the club and a lot of us are grateful to them for introducing us to the world of modern microlights.
Kevin is keen to learn to fly, I hope so - it would be a pleasure to keep ZK-SYD around. It's been a good plane.