NZ Day 3

Andy and Nicky set up with their pilot friend Carl to take us up for a scenic flight over Auckland on our third day in town. Not knowing quite what to expect, we headed up to the North Auckland airfield where we met up with Carl. Carl loves planes. Especially his plane. He built the plane himself, a kit RV-7a. It took him three and a half years of meticulous dedication that really shows through in the final product. His particular version is spotless and obviously well loved.

After a quick meet and greet and walk around the hanger where he let the kids sit in the cockpit, it was takeoff time. I got the first ride (the plane only seats two) and Carl took off in formation with one other plane. It was great to be that close to another aircraft so I could feel the speed of the other and the gentle touch required to fly the plane. After some sight seeing around town (Mission Beach, Rangitoto, One Tree Hill, Auckland CBD, Sky Tower etc.) we headed up to 4000 ft and made for the west coast. 10 minutes later I was flying and having a ball. After Carl took over he said "Wanna do a loop?" I had been warned this might be coming and was somewhat mentally prepared so I said yes. He pulled up on the stick and sent the nose skyward. Shortly thereafter I began receiving moderately urgent messages from my cerebellum instructing me to "undo" my previous affirmative response to Carl's question. After we closed the loop he immediately went into a roll. My cerebellum at this point was in full blown red alert mode, one small step from instructing my stomach to void its contents into Carl's pristine aircraft. To ease my nausea he let me fly - straight and level - and we returned to the airfield.

Penny was next and instructed Carl "no funny business" before she even left the ground. She did a tour up North of Auckland and had a fantastic time.

Many thanks to Carl for his time and generosity and to Andy and Nicky for setting it up. We had a blast!

Oh and if you want to see the jiggily video of the loop and roll you can find it here: http://youtu.be/z2m0ai9ObRU

Andrew, in heaven

Before we did the fly over, we got a chance to meet Carl in the hangar and have a look at his plane. He let the kids sit in the cockpit as long as they didn't touch anything. You can see from the look on Andrew's face he was thrilled.

In formation

We took off in formation (like you do) with another plane. It was cool to have the perspective of something close to you while you're flying so you can see how fast you're going.

Co-pilot

Carl snapped a few pictures while I was "flying". Really I was just holding the stick and grinning.

Rangitoto through the prop

There was so much to see but it's so hard to capture the beauty in a picture from a bouncy, cramped cockpit with a super-reflective canopy.

Auckland from 1500 ft.

It was the perfect day for a flight. Looking North-ish.

Sky tower and downtown Auckland

Just off the starbord beam.

Penny on the stick

She gets much more motion sick than me but she did fine and had a great time.

Which way did you go?

Victor India India

Carl, Penny & Dan post-flight

 

Reward

Carl's plane was not equiped to take small kids so these guys had to stay on terre ferme and watch. So hard to do but they were very patient and deserved a reward. By the way, McD's cones are only 60 cents NZD! That's like 50 cents CAD! Talk about getting their just desserts.

Giovanni

Giovanni the cat loves this bowl. LOVES it. He used to curl up in it as a kitten but the habit stayed with him even after he grew too big. It's the funniest thing.

Sea cans

There was a big strike happening with the longshoremen in Auckland while we were there. As a result there were huge piles of sea cans everywhere. One of those containers must have been laden with red wine vinegar ready to offload as a city wide search one afternoon was fruitless.

NZ Skyline from land

Taken from a moving vehicle. A pretty terrible shot but it gives you the idea...