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Published: October 8th 2017
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I love flying. Over the years I have spent quite a bit of time in light aircraft as well as being stuck on long-haul flights or doing aerobatics in a Harvard or Pitts Special. So when the call came, offering me a flight at the Wanganui Aero Club, I had my bag packed, the puppy in the car and was on my way before I had finished the call. I used to live in Wanganui and now live 5 hours away but there was a plane sitting down there with my name on it. On my way I collected Tony, my best friend's long suffering husband, who is used to being dragged out geocaching with me. He didn't expect to find himself flying a plane this time!
The Aero Club is really easy to find out on Airport Road. Naturally we arrived on a day when it was raining. A lot. All day. And it was the only day I had free. This explains why you are looking at bad photos. But the trip wasn't about taking photos. It was about experiencing an Intro Flight so the weather didn't bother us at all.
We met
our Instructor, Daniel. He was absolutely charming and we knew we were in safe hands. Everyone has to attend a briefing before their flight. I admit I am shocking at sitting still and the word Powerpoint had me grinding my teeth. BUT.... it was excellent! Everything made sense, it was interesting without overloading us with facts and it provided us with the chance to ask questions. Then I broke the news to Tony that HE was the one who was going to be in the front seat, learning to fly as it was something I had done before and I wanted to just enjoy the flight. I hoped it might make up for all the times he has found himself in odd places, attempting to extract geocaches from places I don't want to touch.
Our flight lasted 20 minutes. We went up the coast and then over the city. Having lived there, I was looking for places I could recognise. I am sure I heard Tony sigh when I pointed out a church where we had found a geocache and then the place we had found one just before our flight...... The fact we were all wearing
headsets so we could talk to each other meant I was able to share this information and it wasn't my fault they weren't terribly interested. Maybe it was because Tony was too busy having fun flying. Being able to take control of a plane is mind-blowing. I suspect the thing the instructor hears most often is "It's not like driving a car!" Daniel was the best pilot I have ever flown with and somehow managed to fly the plane, give clear instructions to Tony and point out places of interest to me (none of which involved any geocaches) all at the same time.
We were very sorry when the flight ended. Both of us had the same reaction: "When can we do it again?" We would have happily done it again and again and again.... Thankfully, the flights are an excellent price and can be booked quickly and easily online. You will take the flight and find yourself planning the next one before you have even landed because it truly is so addictive. With friends and family in Wanganui, I will be back down there and back in the air after Christmas. My daughter's German au pair
will be with me as it has solved the problem of what to buy her for Christmas. I also have a couple of friends who are difficult to buy presents for who will now be receiving Wanganui Aero Club gift vouchers. And there is a good chance a voucher will be coming my way as my birthday is on Christmas Day and I may have been dropping a hint or two to family and friends.
So, on a scale of 1-10, what score would I give this activity? Definitely a 10! And remember that this was on a horrible wet day with what Daniel described as 'poor visibility'. I am guessing that the view on a clear day would be absolutely breath-taking. But I had a brilliant flight in the back seat and Tony had an experience of a life-time, learning the basics of how to fly a plane. So if you are visiting Wanganui, just do it! If you have someone with you who doesn't wish to take part, they can sit in the Clubrooms and watch all the activity. My elderly mum would have loved sitting there with a cup of tea, people to chat
to and being able to watch all the planes and helicopters flying round.
Website:
http://www.wanganuiaeroclub.co.nz/ Someone has put a great deal of time and effort into this website and it is very user-friendly. I have never written that sentence in any other blog as most websites frustrate me! It has all the information you need about the club, the flights, their history and the training they can provide (eg Microlight, Private and Commercial Pilot Licences).
Facebook: Wanganui Aero Club
Geocaching: GC3WMP Stockcars - this one is nearby and is a quick park and grab unless the previous cacher has pushed it back in as far as they can and you need to extract it with a tool. There are 2 others nearby (on a cliff and opposite the airport). Plus Wanganui is full of fantastic geocaches, many of them being tricky and involving fishing line.
Photos: This was one of those situations where I needed to put the camera down and just enjoy the experience. It wasn't a scenic flight and every time I lined up a shot, a new manoeuvre was tried and I found myself taking a shot of a strut or
a wing. And how many photos of the river did I really need to take? Looking for places I could recognise such as houses where I had lived was much more fun. Flying near the tower on Bastia Hill was brilliant. It's an ugly building from the ground but looks impressive from the air. But if you want to take photos, talk to Daniel before take-off and remember you are in an enclosed space in the backseat of a 4-seater plane. I was using my small camera and still found that I was bumping the zoom lens against the window so started taking photos with my iPhone which worked much better as I could put it right up to the window.
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