Quiet Success

Well the week has been fairly low key, people are getting back into the gyrating habit but there is room for more flying now that the weather is generally improving. I received this photograph from John Rochfort who is enjoying flying his gleaming red Xenon at Dannevirke. John is flying solo under remote supervision which requires some judgement from afar to provide the right level of encouragement mixed with words of caution. I am impressed with the level of discipline shown by both John and Paul Scherrer in handling the remote consolidation stage of their progress successfully.

Closer to home more success has been achieved by Bruce Watson who did his first solo circuits on Saturday in RGG, the ex Gyrate school Eagle that he now owns. The plan is to have him ready to fly to the NZSAA Raglan fly-in at the beginning of November. By then we should have the new shipment from Germany and aim to display the latest upgrades to the marque including an in- flight variable pitch propeller.

The news of Paul Newman's death gives me the excuse to include a picture of his namesake who flew his first gyroplane experience with us earlier in the year whilst on holiday from the UK. I understand that the addictive gyro bug has caused Paul to continue back home with 'The Gyroplane Experience' a school operating in Yorkshire and spreading to other parts.

September Sunshine

Tauranga is bustling with activity, the new harbour bridge is coming on well, political signs are sprouting like Spring flowers and the Airport continues to produce new aircraft to fill the new hangars. The Gyro scene could be described as a swan, paddling hard beneath the surface to achieve a smooth image on the surface.

Today I enjoyed introducing the editor of two small circulation magazines to the world of gyros, this should produce positive editorial coverage in 'Cargo' and 'Rush Hour' which are primarily Auckland based and so hopefully will spread interest beyond the Bay of Plenty. We tried some air 2 air photos using Barry Winslade in Phil Chalmers Eagle as a camera ship but the results were less than stunning! The portfolio of 'Gyro Grins' was expanded and it was a great day for flying, sunny with a fresh Southwest breeze. Phil was kind enough to fly up from Whakatane just for the occasion which was much appreciated and the loose formation flying was a first for him. Note slowing down to 40mph, with RGG ahead, to let a commercial Beech 1900 cross the grass runway.

Tomorrow sees a workshop for me to learn how to manage a new 'Wordpress' based web site that Gyrate will release very shortly. Among its features will be links to Tauranga actual weather and forecasts, links to other sites of interest and videos of gyro flying around the world.

Of course there will also be a direct link to this blog for ongoing news. Already the fly-in and airshow displays are filling up the calender so with three new Eagles arriving mid October there will be plenty of frantic paddling, lets hope we can avoid making waves!

Return to a New Summer Season

When your flight ticket is unchangeable and you have arranged to have a minimal connection time, being off-loaded from a Coach and then having a train cancelled can cause the pulse to accelerate! Arriving at check-in as the flight is about to close does have advantages however as the prudent passengers have disappeared in fact almost everyone had disappeared! No worries looking back its hard to understand why rushing around Heathrow with two large wheelie cases weighing in at 'max allowable' should be an issue. Twelve hours later formalities and the quiet efficiency of Hong Kong's new airport can be handled even by the jet lagged. There is just a touch of intimidation in the eyes of the Chinees imigration officer and then the smooth airconditioned bus ride takes me direct to the Hotel door located amongst the hectic bustle of Kowloon. It is over 20years since I opperated DC8 and 747 aircraft into the old Kia Tak runway but the memory of heading straight at a large checker board painted on a hillside is still very very vived. The break-off into a steeply banked right turn is also indelibly planted into the mental databank and I can see the washing hanging from the balconies as the wing tip passes over, surely the soap-powder struggles to overcome the vapour of burnt jet fuel that must fall from the sky. Maybe that was a factor in reclaiming the land and building an engineering marvel, an International Airport out where there was sea. I am able to keep awake to take in a small amount of the City by night; I treat myself to the bar at the Intercontinental which looks across the water to Hong Kong Island where a Lazer light show takes place each evening. At 8.00pm sharp the show begins and beams of colour dart across the sky while the sides of the sky scrapers explode with brilliant light displays. It is hard to enjoy the full specticle as it is spread over some miles of waterway and no one vantage point can capture all the action. The spread of the City is further emphasised next day when I take the tourist tour which includes spectacular views from the Peak as well as touching on the povity of the traditional fishermen who still ply their trade from Junks around the harbour.

With jet lag still very present I board the Air NZ 747 for a ten hour sector to Auckland leaviong 30 degree heat for thick fog disrupting morning commuter flights. With some effort I am through the scrum of humanity seeking information and guidance and heading to the clearer skies of the Bay of Plenty. How nice it is to walk to the hangar and collect my car, how nice it is to head for a bed!

It takes me a week to return to normal and so I do short days and play catch up with the post and all the airfield gossip. I hear of Waihi Beach closing the airstrip due to a rising water table, I hear of a strip developing at Katikati, I note all the airshows and flyins and the calender suddenly fills up. I see all the work that Colin and Saul Alexander have done to bring the two-seat Dominator up to scratch, a zero hour, rebuilt 912s complete with carb deicing is now available for purchase by a discerning aviator. The Dominator is also available for instructional purposes although I can still use Eagle RGG until the new machines arrive in October.

Time flies and so must I, back to the trial flights and training. Three Eagles are now to be seen throughout the Western Bay and indeed further afield; I hear that Phil Chalmers flew to South Island last week. Great to see the Eagles spreading their wings. Not to mention my prodigies at Dannevirke, Paul Scherrer in his single seat Kermitcopter and John Rochfort in the red Xenon, both are accumulating time in their log books and experience to match.