Bill Rolfe still flying after nearly 70 years
Nov 8, 2017 14:15:35 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 8, 2017 14:15:35 GMT 12
Bill Rolfe still flying after nearly 70 years
TERESA RAMSEY
Last updated 13:31, November 8 2017
Aircraft pilot Bill Rolfe.
Bill Rolfe has been flying aeroplanes since 1949 and, at 85, he's still taking to the sky.
The Thames man has had nearly 70 years of flying, including more than 20 years as an aerobatic pilot and trainer, and eight years in the Warbirds over Wanaka airshow aerobatic team.
"It's very disciplined and it's something that you do that is challenging," he said.
Bill Rolfe was a drummer in the Royal New Zealand Air Force band when Queen Elizabeth II visited New Zealand in 1953.
"It's just something that you like doing. And it's training and confidence in the other people - you've got to have confidence in the other people."
Love of flying has been handed down through generations of Rolfe's family.
"I've been around aeroplanes all my life because my father was involved in it," he said.
Bill Rolfe was an aerobatic pilot for Warbirds over Wanaka airshow for eight years.
It all began with his grandfather, John Rolfe, who helped build aeroplanes in the United Kingdom in 1914 before moving to New Zealand.
Bill's father, Harry Rolfe, was chief of the Australian Department of Aircraft Production in during World War 2, moving back to New Zealand after the war.
In the late 1940s, Bill learned how to fly from his uncle in Palmerston North.
"I used to get half an hour [flying tuition] for a day's work, which was a pretty good deal in the those days."
Bill got his pilot's licence in 1949 at the age of 16.
He didn't fly for about 10 years after signing up as a Royal New Zealand Air Force engineer, based in Palmerston North.
After leaving the air force, Rolfe worked in the family business, Rolfe Industries, supplying aircraft parts around New Zealand.
"As soon as I got out of the air force, I got back to flying again, because our business was on the aerodrome anyway," he said.
Bill has owned or part-owned 12 aeroplanes and four gliders and has flown 44 different types of aeroplanes over the years.
"A lot of good memories."
He moved from Auckland to Thames 14 years ago, where he continues to fly planes at Thames Aerodrome and helps teach his two grandsons how to fly.
He's had a short break from flying recently because he's been unwell. He missed flying and couldn't wait to renew his medical certificate and get back in the air, he said.
- Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/98668381/bill-rolfe-still-flying-after-nearly-70-years
TERESA RAMSEY
Last updated 13:31, November 8 2017
Aircraft pilot Bill Rolfe.
Bill Rolfe has been flying aeroplanes since 1949 and, at 85, he's still taking to the sky.
The Thames man has had nearly 70 years of flying, including more than 20 years as an aerobatic pilot and trainer, and eight years in the Warbirds over Wanaka airshow aerobatic team.
"It's very disciplined and it's something that you do that is challenging," he said.
Bill Rolfe was a drummer in the Royal New Zealand Air Force band when Queen Elizabeth II visited New Zealand in 1953.
"It's just something that you like doing. And it's training and confidence in the other people - you've got to have confidence in the other people."
Love of flying has been handed down through generations of Rolfe's family.
"I've been around aeroplanes all my life because my father was involved in it," he said.
Bill Rolfe was an aerobatic pilot for Warbirds over Wanaka airshow for eight years.
It all began with his grandfather, John Rolfe, who helped build aeroplanes in the United Kingdom in 1914 before moving to New Zealand.
Bill's father, Harry Rolfe, was chief of the Australian Department of Aircraft Production in during World War 2, moving back to New Zealand after the war.
In the late 1940s, Bill learned how to fly from his uncle in Palmerston North.
"I used to get half an hour [flying tuition] for a day's work, which was a pretty good deal in the those days."
Bill got his pilot's licence in 1949 at the age of 16.
He didn't fly for about 10 years after signing up as a Royal New Zealand Air Force engineer, based in Palmerston North.
After leaving the air force, Rolfe worked in the family business, Rolfe Industries, supplying aircraft parts around New Zealand.
"As soon as I got out of the air force, I got back to flying again, because our business was on the aerodrome anyway," he said.
Bill has owned or part-owned 12 aeroplanes and four gliders and has flown 44 different types of aeroplanes over the years.
"A lot of good memories."
He moved from Auckland to Thames 14 years ago, where he continues to fly planes at Thames Aerodrome and helps teach his two grandsons how to fly.
He's had a short break from flying recently because he's been unwell. He missed flying and couldn't wait to renew his medical certificate and get back in the air, he said.
- Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/98668381/bill-rolfe-still-flying-after-nearly-70-years
