March 2012 - a cracker month!

[Peter Lewis]

Feb 28, 2012 7:20:23 GMT 12 Peter Lewis said:

Looks like mainly cars and blondes, with just one hour booked for aviation.

Instead, I'm planning to go to Matamata for that day as there seems to be more aviation activity booked there for the same day

matamata-airshow.co.nz/

Well that was a bummer.

We departed WP this morning in good time and, turning up the wick a bit, looked to be reaching Matamata at 11.45.

The Restricted Area at MA was notamed to be imposed at midday.

At 11.45 we reported 10nm north of MA tracking to join straight in for runway 10.
Reply from Matamata Radio "Airfield now closed for the display".

WTF?
It's only 11.45, there is still 15 minutes before the notamed closure.
Reply" Glider aerobatics now in progress, airfield closed"
From me "Will the airfield be reopened before midday?"
Reply "Negative"

So a pox on the Matamata airshow organizers, I hope you had a low turnout, a visitation form the Hells Angels and got covered in dust and horribly sunburnt.

After a few minutes orbiting I decided to alternate Tauranga.
Couldn't raise CHCH info for the flightplan changes, so we had to scramble as our SAR-watch was 1230.

Dumped in to Tauranga, fortunately we always travel with coffee and edibles so we could have our picnic at the Tauranga Aero Club - and use their loos.

So if Phil Hooker, Administering Authority of the 2012 Matamata airshow, reads this I hope that your camels get syphilis and your daughters run off with Congolese pirates. I left a shitty message on your cellphone at 12.30 today.

That's $452 wasted by me to go there and back with no result.
At least M enjoyed the views on her Birthday outing.

[Dave Homewood]

I was there at Matamata and it was an excellent and enjoyable event. And not only that, there were visiting aircraft coming in all day!

[slackie]

Interestingly enough, you could've continued in and landed. The only way a NOTAMed (or AIP published) closure can be changed is by another NOTAM. The "Administrating Authority" only has that authority during the hours published... outside of those hours it's business as usual (something the Administrating Authority of WOW '10 didn't realise either!).

[Peter Lewis]

Unfortunately the first display was glider aerobatics.
We have to give way to gliders anyway.

It's very hard to have an argument over the radio with someone on the ground while orbiting at 1200ft and clocking up $3 a minute air time while doing so.

Anyway, I've finally decided that I am done with attempting to attend airshows by flying in.
Sick of being treated like a third class citizen (see my moan on the 'What do you hate about airshows' thread).

From now on it's by car or by DC3.

[Dave Homewood]

Actually there were several displays before the gliders, including a little yellow zippy looking plane, and four Bantams.