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Post by stu on Nov 2, 2008 18:43:01 GMT 12
Thanks Bruce, I was wondering if something like that had happened - especially when I heard your call. Important lesson for next time.
You're right about how sudden it was and the slow response from the windsock, wind from one direction as I got into the plane and another as I rolled.
A wee moment as I crossed the fence but otherwise, nose level and away we go.
Mind you, the only other time I've taken off from Raglan (into a headwind) the Robin was very reluctant to come unstuck - power to weight being very average.
Great day all the same despite my show for the punters ;D
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Post by ARU on Nov 2, 2008 19:42:15 GMT 12
Woohoo i win, first photos posted ;D ;D ;D nice to finally catch up with a few of you guys, a special thanks to peter for the flight down. good job with the departure stu!!!!       Alex |
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Post by ARU on Nov 2, 2008 19:45:30 GMT 12
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Post by Bruce on Nov 2, 2008 19:51:38 GMT 12
From an organisers point of view, we were very happy with how this weekend went. Despite the low numbers, everyone had a great time, with much aeroplane spoken and tall tales told. Unfortunately I dont have many photos as I was busy, but nowhere near as busy as previous years, so I could chat to lots of people. We made some fairly big changes to how the ran the event based on having a couple of years previous experience, and some of the "frills" which had previously caused stress and hassle with very little gain were dropped (not that anyone noticed or commented). By carefully managing how much food etc we purchased, we can report that we broke even despite the significantly lower turnout. This is extremely promising for next year. I am pleased that people made sensible choices to stay home or drive in the terrible weather.
The great thing, as Dave will probably agree, are the people you meet, not just all the aeroplanes that arrive. As the weather closed in on saturday we watched NZ Aviation DVDs, and from that all manner of interesting conversations sprung up. we have got at least one new forum member out of it as well, welcome aboard AndrewVP2!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 2, 2008 20:30:46 GMT 12
I want to thank all those who put in the effort to make the Black Sands event such an enjoyable, fun weekend.
Special thanks to homebuilder housemates from the weekend, Bruce Cooke, Bruce Macdonald, Graeme Colquhoun and Murray, plus Andrew Parsons, Baz and Gordon and all the others who provided great company over the weekend.
It was great to see some forum members there, as well as Bruce and myself, I met Bruce MacDonald who told me he's a regular reader and is also the father of madmac (Duncan) who turned up on the Saturday and I also met. Great to catch up! And today having Peter and Meredith (flyernzl and Mrs flyernzl), Alex (aru) and Stu and his family there was neat.
A huge thanks to Peter for kindly taking me up in the Cessna Skyhawk II so i could see Raglan from the air, that was an excellent experience and really neat to see a different perspective on the little twon i've been visiting regularly since I was a kid for holidays and fishing trips.
Everyone who'd been to Black Sands before kept saying "you should have been here last year, we had 105 aeroplanes lined up." Well that may be, but I still reckong the 40 or so planes I saw (maybe more) come and go throughout Friday to Sunday were a really interesting mix and certaibly constituted a good fly in as far as I'm concerned. And as Bruce says, it's not about the planes, it's the people.
Well done also to SAANZ who launched their new and much more user friendly website yesterday. It's a huge improvement on the old one.
Lastly I want to say if you're thinking about a holiday, forget all those fancy foreign places like Aussie or Fiji. Go to the Ragland camping ground. It's fantastic and you'll love the relaxing beach holiday there right next to a beautiful aerodrome.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 2, 2008 20:35:52 GMT 12
I meant to say Stu, as Peter and I were airborne I missed youur dramatic departure. I heard all about it several times when we landed as you were the talk of the drome. I'm very glad you recovered from that sinking feeling and all worked out well.
Do you know, I was at the strip from before 8am with the video camera taking shots of landings and departures all flipping day, and when you did one worthy of YouTube it was the only time I was not there filming!!!
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Post by stu on Nov 3, 2008 10:28:22 GMT 12
Do you know, I was at the strip from before 8am with the video camera taking shots of landings and departures all flipping day, and when you did one worthy of YouTube it was the only time I was not there filming!!! Thank god for that  Just trying to provide a bit of entertainment for everybody .... trust me, I don't normally fly like that ;D Seriously though - my wife commented this morning about what a lovely bunch of people she met there and what a lovely day it was even though she drove down. Coming back to Auckland is always a drag after such nice days away with good company and surrounds. I also spoke to my mother shortly after I got home and she passed on similar comments from the Cambridge clan - and she's quite keen to go for a fly now too. Full marks and a big thanks to everybody involved, it was a great day. On a personal note, I must be getting a bit soft in my old age as Raglan was where my dad used to fly me and my sister for day trips in a 172 when I was about 8 years old (the start of my obsession with aviation) - as I landed yesterday with my daughter in the passenger seat I felt a slight poignancy, a generation later I'm now the dad taking my girl to the same airstrip. Of course, being a teenager, her response was a non-committal grunt of some sort. My step-daughter was on the return flight - her first in a light aircraft - and enjoyed it (apart from the take-off). Cheers, Stu. |
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Post by stu on Nov 3, 2008 10:31:07 GMT 12
Note to self .... check message finished before clicking post.
Great photos Alex, one day I'll have to learn how to take good ones like those.
Cheers,
Stu.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 3, 2008 13:54:47 GMT 12
I agree about your photos Alex, superb!
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Post by Peter Lewis on Nov 3, 2008 18:43:41 GMT 12
Rather a busy day, all around. (Not as busy as Gunther Bartell who rose at 3am to take a friend to Auckland International, nipped home for breakfast, then found time to fly his Cavalier ZK-DJJ to Raglan for the day!) Both legs of the trip down and back were plagued with radio failure at crucial moments (trying to enter controlled airspace to transit the Auckland International control zone and also while joining the circuit for a touch-and-go at Ardmore) but some number 8 wire fiddling got us through each time. Anyway, the highlight for me was looking at the sparkling EAA Acro Sport II ZK-CAW which has been built up by the well-known ex-agpilot Nev Worsley at Rotorua   First time I have seen this smooth new Vans RV-6 ZK-PRV, even though it's based at Ardmore  A couple of Tecnams were in residence, P92 Echo Super ZK-CLH from Te Aroha  And its sister ZK-LJW which I thought had come rather a long way from Invercargill. Turns out it's just been sold to the aero club at Harewa  P96 Golf ZK-SVT from Hamilton  We must not forget Stu's thrillseeker Robin ZK-TZH  The Forum took to the air in ZK-DXQ to get some aerial shots from 2500ft to add to Dave's stock movie footage for a prospective documentary Peter (Flyernzl) and Dave lift off  and safely return, watched by some bemused locals  (thanks Alex for driving the camera for those last two shots). |
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Post by Bruce on Nov 3, 2008 18:58:24 GMT 12
Actually the bemused locals in the last shot may not be that local after all - note the logo on the van (probably most are from the UK!)
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Post by Kereru on Nov 3, 2008 19:07:39 GMT 12
Good to see some great photos guys and a good time had by all. Must be very satisfying Bruce and well done!
Cheers
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 3, 2008 19:38:32 GMT 12
Great photos there Peter. I agree that the Acro Star is a really impressive machine.
Thanks too to you and Alex for the shots of our flight, something to cherish in the future.
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Post by Peter Lewis on Nov 3, 2008 20:26:35 GMT 12
It's a long shot but . . . I may as well ask:
My wife lost her Whenuapai security visitors pass somewhere at Raglan on Sunday.
We noticed the loss at about 2.45pm, and failed to find any trace of it with a quick search of the grass around our aircraft and in the food area (which had been cleaned by then).
Admittedly, she visited the Raglan shops prior to noticing the loss.
We have reported this to Air Security, and they have advised:
"Base security would also like to emphasis to you that the card is a Government document and is an accountable document, which has been issued under your name, and Base security are concerned as to its whereabouts.
Base security have advised there may be a recovery or replacement cost, which has yet to be decided."
So if anyone has come across this item - a smallish orange card with black print- I would be greatly relieved to see it again, no questions asked.
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Post by ARU on Nov 4, 2008 10:27:55 GMT 12
(thanks Alex for driving the camera for those last two shots). yeah thats alright, thanks again for the ride peter. I really liked that sand dune, it gave excellent overviews of the strip. a good weekend, and pleased to finally meet some more forum face to face, see you at ardmore ;D |
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Post by stu on Dec 11, 2008 8:51:33 GMT 12
Do you know, I was at the strip from before 8am with the video camera taking shots of landings and departures all flipping day, and when you did one worthy of YouTube it was the only time I was not there filming!!! Don't worry ... somebody did. This has just come into my possession.  Really notice the sink over the estuary. |
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Dec 11, 2008 17:51:59 GMT 12
Looks like something of an Ilyushin-style departure there Stu.  |
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Just trying to provide a bit of entertainment for everybody .... trust me, I don't normally fly like that ;D 
