Back in Time

This is a photo that stirs some powerful memories for me. The story goes something like this.

In January 2010 I'd gone to Blenheim to assist as a staff member with the NZ Cadet Force's National Aviation Course, which consists of a Powered Flying Flight (35 teenagers learning how to fly) and a Navigation Flight (18 teenagers get taught the Private Pilot navigation syllabus, and also complete a number of practical air navigation flights). My job was to be one of four instructors teaching the navigation syllabus, and one of three pilots flying the students for the practical component.

Anyway, the aircraft I was to fly was parked up at Palmerston North airport, and we waited out a number of days of bad weather before we could fly there from Blenheim, and make the return trip. We left RNZAF Base Woodbourne at 5.30 am in what I would describe as very marginal conditions - a cloud base under 1000 feet, scattered showers and limited forward visibility. Under 'normal' conditions you can easily see from one side of the strait to the other, but not today - not a hope. If I'd not been flying with a very experienced pilot  who'd made the Cook Strait crossing many times, I'd have turned back.

So, I was apprehensive, quite a bit outside my comfort zone, and was thinking way too much about what our chances of survival would be if we had to ditch mid-strait. The chances of finding us floating in such poor visibility would be low. Not pleasant thoughts.

Well, make it we did, and the sight of Mana and then Kapati Islands appearing through the murk was quite some relief. 30 minutes later we were on the ground and I was pre-flighting Warrior ZK-EBH, which I would fly back. And so I did, in the same conditions, but in the comfort that I was in the company of another aircraft should anything happen.

The photo is taken somewhere around Foxton, heading South, showing EBH nicely sandwiched between a couple of layers of cloud. This is pretty much about where the weather deteriorated again leading into Cook Strait, and we soon had to descend under the lower layer of cloud which became an unbroken layer.

I like the photo because it's just me in the aircraft, on my first solo crossing of the Strait, and because the return flight closed off a very memorable learning experience.