In the morning of Wednesday 1 July Wayne picked me up and took me out to the airfield where the sun was again shining brightly. I phoned the Ohakea Tower to enquire about the status of the Raumai live firing range and was told that it was active but would be finished before I arrived there around 11 am. They advised to listen to the Ohakea Flight Information Service on 124.5 after I passed Wanganui to check on the Raumai status. Then it was time to go and I took off around 10.15 am:
Wayne took this neat video of my take off from Stratford (you can click to enlarge it). When you watch it do not be fooled by the lack of climb performance as when I lift off at around 30 knots or so I keep the plane level and low until the speed builds up to 50 knots which is what I climb out at.
Good bye Mount Taranaki. Wayne advised to follow the power lines South to the coast which is what I did.
On the coast near Waverly, past the wind farm and with the Waiototara River up ahead.
Looking down on Wanganui. I climbed up to 2,000 feet here to be above the circuit height on Wanganui Airport which is busy these days with the NZ Airline Academy flying school on the airport.
And here is the airport.
As advised I tuned to 124.5 and listened to the Ohakea Flight Information Service who advised that the Raumai live firing range was not active, so I was not blown out of the sky! This photo is inside the firing range and I flew at 1,000 feet down the rest of the Manawatu coastline.
Until I arrived at Foxton which is up ahead, and landed at Foxpine for fuel.
Taxiing in at Foxpine. Thanks to Simon Hills for the photos on the ground. Thanks also to Dave Stuart who also met me and drove me to he nearby Mobil station where I bought 20 litres of 98 octane fuel. Foxpine is where ZK-KMM first flew, with test pilot Stuart Tantrum on 15 January 1984 - that is 42 and a half years ago!
I think I got a slight bit of carb icing coming into Foxpine, but to feel safer I checked and set the tappets while I was on the ground (I had bought tools with me but forgot the feeler gauge! - thanks again Dave). Then I was all set to go with Cook Strait ahead.
A benign sea and sky climbing out of Foxpine with the coast curving up towards Wanganui.
I headed South down the coast and photo'd Kapiti Island on my way past.
Looking down on Paraparaumu and the airport. A nice lady in the tower advised me of QNH and I advised her of my position as I flew by. An aircraft took off as I was nearby but I was well clear.
Then down past Paekakariki and on to Porirua City with Plimmerton and Paremata in the foreground.
The coastline gets decidedly rougher down towards Makara and there are a lot of wind turbines.
Goodbye North Island!
The conditions over Cook Strait were excellent with almost no wind as you can see in the photo. This is what I had expected with the big high sitting over New Zealand. But there was a lens of cloud in the middle of the Strait at 1,500 feet that I had to fly under. Otherwise I flew at around 2,000 feet to keep below the Wellington Airport control zone.
Getting nearer to the South Island. This was the 39th time that the aircraft that I had built had flown across Cook Strait! (The other 38 were flown by Paul Legg).
Then I flew down the seaward side of the Marlborough Sounds which was quite spectacular.
This is Port Underwood which is a sound off the open sea.
Then finally I got to the flat land where the Wairau Valley meets the sea. This is over Rarangi Beach with the Wairau Diversion Channel up ahead (not to be confused with the Wairau River Estuary).
I had flown Honey Bebe for 1 hour 10 minutes from Stratford to Foxpine and 1 hour 35 minutes from Foxpine to Omaka. Another great day of flying!
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