As it was a nice flying day today (but a bit windy for my Jodel Bébé), and seeing as I was out at Kaipara Flats airfield, it was a no-brainer to hop up to Dargaville for their inaugural post Covid catered lunch. So I got my headphones and hopped into the right hand seat of the Rodney Aero Club's Pipistrel Alpha with Craig Powell:
Seven of the eleven visiting aircraft, and they were eleven different types!
One of the types was the lovely old Cessna 120
ZK-BFK2, from Ardmore. I think this is the first time I have seen it marked as ZK-BFK but I did see it 24 years ago at Matamata and you can see its history
HEREOur ride from Kaipara Flats: the Rodney Aero Club's Pipistrel Alpha
ZK-JAT2 (Note the small RAC logo just in front of the cockpit). It is a pretty impressive aircraft and goes really well with a 80 HP Rotax.
And the lunch was up to the usual high standard! Thanks to the cooks and helpers.
The Pipi also gives you great unobstructed views down, as it doesn't have a strutted wing courtesy of its glider heritage. Here we are looking down on Maungaraho Rock.
And the big clear doors allow photos from both sides. Here the Matakohe Kauri Museum is down there with the Twin Bridges realignment in the middle distance, with the countryside reflected in the underside of the wing.
A bit further on there is Pahi (on the peninsula) and Whakapiro across the water.
And finally a bit further on some nice green farmland (it has been raining a lot in Northland) with North Head and South Head of the Kaipara Harbour in the murky distance.
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