Strip flying

I took two weeks of annual leave at the start of November and sought to accomplish two things: 1) a bit of flying at the Marlborough Aero Club, and 2) the Alps to Ocean cycle trail. More on that shortly!

Marlborough Aero Club offers strip flying training at various airstrips near Blenheim. I had flown with them back in 2017 in preparation for my MAF flight assessment. On that visit we had looked at different techniques at the home airfield, before heading out to four different airstrips. The fourth one had been beyond my skill level at the time, so I was keen to give it another go, as well as try my hand at some sloping strips, which are common in PNG but almost non-existent in Australia. I also used the opportunity to get my BFR (biennial flight review) signed off, since if I waited until my next visit to NZ in 2023, it would be more than 5 years since my last one and I would have to resit the aviation law exam if I wanted to keep flying.

We had flyable weather on four days in a row, which was great.

On day 1 I did some refresher circuits with Sharn to get reacquainted with the aircraft - a 1963 C172 E model with manual 40 deg flap, STOL kit and 180 hp engine.

The next day I flew with Ben to do the BFR in the morning, and then in the afternoon we went out to the Sounds to two airstrips there.

Airstrip at Nopera (landing direction indicated by arrow)

Take-off view at Nopera airstrip

Airstrip at Port Gore

Just before commencing take-off at Port Gore
- like heading down a skateboard ramp!

On day 3 I was flying with Ben again, so we headed to the Awatere valley to try some strips there. Richmond Brook front had sheep in it, and Prouting had some puddles and mud patches visible from the air, so we couldn't use either of those. I wasn't too disappointed as I had flown into both of these previously. We headed a little further up the valley to the Aotea strip, which was reasonably long (and two-way) but had quite a confined circuit area. I did a few landings and take-offs in both directions and we headed back. In the afternoon we were treated to a rather impressive thunderstorm!

Dark clouds over the Taylor Pass, about 30 mins before
the rain reached Blenheim

On the final day I flew with Sharn again, with the aim of heading to the 'CFI-only' strips. Our first destination was the Richmond Brook back strip, which I had struggled with last time. This time, finding it was my biggest challenge! Once I was able to make it out, I felt relatively comfortable flying the approach and landing the aircraft. It was a confidence boost - but then I had gained about 500 hrs and new MAF techniques since my last attempt!

I did 4 or 5 landings, during which time the tail wind started to become quite noticeable, so we headed to our second destination: Dashwood pass. This is a sloping strip on a spur - good practise for PNG! I was particularly keen to have a go due to the visual illusions that can result when you are trying to land uphill. Sharn demonstrated the first approach and then I had two successful attempts. We decided not to push it for a third as the wind was picking up (crosswind this time). All in all, I was very satisfied!

Dashwood Pass airstrip from the air

Looking down the spur prior to take-off

A very capable machine!