|
2007 NZAWA Annual Rally
- Competition Results
Briar Smith Victory Trophy
Student Pilots who have flown solo
- upper airwork, circuit rejoin and landing
1st Asha Norman 2nd Katie Symmans 3rd Melanie
Potter
Cessna Cup
Non-instrument spot landing for CPL/A
or ATPL/A licence holders
1st Dee Bond 2nd Loreen Antony 3rd Rhoda Morrison
Collings Cup
Student Pilots - Highest aggregate
score from all other competitions entered
1st Katie Symmans
Fitton Rose Bowl
For advanced students & all other
licence holders (fixed wing only)– theory
test then flight test
1st Aleisha O’Reilly 2nd Rochelle West
3rd Loreen Antony
Kay Scott Trophy
Student & Private Pilots –
non instrument circuit
1st Edith Robinson 2nd Lisa Brown 3rd Katie
Symmans
Morane Saulnier Rallye Trophy
Private Pilots – forced landing
1st Yvonne Loader 2nd Margaret Wright 3rd
Joan Campbell
Morrell Gliding Trophy
Non Instrument circuit open to all
glider pilots
1st Yvonne Loader 2nd Andrea Grogg
Ninety-Nine Tray
Awarded to the 99 member with the
most points in NZAWA competitions
1st = Dee Bond and Edith Robinson
NZ Airwomen’s Gliding Cup
Upper airwork & precision landing
for all glider pilots who have been solo
1st Andrea Grogg 2nd Yvonne Loader 3rd Asha
Norman
Patricia Wright Memorial Trophy
Private, Commerical or ATPL –
pre-flight with defects
1st Jessica Neeson 2nd Bernice
Hintz 3rd Asha Norman
Pioneer Trophy
Commercial or ATPL – precision
& flapless landings
1st Penny Armstrong 2nd
Tess Mowbray 3rd Loreen Antony
Victor Aerobatic Trophy
Open entry – loop, stall turn
left & right, barrel roll left & right
& one free choice manoeuvre
1st Trish Stephens 2nd Andrea
Grogg 3rd Lisa Lilburn
Wings Photographic Competitions
Photographic competition for members
and non-members
Member: Bernice Hintz Non-Member: Josh Horder
Winter Navigation Rose Bowl
Student & Private Pilots –
navigation theory exercise in written form
1st= Bernice Hintz and Ann Fosberry 3rd Sarah
Colliver
Yvonne Loader Trophy
Student & Private Pilots –
basic panel Instrument flying
1st Vivienne Webb 2nd Lisa Brown 3rd Margaret
Wright
Yvonne Loader
– Omarama Gliding
I started my retirement years with six weeks
based at Omarama followed by a week long gliding
camp at Nelson Lakes (Lake Roitoiti/St Anaud).
One of the reasons for my retirement decision
was to participate in and enjoy the visit
of twelve Australian Gliding Pilots from Darling
Downs (near Brisbane) for their first mountain
flying experience at Omarama which I hoped
would establish new friendships and in that
regard I was more than rewarded with some
wonderful times, great flying and wonderful
new friends.
Following the normal club camp and NZ Nationals
most club members had gone back to work leaving
me as the main tow pilot and one of two instructors
to fly with our Darling Downs visitors and
club members. On one day I flew the Pawnee
for an hour to get as many gliders as possible
airborne before taking the back seat in the
high performance two seater to take a Netherlands
Doctor to 12,000ft in wave – a flight
duration of 2.25 hours followed by another
flight of 3.30 hours flying to Mt Cook and
getting to the visiting pilot’s personal
goal of flying over 20,000ft which we achieved
at 8.20pm eventually landing back after 9
pm. Seven hours flying for me for the day!
Over the six week period I did close to 95
hours of flying.
Another highlight was the visit of Ann Johnson
to the NZ National Championships held at Omarama
early January at which I was towing. Ann is
well known in NZ gliding as an early NZ record
holder having set two NZ feminine records
in the 1970’s. It was Ann’s first
visit to Omarama and we thoroughly enjoyed
our first glider flight together
During my time at Omarama it was lovely to
receive a visit from Don Petitt and his family
(our NZAWA Astronaut friend), who enjoyed
a conducted tour around the airfield facilities,
followed closely by Pam and Ces Collings calling
in on their way home from Wanaka. It was great
to have the opportunity to catch up on Don’s
Antarctic activities and hear of Pam and Ces’s
holiday activities with the Petitts.
The best highlight of my Omarama season was
absolutely one ‘out of the box’
flight with Terry Delore – (a Canterbury
based pilot who is one of the most prolific
world record holders in the world today and
who flies with Steve Fossett to establish
twin seat world records in the USA, South
Africa and Argentina). He rated our flight
together “as one really up there”
which says it all.
It was one of the best Omarama thermal days
and following take off we climbed on Mt St
Cuthberts and flew over to Magic Mountain
near the northern end of the Lindis Pass.
There were some 'live targets' on the top
in the form of a group of hang glider pilots
- far too tempting to pass up a beat up which
was spectacular as we flew head on to the
mountain and then pulled back to fly over
their heads. They were ecstatic and I don't
know how we didn't end up with a few hang
gliders attached to our tail but it was enormous
fun! Flew over Lake Hawera, the Dingle, Makarora
on to Haast. It is very rare we can soar on
the West Coast as the air mass is generally
too moist and cold. We flew in the region
of 5,000ft to 6,500ft - not that high for
most of the flight. Terry then decided he
wanted to do a 'first' for him and fly past
the Fox and Franz Glaciers with the west side
of Mt Cook in the distance and a view for
miles over the Tasman Sea. Beautiful scenery
- amazing rocks and mountain formation, wild
animals on the ridges, ice lakes, tarns, mini
glaciers, wonderful patterns in the snow,
huge chunks of snow ice, spectacular water
falls - simply glorious!
We needed to climb and fly over a ridge to
get back to the east side. We achieved a comfortable
swipe over a ridge at about 6,500ft to fly
into a spectacularly beautiful valley with
two moraine lakes on the valley floor towered
over by the divide mountains glistening with
mini glaciers—very awe inspiring. I
did make the comment I was a good swimmer
as there was nowhere to land. We flew along
the sunny face of the ridge getting down to
1,700ft above the valley floor. VERY interesting!
Terry spotted a lake in the distance which
he identified as Lake Tekapo. Whew - nice
to know where we were! Of course Terry's confidence
in finding a climb was rewarded and it was
the best climb of the day up to 9,500ft. We
later discovered we had come across the Sealy
Pass which is at the head waters of Lake Tekapo.
Terry later calculated we needed a 1:100 glide
angle to make a landing strip. Our glider
was 1:60!!
Good energy lines beckoned and plenty of
daylight left so it was decided that Arthurs
Pass was the next place to aim for. We were
soon looking down on Hokitika and Lake Kaniere
(West Coast). We turned for home taking the
climbs where we could - the sky still looking
good but we didn't find the climb we needed
and were soon low in the Erewhon basin where
the cold easterly was in. We swiped pinnacles
of rocks for an hour and a half with superb
piloting skills (mine of course!!! - Wee-ll
I did achieve the best climb of the day) but
eventually we had to accept defeat to land
at Mesopotania. During our 30 mins stay we
were given coffee, a hot egg and meat pie,
saw a helicopter land with a live Chamois,
were taken on a tour of the old farm buildings,
monuments and plaques and visited the school
which closed in 2000 but which was preserved
as though it was still operating where we
sat at the school desks and had our photos
taken. We returned to the helicopter which
was being piloted by long term flying friend,
Laurie Prouting, who greeted me with a wonderful
welcome and a big hug. By that time the Pawnee
had arrived to tow us home. All told, an awesome
day where the land out was all part of the
adventure. I was on such a sublime "high".
It was truly awesome to fly with someone with
the superb soaring skills of Terry - no wonder
he is known as a legend! He is a riot to fly
with and has a great sense of fun and humor
and I was certainly the envy of many highly
experienced glider pilots on our return. I
do not expect to do a flight like that ever
again but it will always be the best flight
ever and I was ever so lucky to be part of
a ground breaking flight.
 |
 |
Yvonne Loader
NZAWA
Stock Items for Sale
If you would like
to order an NZAWA beanie or souviner badge
please download and print the following pdf
order
form and send (with payment) to:
NZAWA
P O Box 10-262
The Terrace
Wellington
or email NZAWA
Stock Sales
 |
NZAWA
BEANIE
$20.00 (includes post/packaging)
Beanie is dark navy with NZAWA logo
and initials |
 |
NZAWA
Souviner Badge
$15.00
(includes post/packaging)
Not a replacement for the NZAWA Membership
Badge,
but a badge to show you are a true kiwi
aviator
also a great gift to give away if you
are heading overseas |
4th
Asia-Pacific Women in Aviation Conference
Mudgee, NSW, Australia - March 2007
NZAWA has a small contingent
at the 4th Asia-Pacific Women in Aviation
Conference held in Mudgee, NSW, Australia
in late March. The Australian Women Pilots'
Conference was held immediatly after and most
of us stayed on for that (particularly as
the Women in Aviation Trophy was up for grabs
as part of the AWPA Nav Trial event) There
were about 50 attendees for th WIA Conference
with numbers swelling considerably for AWPA
Conference.
Pat and Alistair Campbell
arrived by car from a more extensive visit
to Oz; Joan and Malcolm Campbell
and Judy Simons drove from
Sydney (after spending a day there dealing
with new passports, credit cards etc for Joan
whose handbag was stolen shortly after their
arrival); Yvonne Loader travelled
from Bathhurst where she had been visiting
family, and Pam Collings and Bernice
Hintz travelled from Sydney on the
bus provided by AWPA.
Two full days of seminars followed. First
up was Mike Watson and Chris Sullivan of the
ATSB presenting The Evolution of a Safe System.
A new country called Invertia (which looked
remarkably like Australia upside down) needed
a new aviation system. Using an accident scenario
as a guide, the goal was to consider how to
put in place suitable rules to ensure a safe
system.
After lunch Katrin Hewitt, an aeronautical
engineer with Airservices Australia told us
about ADS-B Implementation – Transitioning
to Satellite Technology. This satellite system
is able to offer coverage in the gaps between
the present radar centres (which are concentrated
in the high-traffic areas). ADS-B is an effective
method and much cheaper than extending the
radar system. Squadron Leader Andrea Tame
of the RAAF spoke about aircraft accident
investigation from a military perspective.
Tuesday morning started with a presentation
on dangerous goods by Karen Scrimes of CASA.
Security aspects were mentioned also - the
new LAGS laws being topical for us to deal
with on the trip home (Liquids, aerosols and
gels in 100 ml containers in a clear plastic
bag).
Understanding the Human Factor in Aviation
Operations was presented by Sue Burdekin of
the University of NSW at the Australian Defence
Force Academy. This presentation included
examples of visual illusions and a video clip
which proved to us how difficult it is to
maintain overall situational awareness when
concentrating hard on a particular task. Quite
a wake-up call –
to explain it would spoil it for the future
– but a gorilla is involved!
The Kiwis plus Andrea Tame (who was born
in NZ) were privileged to spend a very pleasant
lunch period with Nancy Bird,
an honorary member of NZAWA. Nancy, at 91,
is slowing down a little bit physically but
her sharp perceptive mind is not - her excellent
memory and knowledge of the aviation scene,
from the 1930s to the present day, is astonishing.
After lunch, the session Careers and Prospects
brought together the previous four female
speakers plus Salli-Ann Ward who owns a successful
flying school in nearby Bathurst. Hearing
how these talented women got to their present
positions was inspiring. There was a wide
diversity of experiences and for some, changes
of direction, during their careers. Common
to all was though was a passion for aviation
and the determination to persevere and succeed
on their chosen path.
At the final event, the Women in Aviation
Dinner at the Blue Wren winery, guest speaker
Felicia Lockley entertained us with stories
of her experiences flying airships in the
United States – quite a different type
of flying.
N ext day was a free day until the AWPA conference
opening at the High Valley Wine and Cheese
Company. A bus tour to the nearby historic
town of Gulgong showed us historic shops,
a Pioneer Museum, and the Henry Lawson (famous
Aussie poet) Museum with a visit to an interesting
antique shop on the way and to the Farmer’s
Daughter winery for lunch. (We met not only
the farmer and his daughter, but also the
farmer’s wife and the grand-daughter
– serving good wine and port).
The education sessions at the AWPA Conference
kicked off with a morning on Understanding
Your Engine, the principal presenter being
Adrian McHardy from New Zealand, the Lycoming
representative for the Asian region. This
was a most informative session and should
be utilised in NZ.
The AWPA Communications Session and the Ninety-Nines
Australian Section meeting were held in the
afternoon with dinner that night at the Poet’s
Corner winery.
Friday morning’s education session
started with a presentation on ditching procedures,
life jackets and life rafts and then it was
off to the hotel pool to put theory into practice
with jackets and rafts. Bernice, Pam and Judy
bravely volunteered – there was much
hilarity in the water and good entertainment
for the onlookers (Yvonne was busy with her
camera). Having learnt how hard it is to move
around and get into a raft in warm still water
(and uninjured), we hope we never have to
do it for real.
NZ team was Cathy Hobson (our
Aussie NZAWA member) as pilot, Pam Collings
as navigator and Yvonne Loader and Judy Simons
as observers in a Cessna 172. It is the small
things that can throw you – deciphering
the Aus domestic flight plan form and working
an unfamiliar nav computer – but preparations
complete, we were off. A pleasant flight,
the observers answered all their questions
and we found the photo – the diversion
carried out (but calculations guesstimated
as the tiny computer had disappeared), so
reasonably happy with our performance. However,
we didn’t bring the trophy home –
the winners being the Australian team of flying
school owner Salli-Ann Ward as navigator and
two of her pilots. We challenged them to come
and defend it in NZ in 2010.
That night was a fun country night with the
Flying Fossils band, the AWPA AGM was held
on Saturday morning with the Presentation
Dinner that night, and on Sunday it was time
to head home.
Pam and Yvonne flew back to Camden (south
of Sydney) with Cathy Hobson in the C172 and
stayed two nights with Cathy and husband Rod.
We were interested to see the fine complex
that the ATC cadets have at Camden –
Rod and Cathy are both involved and the cadets
were completing a weekend firearms course
when we arrived. Having flown over the Blue
Mountains on the flight, we drove up the next
day to lunch at a fine old hotel, view the
Three Sisters and ride the steep old coalmine
railway and new cable car.
Pam Collings
 |
 |
NZ contingent at
Mudgee
with Nancy Bird
|
Judy Simons, Cathy
Hobson, Pam Collings and Yvonne Loader
- Nav Trial
|
 |
 |
Pam Collings with
Luba Rylova from Moscow
|
Life raft practice in the hotel pool
|
First
1000 km Glider Flight in NZ by a Woman
The
forecast was promising enough, so I drove
the three and a half hours down to Omarama
after work on Monday 16 January 2006.
Tuesday's
task for a 1000km diploma flight was from
Omarama - Waiparu - Totara Peak - Waikaia
- Omarama. (Waiparu and Waikaia, the two southern
points are both near Lumsden and Totara Peak
is 12nm west of Lake Coleridge). Total distance
= 1007.8 km.
It
took 7 hours 17 minutes to complete the task,
with an average speed of 138kmph. This was
done almost completely in wave off the Southern
alps, and mostly flying between 14 000 and
17 000 feet AMSL and using oxygen.
Launched after a weather briefing at 10.45am.
The tow pilot was a friend Annie so it was
nice to be towed by another woman. There were
two “interesting moments" during
the flight:
In
the wave over Lake Pukaki at 18 000ft, I saw
another glider coming towards me rather closer
than was comfortable, we were head on and
both turned away, phew ! Gliders have little
frontal area so look out is critical.
Around
Waikaia on the last leg, the front air vent
was squealing so I thought I'd open and close
it to stop the noise. Ha, it jammed open and
I'd replaced a squeal with a loud roar! (well
done Jen- argh !) I finally pushed it shut
with a "wing holder upper" stick
so I could talk on the radio, then realised
that while holding it shut my wrist was over
the GPS aerial and the display wasn't showing
satellites. Thought bugger, this might invalidate
my GPS trace so flew the rest of the way back
leaving it open and blasting cold air in.
It was freezing -up until then I'd been comfy,
electric socks are just the best!
It was 6.20pm when I landed back at Omarama,
downloaded the GPS trace and then drove home.
Did make it back to work on time and was a
tired but happy girl for days afterwards.
Thanks goes to members of the gliding club
for their encouragement and advice and especially
to Yvonne Loader who first introduced me to
gliding via an Airwomans rally and who I regularly
share soaring experiences with.
The
picture was taken immediately after I landed,
no time for lippy or tidy hair, I really don't
know how Jean Batten always emerged looking
glamorous.
Jenny Wilkinson
|
