West Auckland Airport Parakai is available for General Aviation, drop-in visitors welcome. Radio 123.5 in MBZ.  Due to frequent skydiving, please join downwind, base or final (not overhead).  Visitor parking by the hangars down taxiway 'B'

ZK-RTL:   The Maule 'RTL' arrived in a container from South Africa some time ago for its S.A. to NZ conversion.    This mainly involves changes in locator beacons, placards etc to suit the local specifications, and that didn't take too long.   As is usually the case, its the paperwork that causes the delays, with a common complication being that the CAA can't put an aircraft on the NZ register until its been removed from its old register... and not all registries in other countries are quick at doing that.

Seen here in Leading Edge Engineering's hangar, the Maule is a four seater occupying much the same ecological niche as the Cessna 172, but with the obvious difference of double struts under the wings.

The Maule had become something of a fixture in the engineering hangar, and many of those passing by were interested to have a look at an aircraft type that is not all that common in NZ.    Eventually all the paperwork was in order  (it's not really true that the weight of the documents has to equal the weight of the aircraft before its allowed to fly), and its now flown away.

Maule ZK-RLT

Hangar Owners and Frequent Flyers Meeting:   A well attended  'afternoon tea' was held one recent Sunday in the Leading Edge Engineering hangar, with much convivial discussion by people who had seen each other around, but not necessarily actually met before.   The scones and sauage rolls must have been appreciated as they disappeared in large quantities.     

The Airport Manager, Simon Lockie,  told everyone about the current developments...  we are keen to get rid of the 2 x old buildings (Classroom and Bunkhouse buildings), so if anyone knows who might like them that would be good, but they do need to be reasonably close, it's not going to be economic for someone to move them to the Uruweras as a hunting cabin.   

And, does anyone have any contacts in the roading repair business?   The roading contractors are so busy with the major developments in West Auckland that our small job (perhaps 100 m2 of digging out and rebuilding the runway soft spots, and if possible 6000 m2 of new seal over the whole runway)  kept getting put off last summer until winter set in, and we'd really like it fixed as soon as the ground hardens up in spring. 

He reminded us all that the 2016 Health and Safety regulations mean that the airport does need to have contact names, phones and emails for those who are authorised to go 'airside' by themselves (pilots, hangar tenants, students), and pilots must closely control non-aviators they take through the fence.   

Then it was back to the chatting and flying stories which went on for quite some time, with people picking up a 'West Auckland' flying hat and info pack on departing.  

We'll do this again in summer.

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Coming Events:

COROMANDEL: Lunch 2nd Sunday of each month from 12:30. Clubhouse Ph 07 866 2055. Click here for airfield details.

WHANGAREI: Last Saturday of each month at hangar 10, the Western end of the row of hangars.  Whangarei Flying Club meeting at 10:30 with lunch to follow.  Clubhouse phone 09 436 4053.  Click here for airfield details.

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Tower and Engineering