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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

Covid Level 2:

The airport remained open for emergency services through the lockdown, and is now fully open for all services. There is a contact tracing register in the Pilot Room, please record when you are there. Cleaning materials are provided in the Airport's aircraft.

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First Solo:

Flying has resumed strongly after the lockdown, with Michael Abernethy having his 'first solo'... the first since the lockdown with more getting close. Congratulations to Michael and Instructor Kevin :) .

Michael Abernethy after his first solo in the Tecnam ZK-CDL. (Photo Kevin)

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ROTAX 912 engine available, 800 flight hours:

The addition to our fleet, the Tecnam Golf now registered as ZK-ECL, came with a Rotax 912 engine that has 800 flight hours and is in good condition. However, 912s in aircraft available for 'hire or reward' have a limit of 10 calendar years and its older than that. In a private aircraft it is acceptable to run 'on condition' beyond those times. A new engine has been purchased for ECL, and the existing engine is available for sale to a private owner. The engine has been professionally maintained all its life, and as the overall condition of ECL shows, the aircraft and its engine have been well looked after. The engine is quiet and smooth (as would be expected given the hours and history), and a prospective purchaser can fly the engine in ECL, before its swapped out. As Rotax 912s normally get to the 2000h TBO with no problems and few private owners do 1200h, this engine effectively has the same life as new for a private owner, at lower cost. Contact Bryn Lockie 021 681 900 or bryn@WestAucklandAirport.co.nz

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=2630814179&ed=true

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West Auckland Airport Parakai: Facilities & Services. Visitor facilities with tea / coffee / cold drinks / toilets in Pilot Lounge. Icecreams and more cold drinks are often available at the skydiving base across the road.

Aircraft Engineering, Skydiving, Introductory flights and Flight Training for PPL/CPL, Microlights and Gyrocopters. Aircraft parking, Hangarage, Hangar building sites.

Phone first 09 420 8010 if you will need fuel, as sometimes we're all off flying.

Commercial opportunities exist for new operators at West Auckland.

Pink PAC ready for action: Skydive Auckland's Pac is back at work... no overseas tourists, but plenty of students wanting to finish their skydiving courses... and Kiwis unable to go overseas for a long time... but 'stir crazy' after a long lockdown, keen to get out of the house, see more of NZ and tick off 'bucket list' items.

ZK-SDT, the 'PAC 750-XL' Skydive jump ship

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Future Passenger Operations and Upgrading Facilities:

The Covid lockdown had a serious effect on aviation, with the total number of NZ flights down 97% on the same period last year. Experts predict that it will take a long time for International tourists to return in bulk. This will greatly affect the viability of air services to the Regions, as those tourists filled many of the seats on the relatively large aircraft that have been used on many Regional routes.

West Auckland Airport has realised that it can help keep Regional Air Services going, by supporting the air services that it provided in the past when Regional aircraft were much smaller.

A 'Blast from the Past'...

Scheduled passenger flights loading on the apron at West Auckland Parakai, using Cessna 'Caravan' and similar aircraft... their day may come again.

In the 1990s, Parakai Aviation Ltd ran scheduled passenger flights from West Auckland Parakai to Great Barrier Island, and special flights to other Regional airports such as Kerikeri, Rotorua, Tauranga and New Plymouth, using Partenavia and Cessna Caravan aircraft.

If the aftermath of Covid is a substantial reduction in domestic passenger numbers, the large aircraft previously servicing many Regional airports will be uneconomic. For these important Regional connections to be maintained, the Regions will need smaller aircraft similar to those that previously flew from West Auckland Parakai.

To meet this predicted change in the aviation industry, (and help generate the economic activity and jobs necessary for recovery from Covid), the Airport is bringing forward its long term upgrades to the runway and facilities. These were not expected for some years, but they have suddenly become urgent.

Weed Control: The Airport has been researching and experimenting with non-chemical control of the Alligator weed that has long invaded the ditches on the Kaipara and choked the drains. Letting in controlled amounts of seawater has proven effective, and is much kinder to the Inanga and juveniles of other fish species that breed in the harbour, compared to spraying weedkiller or using diggers to clear the ditches. Further work is being done in conjunction with the Council waterways biologists and the method developed is likely to be rolled out by the Council to other properties on the Kaipara Harbour and its rivers.

Bird Control: Work on this has also been quite effective, and by studying the habits of the birds and making the airport less attractive to them, its been possible to make the birds spend more time elsewhere. Skydive Auckland runs a bird scaring device on their swooping pond for the same reason... that's what causes the loud 'shotgun' type booms at regular intervals. The birds are not keen to settle if they think there are shooters in the area. With our 'Aimm' Movement Monitoring service now used by nearly half the active NZ airports, we use our client newsletters to spread the suggestions for non-lethal bird control to many other airports in NZ and Australia.

Low-emission Aircraft: The Airport's flight training aircraft have been low-emission for a long time, and produce less than half the emissions of a Cessna or Piper training aircraft. Partly this is due to the lighter weight of the Tecnam aircraft used at West Auckland, but mainly because their 1990s designed Rotax engines are considerably more efficient than the 1950s designed Lycoming and Continental engines traditionally used for training. The Rotaxes also use unleaded road vehicle fuel ('MoGas') getting a similar Km/Litre to an efficient car, rather than leaded aviation fuel ('Avgas') so there is a worthwhile benefit there too... more airports might move to Mogas aircraft if they were exempt from road taxes like those using Avgas :(. As soon as practical the airport would like to move to zero-emission electric training aircraft and ground vehicles, and is actively investigating these.

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

WHANGAREI NZWR: 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.