Training in Dunedin (NZ)

[gday809]

Dear all,

I am planning to have my flight training in Dunedin, New Zealand and I notice that Mainland Air is one of the well-established institute in that location. Can anyone kindly give me some advice on this training school?

Thank you very much!!

gday809

[Shiny Side Up]

Mainland seems to be a lot more about the flying and less about the bull****. These guys are great to deal with. I was going to train with them in '07, but had top cancel due to my immigration status in the US ( if I leave I cant come back for a few years ) drop Shawn at Mainland an email, he is very helpful, and answered many of my questions.
Other people I spoke with on PPRUNE had good things to say about Mainland as well. You should do a search on D&G, you'll find a few good threads on Mainland.

Shiny

[GOATRIDER]

Gday---Gidday!!!---yeah I was down at Mainland yesterday and they seem a great unit. They have Cessna 152s and a beautiful Piper Seneca 3 turbo for multi IF training. Another great option if you really want to hone your flying skills is the Wakatipu Aero Club in Queenstown. These guys are pretty hot and send alot of pilots onto their first flying job with the likes of the Milford pilots, whereby incidently the hands on flying in second to none. To fly with any of these operators you need a 50 hour mountain flying course from the aeroclub. They are a great organisation with good people, accomodation is easy to get and so are part time jobs and hey- you're in Queenstown New Zealand...Look them up on Google---Wakatipu Aero Club Queenstown...good luck.

[Capt. On Heat]

ZQN. $250 an hour is pretty steep for a 172!

[Irishwingz]

Affirm. Anything more than $180 is expensive. Unless its brand new with the glass cockpit!

FYI - Wellington Aero Club only charge $144 for their 172N. Nice place to fly, plus you get used to the strong norwesters in no time:=

28kts 280 varying 360 at '2000 no worries!

[GOATRIDER]

Captain on heat it would appear you have the wrong information- In queenstown its 192.00 an hour solo and 225 dual- and yes its a brand new 180 horse 172---they also have a brand new certified Tecnam---wellington would be good to however if you prove yourself down in queenstown you can get work on the Milford run---(plus youneed that mountain flying experience- which you cannot get anywhere else in the country)---its just a thought...one more thing a 28 knot NW in Wellington is like 10 knots in Milford...all just food for thought...happy searching...now captain on heat go and read the notams---todays preferably!

[beaverlover]

Mainland do a pretty good job of getting guys through. Espec with the Seneca 3's. It makes the next step not so difficult. My retarded half cousin from Gore could fly a womble. While there is no doubt mountain flying is good for your hands on, you can get stuck in QN. So have a good think about what you want to achieve. What ever you do just do it hard

[gday809]

Thank you everybody!!! :)

[Capt. On Heat]

Guess I'm wrong on the prices then Goatee, will check next time I'm there, was only quoting what I was told 4 weeks ago. However I fail to see how flying in a technam is going to help 809 get a CPL! And yes I must have missed that Supp explaining how hire rates are now on the tim tams.

plus youneed that mountain flying experience- which you cannot get anywhere else in the country)

Suppose I agree to a point. But many mountain flying skills can be taught in decent areas of terrain and many low flying areas in other parts of the country. There are specific things to be learnt from flying in genuine mountainous terrain and of course there is no substitute for local knowledge but I think some people get a bit too precious about mountain flying 'skills.' We should all know what air does going over a hill etc. Dare anyone suggest that any ZQN/Southern trained pilots do a 50 hour programme for navigating about tiger country in the central North Island or how those damn ADF's behave on the PP approach or how that NDB Bravo at AP often slides you towards the mountain or visual illusions on approach to the aircraft carrier (WR) or traversing water around the Hauraki Gulf with poor visibility and cloud base or routes to take when flying in the vicinity of and conducting landings at GB and OX in strong ****ty winds or the weather in ANY other part of the goddamned country!

Expecting the inevitable replies.

[GOATRIDER]

You got good points there Captn---unfortunately if you want a job down there they only recognise the mountain flying course donne in Queenstown---I agree mountain flying techniques can be taught eleswhere however the region is unique and so is the Met...I do think though that mountain flying is mountain flying and you just adapt to where you are...like the CAA maybe its just another evenue gaining exercise...keep your ball in the middle.

[Borneo Wild Man]

Mountains shmeltons!!!!!Heat you should try the VOR to KTM.Now there real hills.

Oh thats Katmandu by the way.

[troppo]

The 50 hours of mountain flying course may be attractive for the bare CPL holder that is looking for some work and as an alternative to instructing. What are you going to get out of it? Some single engine VFR work and maybe a couple of years down the track some much coveted multi vfr work?
It's an investment, decide what you want out of it.
Queenstown can be a tough scene to get into and it can be even tougher to get out of.

Like Borneo Wild Man says...Mountains shmeltons!!!!

Try PNG mountain flying/bush VFR... flying a track on a Garmin 100 GPS in IMC below LSALT... :}

[Borneo Wild Man]

...........................or the Twin NDB at night into Kabul.

[Capt. On Heat]

Borneo - Believe that was kind of my point if you read between the lines a bit. Yes, quite aware of KTM and PNG for that matter. I must have missed the part in my post where I said that NZ had the most testing and highest mountainous terrain and the most difficult instrument approaches in the world.

And

Try PNG mountain flying/bush VFR... flying a track on a Garmin 100 GPS in IMC below LSALT...

Good one Troppo, what a great thing to gloat about. You're my hero. You must be the greatest pilot in the world. You must have taught Chuck Yeager everything he knows. I heard he was one of your less able students. Perhaps you could PM me your signature. Pilot Scmilot

[troppo]

woah!!!
someone needs to chill out...
was not gloating, was a fact of life and I probably wouldn't do it now that I'm older and wiser...purely highlighting the fish bowl attitude held by many (like yourself) in NZ
:8
PS it's safer than stooging around it a valley with no exit in shiity wx and no different to flying a VOR CDI

[Capt. On Heat]

purely highlighting the fish bowl attitude held by many (like yourself) in NZ

If you had bothered reading the thread you would have seen that it had been referring to training in DUD and then training in ZQN came up. Hence posts were related to that.

I think you would be surprised to know where I have in fact lived Troppo, you assume and assumption is the mother of all f*** ups!

PS it's safer than stooging around it a valley with no exit in shiity wx and no different to flying a VOR CDI

Our opinions on safe obviously differ.

[joysticks]

Like Borneo Wild Man says...Mountains shmeltons!!!!
Try PNG mountain flying/bush VFR... flying a track on a Garmin 100 GPS in IMC below LSALT... :}[/QUOTE]
To me, anyone doing this is a fool not a pilot.
When you eventually slam into cumulous granite I hope you are on your own.