Originally Posted by flyby_kiwi
I think you would be more likely to have a near death experience going into the likes of Ardmore or Milford than Taupo.
Which is why Ardmore should have control as well. Try going around three times for every one touch and go at Ardmore when you are trying to convert to a multi type. Its a waste of time and money and I would rather have paid a little bit more for the landing fees so that I didnt have to spend so much time and money being messed around by an idiot in a 152 doing solo consolidation that couldnt listen to the radio calls.
Whats the difference between making MBZ calls and a call for clearance into a CTR? The first may be cheaper but the second is definately safer. A bit of common sense would see that it is a worthwhile thing and Taupo ATC would obviously operate in an advantageous way to the current users as they are the ones that pay the most fees. Taupo may be working ok for now as an MBZ but its only going to get busier as the town and toursit attractions blossom. Why not transfer all the tower staff from Rotorua to Taupo. If Rotorua has less movements, and the argument by the Taupo operators is that they are perfectly capable of operating with more movements per year, what is the point of Rotorua having a tower? Commercial a/c operate there and they have TCAS so whats the big deal???
I can comment on Milford as I have never flown in there.