Airstrip on Mt Ruapehu

[dudduddud]

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen I have a few questions I would like to ask.

Does anyone know what is the name of that strip near the chateau?

Does it appear in the online AIP?

Do they let people use it?

and finally what's it like in winter?

cheers

[Shredder6]

Give Mountain Air a ring.

Called the Chateau Strip.
Quite long, around 900m but one way (power lines at SE end) and I think about 2% slope. 33 and 15 from memory. Mountain traffic 119.6.

If it's not covered in snow can be hard early morning and late arvo with frozen ground. I think there is a sealed pad now at the top by the road thus eliminating the muddiest areas.

Don't know if it's in the AIP.

[FL440]

Yep,

definately contact Mountain Air and get a breif from one of their pilots. They have a plate that they can email or fax you, bit like an AIP plate but none of the data is official.

Also check what airplane you are taking is insured? some insurance doesnt cover you for flights to None AIP strips!

Have fun, lots of back pressure after you land keep weight off nose wheel, shes a little rough in there

Cheers :ok:
FL440

[ZK-CFB]

dudduddud is your other username Charl from the Flight Simmers Forum?

If not then Chateau Airstrip is a private Airfield used for Flightseeing Aircraft Charters by Mountain Air. It is possible to land there by arrangement with Mountain Air. Funny thing I have never actually flown from that airfield normally I got picked up beside the side of the road or up on the skifield.

Just wondering if Aucklanders ever get south of the bombays other than during the ski season :ugh:

[92Alpha]

On the southern side of the mountain there is also:
Waiouru http://www.aip.net.nz/pdf/NZRU.pdf
Karioi non AIP
Ohakune non AIP

about 10nm to hte south west is Raetihi also non AIP.

Hope this helps, I hope to get down there myself soonish so do tell me how it goes.

Niner

[kiwiblue]

Does anyone have information on any of the strips mentioned in this thread that they would be prepared to email me please? Would be particularly interested in strip diagrams (from a strip register or some such), dimensions, WGS84 coordinates, operational information etc.

PM me if you have anything available!

KB

[ZK-CFB]

The best source of information would be the CAA website but with the exception of Waiouru I am not aware of any Charts for Ohakune, Raetihi or Karioi. If your planning to land at Ohakune then it would be advised to contact the Big Red Ski Shed in Ohakune as they operate a flightseeing operation from that private Airfield. Raetihi I know the guy who owns the land its on but Wanganui Aeroworks might be the best place to seek landing permission? Karioi not had any dealings with that field I am afraid. If your wanting field information then those people I mentioned are your contacts.

As for Waiouru, well that belongs to the Army and to be honest I have never seen any aircraft land there or been given permission?

Charl once published a map on that Microsoft Flight Simmers forum requesting this kind of information showing Google Earth plots of all the strips in the Central Plateau. Most of them are just unmarked Paddocks used by crop dusters, google Earth is unreliable with its information as some of these plotted strips have fences running through them after the owners of the land have re-sectioned fields.

I have a chart for this area which unfortuantely due to copyright I will not be willing to copy. Best again to contact the usual suppliers to get those charts.

When you get down here dudduddud look us up, would be willing to give you a guided tour of the area :)

[Viagra]

The Army Grunts at Waiouru are top blokes..
Back in the early nineties flying a Warrior, I was "stooging" around there in low cloud and vis, trying to get southbound to Palmerston.
Running out of daylight, fuel, patience (and intelligence!), I did a precautionary circuit and landed. Within about 5 minutes of shutting down, two landcruisers pulled up. The lads were watching me and laying bets to see which ridgeline/treetop I was going to crash into.
Holding cap in hand and apologising for landing without prior permission, I copped a minor dressing down from the CO about bad wx and low flying, but they found me a blanket and stretcher for the night and a warm rat pack. :ok:

[LocoDriver]

The contact person for the Ohakune strip is Ian Heappy, at the 'Ski Shed' Ohakune.(06-385-9173) He also operates paint ball, go-karts etc from the Airfield.
It is 2200ft amsl, and needs a good briefing.
He can also advise on the Raetihi strip, as it is no longer used by the gliding club, and has got quite rough. The local ag operator appears to use helecopters now.

I use Ohakune as part of CPL cross country training(sometimes PPL)
it is an invaluable tool for getting students to work out approx height amsl, runway direction etc, and coping with a strip at a higher altitude, and it is curved at the top end, and has a gradient.
A nominal landing fee is charged to help with grass mowing etc.

Keep an eye on cloud base when transiting to from this area, it can lower quite suddenly, and there is a lot of gently rising ground in all directions.

Hope this helps...
:ok: :ok:

[ZK-CFB]

Can confirm Raetihi is still used by Light Aircraft the local operator still uses its FU24 from the strip and a few cessana have been seen recently. Busiest I ever seen it was during the search for Michael Ercegs Helicopter. At one stage had 10 helos and 4 fixed wing parked up.
LocoDriver your right its a bit rough and those damn sheep dont help :)

Viagra, Think you might find you reception at Waiouru a bit differant nowdays due to the events of 9/11.

Heres a thought for a emergency strip if your up high on Ruapehu, The main Carpark at Turoa has been extended to double its length and the extension is to be Tarsealed soon. Clear approach from the south just watch for cars :ugh: and TV filmcrews :\

[dudduddud]

Thanks ladies and gentlemen that's a great help. I'll let you know how it goes.