where to fly from near Auckland
 

So which is the best field/club for recreational pilots from Auckland? Do you prefer Ardmore, North Shore, Whenuapai? Why? What are your options in terms of rental fleet there? Safety? Ease of use? Quality of companionship?

I guess a lot of it depends upon where in Auckland you live!
Ardmore is ok if you're south of the bridge...North Shore is excellent if you're on the shore (great club atmos)...Parakai would be worth a look if you're "out west". And then there are a few smaller fields that I don't know much about (Pukekohe, Mercer, Springhill, Kelly Field).

Shybird
I agree with Alpa with respect to the place you are living in AA cos travel there is a pain in the #$@!.

Also ask yourself when you want to fly. Is it for recreation and as a social thing? If so go for a club. I flew at NSAC and the social scene was great. I hear the Auckland aeroclub has some good times as well. There is a very active microlight scene around Auckland as well which you might want to consider.

If the commercial route is what you are aiming for then price should be a top consideration for you. Try and fly somewhere where you are getting good instruction for a fair price and do not get sucked into the the old "If you do all your training with us then we will give you priority for jobs when the oppurtunity arises" BS! If you do your PPL on the shore and your commercial at AR then your instrument rating at some other place and you save $5000 doing it then good on ya.

In saying that the CFI now at NSAC is a good honest bugger and I believe you would do well to go and talk to him about your training.

parakai? what is out there?
 

Commutes are a major problem, I am probably due west of the Harbour Bridge and every darn field is three quarters of an hour away - with no traffic.
Parakai is not one that I had been considering, but it is intriguing.
Anyone know what they have out there in terms of aircraft (I am past flying dodgy old stuff and might even want to buy a share in a new machine)?
I will also need a decent level of instruction to get back up to speed, and keep developing. Thanks for your thoughts.

Try whenuapai. probably the cheapest rates in Auckland
www.wascnz.com

Hi there mate,
If your floating around Ardmore in the near future drop on in to the Airline flying Club, get a taste of the free coffee and wealth of experience on offer, you won't be dissapointed.
I have been around Ardmore for a few years now, if you want to get something done right go see the CFI at AFC he will straighten you out, he is a good ol' bloke and knows his stuff!
Happy flying
BP
P.S. during the week it is usually a good idea to call the club first otherwise there are contact numbers on the door of some of the local crew who are always willing to chat flying:ok:.

Regarding Parakai
 

With regard to Parakai, I believe it's mostly populated by ultralights and homebuilts, although I imagine there are at least a few Cessnas and whatnot.

Landing fees at Ardmore are a whopping $15-50 for a 172 which is more expensive that HN and TG which are both controlled. The managment there are lucky to get whats left of the businesses that havent already left!!

Can anyone recommend training at Hamilton? Moving up there in 2 weeks for a job and looking at flying there, although $205 dual(C172) seems like daylight robbery:ugh: And there PPL price total $12,300:mad: Would I be better off somewhere else in the area?

(If my comment interupts this thread, I'll try else where):p

Aero Junkie, try the Hauraki Aeroclub in Thames (50mins drive from Hamilton)

Very good rates:ok:

If your going near HN have a look at ctc. They seem pretty cool eh. Got 2 or 3 simulators, getting 18 new alphas and also student funding there too. Worth a check out anyway, if its not for you its not you.

Hey shybird. I did my training at North Shore Aeroclub and in my biased opinion, accept no substitute. :ok:

It was always fun watching those Ardmorians students trying to land on our runway and missing it by 200' too high...some of them actually gave up after 3 or 4 attempts. :D

Of course, this is my very bias viewpoint. Check them all out and hang around at each one to get a feel for how they operate. Good luck with your new flying adventures whichever way you chose to go.:)

Having flown out of both AR and NE (and a member of NE aeroclub back when the P28R was on line), I preferred NE. A little unfair poking fun at those visitors to NE that have difficulty with the banana shaped footpath they refer to as a runway, but at least you get good a landing on the centreline!! Only seem to visit NE once a year now (January for the BL Comp) and enjoy the "challenge" of using (and staying on!) the runway. NE Aeroclub has great facilities and a real "country" feel. The bar has a great view of the RWY.


WRT CTC I think they have to choose you rather than the other way round!!!

Pukekohe
 

There's a flying club based at Pukekohe. Got a fairly tidy 172 at a good rate. No landing fees there. Found their website at www.pfgnz.info

Here is a link to further info.

Parakai Airfield

Bryn (he runs the maintenance/instructing side of things) took me for a fang in his Tecnam (that he uses for dual instruction) which was a good little machine.

haughtney1 Thanks for the reply, although a bit to far for me :{ anywhere else closer? Or will I end up paying $205 dual?:ugh:

$205 per hour dual is the going rate for 172, in fact, most are more.
If you want to go cheap, try the Waitomo club at Te Kuiti, or come up
to Ardmore, nice 152's at $160 dual.

Flight training is set to get even more expensive next year, due fuel increase, maintainance price rises and instructor shortages.

Kiwis have never had it so good with aircraft prices.

Cheers
:ok:

Is there any such thing?? Mind you Nico's ones are pretty flash...for a 152s anyway.

It's the KFC grease that keeps them glistening :E

umm..back in the 70's when I learnt to fly 20 bucks used to get me 30mins of dual in a grumman.