when to fly in new zealand
 

hi everybody,
as regards weather in new zealand when could you expect to start a ppl and hour build in the south island at the canterbury aeroclub. the main question is do i go this june when i have the chance or wait till next january as these months are the best times for me to get a locum job .currently im getting flying lessons in ireland to give me a head start , as far as i know they wont count for the nz ppl but would help me to build hours anyway. would this be true.
any advice would be appreciated.
cheers macflea

Although it's been about 30 years since I lived in Christchurch for a while as a child, I remember the winter as having plenty of cold but clear and sunny days. Those are ideal for flying - good visibility and good performance from the aircraft.

On days you can't fly you could always drive up to Mt Hutt and go skiing instead; not a bad consolation prize!

I think that there are more flying days in winter for student pilots than in summer down there, once you have got the ice off the wings it's often a beautiful clear day. In summer the Norwester keeps students on the ground a bit. Thats how I remember it anyway. Awesome place to learn to fly, have fun.

I presume you are a medic Mac (seeing as you are heading for locum work). Canterbury is nice, plenty of flat fields for forced landings! They do have issues re. fog/smog in winter, but no worse than say Hamilton. The landing fees are on the steep side for NZ and ATC are very by the book (what I've heard, not experienced)

If you are looking for medical work send me a personal message, as I have contacts in the North Island, including a few pilots.

hiya,

just read your post - I am in the same dilemma.
I'm currently finishing my degree and planning to head out to Christchurch afterwards to do my CPL/IR.
Could start in August or january, but have decided to go for jan, as the weather is sure to be awesome.
I was in CHC during aug last year and wouldn't have wanted to fly in some of the weather I saw ! This way, by the time the dodgy weather rolls around, I'll hopefully have a bit more experience to be able to deal with it !
Hope to see you out there - fellow irish company always appreciated !

best of luck, dj.

I've been in Queenstown for the past year and a half and the winter flying weather is fantastic. Stunningly beautiful, blue skies, white mountains, and really calm days. Fantastic!!!

As far as using your previous training, it all counts, make sure any specific exercises are signed off, write as much detail in your log book as you can - Your log book is a CV, it's a diary, and it's a reminder to you what you've just spent all your money on so don't scrimp on what you write. Use half a page for one flight if you like, what the weather was like, what you did, where you went, who was with you, and anything half relevant to you or the flight.

If you want to try some seat of your pants, right in the middle of the mountains flying then pop over to Queenstown and check out Wakatipu Aero Club, they definitely teach you to fly.

Christchurch is a wicked place for St Paddy's Day, it's bigger there than in Ireland!!

GW :ok:

Any time is a great time to start flying but remember the golden rule.

Never start flying during happy hour.

And that's it.:ok:

I've just returned to Europe from New Zealand where I spent (their) summer doing a PPL at the Canterbury Aero Club/International Aviation Academy of NZ at Christchurch.

I would wholeheartedly recommend the school and the city. From the flying point of view, you are based at an international airport and mix with airline traffic and ATC from day one. ATC at Ch are very good and do a great job in dealing with heavy traffic at times. The club has its own airfield 2 minutes outside the zone where circuit training takes place, but you can also train in the grass circuit at the international airport.

Landing fees are included in the flying rate and so are not extra. There are no hidden costs with the club. The setup is very professional, and I had two brilliant instructors assigned to me, apart from anything else the flying was a lot of fun. The school has a fleet of about 20 training aircraft - PA28s, PA38s, 1 C172, various twins, and a Piper Cub.

Weather wise I haven't experienced winter there but it is supposed to be better than summer for flying, a lot of clear, calm, cold days. In the summer the Norwester can ground you for a day or two, but I never lost more than 3 days flying due wx. In any case, theres always the sim.

Apart from that, ChCh is a great city, very friendly people, lots of activities, a decent nightlife, and very relaxed atmosphere.

Looked long and hard for a place to do my flying and was delighted with my choice, don't think you'll find a better place in the world to train ...

The only catch of course is the conversion back to JAR CPL/ATPL.

NZ Flying
 

G'day Macflea

Agree with most comments above, just returned from 10 days in South Island from Blenheim down to Queenstown.

Might have been a bit lucky but weather was sensational most days especially down south at Queenstown. Clear and cool crisp days with little or moderate wind.

Dropped into Wakitipu Aero Club, very friendly bunch of folks there and good selection of aircraft.
Would need to join club to share in good hourly rates.
Unfortunately didn't get time to fly but the geography in the area is amazing; lakes, mountains, fiords, etc.
Lots of challenging airstrips strategically located also.

I imagine the Canterbury Aero Club have a similar offering and is on the Christchurch International Airport.
The transit from Queenstown to Christchurch with a window seat on the ATR 72 without a cloud was bloody awesome, the whole Southern Alps including the snow covered Mt. Cook.

Aviation plays a huge role in NZ life so in summary I reckon it would be a great place to learn to fly.

P.S. The warbird movement is also huge and if you make the trip, make sure you attend at Easter 'Warbirds over Wanaka" or in the alternate year, Classic Fighters of World War 1 & 2 at Omaka Field at Blenheim, which I was fortunate to catch.