Landout – Mike’s Flight

LANDOUT

Mike’s flight

By Paul Rockell on behalf of the Puhipuhi Riggers

Rockell says he is the middle aged farmer on whose Puhipuhi farm the Whangarei Gliding Club is situated. He and wife Helen used to drag gliders and kids around the North Island as long ago as 1980 and now those kids milk the cows and he gets to fly the DG400 GNZ when not putting crops in. He says they now have another generation of potential Rockell glider pilots (the grandkids), helping push gliders. Family, farm and the gliding club make for a happy life. The Whangarei club has an enthusiastic new cross country pilot Mike Austin. Rockell tells us of one of his more interesting landouts.

Paul Rockell Mimiwhangata beach is sweeping sandy bay in distance.

So there we were, beating up and down seventy kilometres of a soaring milk run between the Bay Of Islands and Whangarei Heads. We were high fast and happy, in and out of a glorious convergence with the late summer sun shining on the fantastic coastline. There was a lot of chitchat on the radio, a siren call to those less fortunate elsewhere to endeavour to join us and ride that wedge of air.

Mike set forth towards that great long white cloud and proceeded to fly completely under and beyond it with not a puff of lift as we, fortunate to be above him, wheeled and darted at a hundred knots struggling not to get devoured. You get the picture.

With no option of return, the Janus flew on to where the bush clad hills descend to the sea with mostly rocky cliffs and steep tussock sheep paddocks. Mike’s only salvation was Mimiwhangata beach, a glorious landlocked bird sanctuary managed by DOC. From our high vantage, we could peep under the cloud and see man and machine were fine on that golden sand.

He was only twenty kilometres from home but still an hour’s

LANDOUT

Puhipuhi Riggers.

Top L: Whangarei Gliding Club from the air R: Paul Rockell flying DG NZ under sea breeze at 85 knots. Middle: The international yachting audience. Bottom L: The guilty party LANDOUT MIKE, Mike Austin. R: Derigg.

drive down a cow race masquerading as a country road and then a four-wheel drive over dunes onto a beach where TuaTua shellfish cram to the high tide mark. International yachties motored in to view the light entertainment of derigging a Janus. For Mike this was derigging a Janus yet again. About seven times thus far, this season. They all seem to merge in my mind to a collection of aching body parts. You see, Mike’s got the cross country bug and we, his club mates are all consummate collectors, de-riggers and riggers of one busy Janus. Bless him some might say.

Three hours later through a light drizzle peppered with bullshit and banter, completely buggered, we arrived home to the last rays of a setting sun. Such are our joys. No seriously, we are so pleased to see another new member so enraptured with the thrill of cross country soaring and despite Mike prostrating himself in humiliation I felt we could share this little story with the nation.