Return to Home Page

The apron with the active operational aircraft. Visitor aircraft parking is off the screen to the right. [This photo by Simon and Jill Guillemin photo, badger.pig@clear.net.nz]

The Parakai Airfield 2010 Summer Fly-in was a great success. Current and retired Air NZ captains George Richard and Dave Simpson worked from the Communications Trailer (Popemobile) to ensure safe operations, the four 'Mrs Lockies' (Carreen, Kirin, Catherine and Angelle) handled the Airfield Office releasing the Lockie men for other tasks, the biggest three 'Miss Lockies' (Analise, Emma, Bella) tramped the field with chilly bins of drinks etc, the Air Cadets provided aircraft handling services, and many Parakai Aviation Club and Northland Microlight Club members handled all sorts of necessary tasks... thanks for your great efforts to make it a good day fellas!

Once the weather started to clear around 11am people starting to arrive.

The Communications Trailer (Popemobile), several Gyrocopters and a Yak. These aircraft and several more of the visiting aircraft put impressive handling displays.

Aircraft from the Northland Recreational Flying Club (Whangarei), the Parakai Flying School, and Flight Hauraki were busy taking people up for trial flights.

Scene from the Clubroom deck, food to the left and aircraft to the right.

From the hangars looking down the aircraft parking line alongside the taxiway.

The chow line, rubbish drums overflowing by end of day.

More of the aircraft parking line alongside the taxiway.

Looking east towards the fueling point, the crowd continued to build as the weather cleared.

Looking down the newly sealed runway 07.

The Air Force skydive team dropped in for a display at lunchtime, and their drop ship did a low pass down the runway. Model aircraft, not a lot smaller than some of the planes we fly ourselves, put on an impressive display of aerobatics, doing things that you'd not like to try in a plane with a pilot on board...

The models.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the various displays. [Brian Millett photo]

The large models are beautifully made. Once they were in the air more than one person was deceived by the scale and though they were looking at a full sized aircraft operating off the field...

These large models have around half the wingspan of the smaller microlights. [Brian Millett photo]

Lots of people looking at lots of planes.

Twenty of the aircraft that visited were new additions to the aircraft portraits web page, being ones that we'd not photographed before at Parakai.

The Coastguard Search and rescue plane, and later the Westpak Rescue Helicopter dropped in, drawing onlookers for a close look.

By mid afternoon the weather was excellent, as predicted (but not as experienced in the morning).

More of the parking line .

A lot of fun, and we've already fixed the date for next year... the last Saturday in February as usual, Saturday 26th Feb 2011.

Return to Home Page