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Just to break the routine, for this flight we move over to New Zealand, to the North Island, to be precise. So don't forget to switch to Oceania at FTX Central!

It's Christmas time also in New Zealand and our Kiwi-Friends need some assistance for exchanging Christmas presents in time. Some of them live in very remote areas, so help is best be given by plane.

We load up everything to be delivered and depart from Wellington.

Our first stop will be at the Haurangi Road airstrip.It has an elevation of 564 feet and the -hm - runway has a direction of 01/19. Here, and at all other waypoints, we'll stop and deliver our goods.

Stop No 2 is at Admiral Station, Elevation 510, Rwy 06/24.

Stop No 3 is Wharama River, 137 feet high with a Rwy of 13/31.

Stop No 4 is the strip at Te Mai Station, 544 ft elevation, and the Rwy has an orientation of 16/34.

Stop No 5 is Akitio Riverbend, 70ft above Sea Level and an orientation of 11/29.

Stop No 6 is called Long Range (no idea why...). It has an elevation of 595 ft and a 17/35 Rwy.

From there we'll fly to Hastings for a full stop landing and a trip to the bar. I'm sure we'll have plenty of stories to tell about farmers, their airstrips, interesting landings and other aviation stuff....

The strips have a couple of things in common. One is, that they are not in the GPS database and another is, that they are not very long. So a Piper Cup or the Auster are excellent planes for this trip! If you are proficient in GA Single Engine aircraft, you could use such a plane too. Just remember, the strips have rough surfaces and are not very long.

See you all Sunday

Sounds like fun, I'll be using the Auster, low and slow and excellent STOL capabilities

Beware the wind. I flew the flight yesterday and got thrown about quite a bit. The Cub and Auster might be too light. I stuck with my Porter and it had a time making the flight even with the Turbo Prop. Making the landings was no problem in it. Only had a difficult time with one field because it was hard to find when I was low.

I can land the Beaver on a stamp as well so should not be a problem

Right now there are 3 kts of wind down there, but take whatever plane you like, these flights are supposed to be fun...

A C-172 or a Piper Cherokee are also good choices.