Kiwi Coast Sport Flying

Kiwi Coast Sport Flying
For Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Michael MacKuen

We do a little sport flying on the east and west coasts of New Zealand’s North Island.


Great day for flying

Our day begins at Tauranga [NZTG] on the Bay of Plenty. The airport has an active flying club and a three-hangar air museum. We might take a couple minutes to circle around the city, the busy container/cruise ship port, volcanic Mount Maunganui, the beachfront suburbs, and the outlying avocado orchards. We turn south to Rotorua [NZRO] for the geothermal section of the flight. From the 1880s, Rotorua has been a tourist destination for its geysers, hot mud baths, and eerie post-volcanic scene. Near the airport, we can get low to see the erupting geysers at Kakahi Falls and Hell’s Gate Geothermal Reserve. (We pass over the Pohutu Geyser, the largest in the southern hemisphere. It erupts 20 times-a-day...but not in MSFS.) From here to Taupo [NZAP] we see a very active area with hot water springs and geysers spouting up all along (not depicted). Just before the town of Taupo, we can get down low on the Waikato River to see the Wairakei Thermal Valley and the Huka Falls (one of the world’s fastest water flows).

Then west over Lake Taupo and then across undulating hills and a bit of rough country to land at Te Kuiti [NZTT], the self-proclaimed sheep shearing capital of New Zealand. Once a year thousands of sheep run down the middle of main street during the Great New Zealand Muster. Turning north we pass the volcanic landscape just west of Mount Pirongia (now extinct) to land on the Tasman Sea coast at the lively surf town Raglan [NZRA]. The long left-hand break at Manu Bay was featured in Bruce Brown’s 1966 classic Endless Summer. (See the Raglan segment here. The NZA addon depicts the beach, not the wave.) Raglan Aerodrome is a popular sport flying destination for New Zealand enthusiasts. If you have the NZA scenery, you can admire the intricate detail surrounding what is a simple grass field. Turning north up the coast brings us to Limestone Downs [NZLD], a hilltop sealed strip that should capture our attention. Then as we approach the Auckland area we turn to land at Ardmore [NZAR], the region’s busy General Aviation facility. (The Auckland Aero Club is very active. If the timing is right, we can stop for a coffee at the adjacent Ardmore Café.)

Next, we fly east over the Firth of Thames to the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula and the little town Coromandel [NZLX]. This peninsula is marked by a marvelous coastline and a rugged forested interior. It is sparsely populated with most people concentrated along beach communities on the Pacific coast. Once a magnet for counter-culture types, the area has more recently started to attract Aucklanders who are looking for a second home. We fly across the peninsula and land at Whitianga [NZWI], the largest town in the northern peninsula. On departure we skirt over Cathedral Cove before heading south along the coast to Pauanui Aerodrome [NZUN]. Pauanui Beach is world-ranked and a popular holiday destination for New Zealanders, especially for the elite and wealthy. (The airfield has an “honesty-box” for landing fees. It is a favorite spot for pilots flying in for a swim or lunch at the cafés.) And farther south, at end of the peninsula, is a private strip at Waihi Beach [NZWV]. Finally, we return over Matakana Island to Tauranga [NZTG].

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here.

Aircraft
This is a flight of about 310nm with 12 landings. You will need a “fun to fly” aircraft capable of a “high cruise” of 150kts. Among our normal favorites might be the Vans RV-14, the Piaggio P.149, the Cessna 182T, the Piper Arrow and the Piper Comanche. (You could try a slower airplane such as a Cubcrafters Cub – with judicious use of warp drive on the longer legs.) Please fly whatever aircraft you like.

Additional Scenery
All of the airports are in the default simulator. That said, several addons will enhance the scenery appreciably. Thanks to these talented addon creators.

Tauranga [NZTG]. CoolGunS
Tauranga City Landmarks. ar1001
Rotorua [NZRO] (Addon for WU12). NZA Simulations
Taupo [NZAP]. CoolGunS
Te Kuiti [NZTT]. wolfmanslack
Ardmore Aerodrome [NZAR]. LswainStudiosNZ
  (The Flightsim.to download is incomplete. Better: full download here.)
Coromandel [NZCX]. STR1KEStudioz
Pauanui Beach [NZUN]. STR1KEStudioz
Waihi Beach [NZWV]. STR1KEStudioz
Temporarily, you can obtain the package here (64MB).

In addition, you might like this lovely detailed freeware Raglan Aerodrome [NZRA] from NZA Simulations. It includes the grass strip as well as the caravan camp, the town, the beach, and many atmospheric details. Note, however this this is a 1 GB download. Not for everybody.

Orbx has an excellent NZA Simulations payware version of the NZTG Tauranga Region. (If you use this, please disable the freeware Tauranga airport and city scenery and also the freeware Waihi Beach airport.)

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 10:00am local for June 5, 2024.
We typically prefer real weather and will follow form if the weather is good. If not, I recommend the default “Few Clouds” or “High Clouds” presets.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Wednesday, June 5, 2024. 1800 UTC
RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!