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VFR approach to Queenstown, New Zealand


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Its so awesome . We go to queenstown regularly. This is a common occurrence as the fog likes to sit over the lake which is the main approach and safest in still conditions. We sit on the verandah and watch the airbus's doing it , pretty impressive seeing them pop out with a base of about 700ft and about 2nm from a pretty short runway. You see the od go round when they get it wrong but most get it spot on every time. I never get sick of watching it. But that view up top is to die for.

 

 

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Something not quite right about the final few seconds,. . . that looked mighty fast to me,. . . . . .I wonder if the movie speed was upped up slightly to enhance the excitement factor. . . . . the over-runway segment didn't look realistic, rather too fast ( from what I remember of heavy aircraft landings anyway. . . . !! ) but then again I'm an old F**T . . . . . .memory fading along with the medal ribbons (!) . . . .anyway, the "above cloud" sequence was really superb. . . . . rugged enough in daylight hours to scare the crap out of any passenger who regularly flew in there at night or in complete IMC anyway ! !

 

Phil

 

 

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When conditions are really VFR this is a spectacular part of the world to fly around. Everyone should have Warbirds over Wanaka on their bucket list I reckon, & I mean flying in to Queenstown as a base & over to Wanaka for the show. When I was there some 600 light aircraft flew in. It's the only time I have ever been No 10 on final & the twin Comanche in front of me forgot to put his gear down, was told to go around but dropped the wheels at the last second & got down. No further questions were asked. Just too busy. Mountain flying is awesome, but flying in to Milford Sound is something else again.

 

 

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When conditions are really VFR this is a spectacular part of the world to fly around. Everyone should have Warbirds over Wanaka on their bucket list I reckon, & I mean flying in to Queenstown as a base & over to Wanaka for the show. When I was there some 600 light aircraft flew in. It's the only time I have ever been No 10 on final & the twin Comanche in front of me forgot to put his gear down, was told to go around but dropped the wheels at the last second & got down. No further questions were asked. Just too busy. Mountain flying is awesome, but flying in to Milford Sound is something else again.

Yup been there twice 1998 and 2010.

 

 

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Something not quite right about the final few seconds,. . . that looked mighty fast to me,. . . . . .I wonder if the movie speed was upped up slightly to enhance the excitement factor. . . . . the over-runway segment didn't look realistic, rather too fast ( from what I remember of heavy aircraft landings anyway. . . . !! ) but then again I'm an old F**T . . . . . .memory fading along with the medal ribbons (!) . . . .anyway, the "above cloud" sequence was really superb. . . . . rugged enough in daylight hours to scare the crap out of any passenger who regularly flew in there at night or in complete IMC anyway ! !Phil

Yes the approach is definitely speeded up, those cars going past the boundary fence look like ants on speed.

 

We went to Queenstown on our honeymoon, took a chopper flight which was superb, landed on a glacier and went to Milford Sound. Watching the planes coming in there was amazing, at times there were 5 or 6 visible on approach.

 

 

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There used to be a camping ground there. Then, the airport was a piddly little aerodrome with just the local Cessnas etc. Then tourism hit town. Some entrepaneur bought the camp & made megabucks selling off the land. The aerodrome became an airport & the rest is history.

 

 

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Beautiful. It's like two different worlds above and below the cloud layers.(I DO wonder which town planner allowed those houses so close to the end of the runway)

Ever flown into Adelaide from the northeast?

 

 

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I was sitting in the back of a B737 on approach one time, all of a sudden he gave it full power (near the boundary fence I guess) and we climbed steeply and went around, apparently a flock of birds decided to share the airspace. That would have tested the double glazing in the neighbourhood.

 

 

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