Daniel Melling got his driver’s licence to drive a car during his seventeenth year. He already had a Private Pilots Licence and had been flying solo for over a year by that time. Not only that, he had been flying an aeroplane – with an instructor – since he was 12 years old.

Now at the ripe old age of 23 he is well on his way down his career path with the Royal New Zealand Air Force, based at Hobsonville– as a machinist rather than a pilot, although that option is still open to him.

This fascination with flight and aeroplanes seems to be part of our national identity.

Take Richard Pearse, the Waitohi farmer who would rather have been an engineer but bowed to family pressure to take up farming. Pearse’s tinkering in his farm workshop led to him beating the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, into the air back in March 1903, by eight months. A replica of this historic aircraft hangs from the ceiling at the Museum of Transport and Technology ( MOTAT) in Auckland.

www.motat.org.nz/

Picture to the right: Daniel Melling

Brothers Leo and Vivian Walsh, who imported and assembled a Howard Wright biplane in 1910, went on to build and launch the first flying boat in the southern hemisphere in 1915. Rather pleased with their success, they then went on to open the first flying school in New Zealand, in Auckland, later the same year.

George Bolt took the first aerial photograph in 1912 and went on to become an apprentice mechanic at the Walsh Brothers Flying School. He made the first airmail delivery in this country, the first business passenger trips in Australasia and set or broke numerous aviation records. He served in the RNZAF and Royal Air Force during World War Two before being appointed chief engineer of Tasman Empire Airways (now Air New Zealand) in 1944.

Jean Batten, our most internationally know aviator, became enthralled with flying as a young woman of 20, after meeting and flying with legendary Australian aviator Charles Kingsford-Smith in his famous plane, the ‘Southern Cross’. Kingsford-Smith made history by becoming the first pilot to make the trans-Pacific flight from America to Australia in 1928.

Jean learnt to fly and gained a commercial flying licence in England. Then, totally ignoring Kingsford-Smith’s advice, “Don’t attempt to break men’s records”, set out to do exactly that and make a few of her own. On her third attempt, in 1934, she beat the previous record to fly solo from England to Australia by five days. This new record stood for 44 years. Other new or record-breaking solo flights followed. This increased Jean’s international fame and her glamorous presence earned her the title ‘Garbo of the Skies’. Her famous Percival Gull mono-wing aeroplane now hangs in Auckland’s Jean Batten International Airport.

Getting Started

Like Daniel, many young people get their first taste of flying with a 20-minute introductory flight as part of the Young Eagles Club, at their local aero club. This international club was formed to encourage youngsters to learn about and enjoy the thrills of flying, and operates from aero clubs up and down the country, and all over the world.

Children as young as nine years old can take their first lesson, which may include handling the controls ‘in flight’, although they won’t be able to fly solo till they are 16. They can obtain a Private Pilots Licence when they are 17 and a Commercial Pilots Licence at 18 years of age.

Solo

By the time they fly solo most youngsters will have had 10-15 hours’ flying tuition. A medical certificate is needed.

Private Pilots Licence

First you need a Class 2 Medical Certificate, which covers general health, eyesight and hearing.

A full Private Pilots Licence requires a minimum of 50 hours of flying, but most students have about 70 hours before they are ready.

There are six examinations that need to be passed. They are about high school examination level and a 70% or greater pass mark is needed:

Air Law and Publications
Aircraft Technical Knowledge
Air Navigation
Meteorology
Flight Radio Telegraphy
Human Factors

There are about 5000 private pilots in New Zealand. A private pilot cannot be paid or rewarded to fly.

Faking it

You can enjoy the thrills of flight without leaving the ground with Microsoft Flight Simulator software – you can even get New Zealand scenery.

The Auckland Rescue Helicopter also has a helicopter flight simulator for hire from their Mechanics Bay site – although it is out of action until early October. Phone 09 309 6893.

www.rescuehelicopter.org.nz/

Above picture: Flying Instructor Rod with learner pilot Ben Jefferies

Hollywood comes to Marlborough

For those of you living in or passing through Marlborough in the South Island, check out this amazing place in Blenheim. The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre is the brainchild of a long-time aviation nut – none other than film producer Peter Jackson. Remember the fighter planes circling King Kong and the Empire State Building? Located five minutes’ drive from Blenheim on Aerodrome Rd – signposted from SH6 – this gem of a place is open to the public every day except statutory holidays from 10am till 4pm.

www.omaka.org.nz/

Also see

www.aviationmarlborough.com/

The desire to fly is part of our heritage, from the ingenuity of Richard Pearse to the single-mindedness of Jean Batten. Aviation is also a big part of our economy – from agricultural topdressing to helicopter sports fishing, from scenic charter flights to international Air New Zealand operations. All of the pilots involved with these operations started at the same place – sitting in the pilot’s seat on their first flight.

Commercial Pilots Licence

You need a Class 1 Medical Certificate – more stringent than a Class 2.

You need a minimum of 200 hours’ flying training although most students usually have 230 hours up their sleeve before they sit the exam.

Again, as with the PPL, there are the six theory examinations but these are at tertiary level.

There are around 3500 commercial pilots in New Zealand. With this licence you can be paid to fly.

Learning to fly is not cheap. Getting a Private Pilots Licence (PPL) will probably set you back at least $13,000. A Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL) will cost a minimum $35,000.

The rules for helicopter training are similar to fixed-wing training, with the same age restrictions for gaining licences. However, because it is considerably more expensive and all training is done by private training institutions, rather than aero clubs, it’s not recommended that young people start training seriously till they are about 18 and have good support (financial especially) from their family.

A Commercial Pilots Licence for Helicopters CPL (H) will set you back a staggering $80,000 or more. www.heliflight.co.nz

CPL is an entry level licence for commercial aircraft. There are more examinations to pass to be able to fly at night, for charters or freight, Rescue or Air Ambulance; more examinations to become an Airline First Officer, and more still to become an Airline Pilot.

The first step, which may see junior heading off on a career to any of these levels, or simply having a good time, is to book in for that first 20-minute introductory flight.

To find your local aero club site go to

www.flyingnz.co.nz/

For more information on aviation rules and pilot training go to CAA (Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand) at www.caa.govt.nz