Adrenalin junkies will now be able to take joyrides over Tauranga in a Russian fighter-trainer plane at speeds of up to 320km/h.Double X Flight, started by experienced pilot Peter Meadows, has become the first tourist operator in the country to be certified under the new Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) adventure aviation regulation.
John Lanham, CAA's general manager general aviation, yesterday presented Meadows with his Part 115 operating certificate in his hangar at Tauranga Airport.
Standing behind them was the two-seater, red and white Yak-52, initially designed for military pilot training and now a part of the local adventure tourism scene.
The new regulation, signed into law on November 10, applies to sport and recreational aircraft, including warbirds, that are used to carry passengers for "hire and reward".
Lanham said New Zealand was the first country in the world to apply a rule for adventure aviation. Australia, Britain and Canada have been following the introduction of the regulation.
"For the first time, people can legitimately operate without charades, such as 'buy a T-shirt and get a free flight'. We've facilitated a commercial operation under clearly defined standards, and this ensures the public can buy a ticket and be assured they will be safe," said Lanham.
The rule, having the same standards as general aviation operators, also covers tandem parachuting, hang-gliding and gliders, hot air balloons and microlights.
Lanham predicted that over the next 18 months, up to 50 operators would be seeking an adventure aviation certificate.
"For some time people have been using aircraft for adventure aviation but they haven't been entirely legitimate. We have empowered them as long as they meet the required standards," he said.
Lanham said adventure aviation would be a burgeoning sector because New Zealand was the adventure capital of the world. It could become a major part of the tourism industry here, he said.
"For instance, the biggest tandem parachuting business in the world is in Taupo. A spin-off is that people can come to air shows and then enjoy a (legitimate) flight themselves," he said.
Meadows, a pilot for 29 years and a member of the Warbirds Association for 17 years, bought the Yak-52 from an Australian owner four years ago.
His plane, with a maximum speed of 420km/h, was built in 1996 and has flown only 700 hours, but the Yak-52s were initially used to train fighter pilots behind the Iron Curtain.
Once the Eastern Bloc was opened up, there was a lot of demand from the West for the plane because of its relatively low cost and high performance, and it continued to be produced. The Yak-52 has dual controls and is easy to fly aerobatic manoeuvres.
Meadows will be taking his customers on a 20-minute flight, first over the Mount Maunganui beaches for some aerobatics and then entering a loop at 320km/h, pulling four G-force acceleration.
"I'll then let them take over the controls for a nice flight over the city," he said.
For the past two years Meadows was flying the Stearman and Ag Cat aircraft for Classic Flyers, and before that he flew a Cessna 337 Skymaster for VIP Air, based in Hamilton.
With his wife Brenda, he also ran an adventure tourism business in Coromandel called Pauanui Adventures, and they also developed the Charlemagne Lodge in Te Puna.
Meadows said he would like to increase his fleet for his new adventure aviation business. He is looking to introduce another Yak-52 so he can do combat and formation flying, and he wants to see a jet - such as an L39 Albatross - operating out of Tauranga.
"Now we have a proper licence, we have something to build on," Meadows said. "I believe it's really exciting for Tauranga, and we can get adventure aviation up and running from a tourism perspective.
"People see Queenstown as the adrenalin capital, but Tauranga has the activities to match them."
Graham Skellern is business editor of the Bay of Plenty Times
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