Bird's eye view of city thrills pupils

Roxy Weir, 20, from Blomfield School waves to her fellow students and teachers as she takes off. Photo / Michael Cunningham

There was some initial nervousness as students from a special Whangarei school saw the size of the plane they would be sight-seeing in, but afterwards they returned beaming.

Nine students from Blomfield Special School were lucky enough to see Whangarei from a different perspective as pilot Shaun Sutherland took them on a trip over the city yesterday.

Deputy principal Karen van Beek said the flights were organised by the Child Flight Charitable Trust and funded through different sponsors.

Ms van Beek said some of the students were "a bit nervous" when they saw how small the plane was but after 30 minutes of flying they returned "beaming".

"They had big smiles and it was huge sense of accomplishment for them," she said.

She said it was about the third year the school had been given the opportunity to send students up in the air above the city.

"It's absolutely generous of the sponsors, the students just love it."

Assistant principal of the school, Sophia Green, said the flights were "a great opportunity" for the kids.

"Some of the [students] have never flown before. It's a great experience for them and we try to give them as many great opportunities as possible, they learn so much," she said.

Mr Sutherland took two students and a caregiver up at one time. Roxy Weir, 20, and 15-year-old Aidan Cross were the first two students to head out.