Auckland Seaplanes' 1961 de Havilland Beaver. Photo / Supplied
Auckland Seaplanes' 1961 de Havilland Beaver. Photo / Supplied
From seaplanes to DC3s to stunt planes, Sarah Ell finds myriad ways to see Auckland from the skies.
You might think you know your city pretty well, but it's a whole different world when you see it from the air. And instead of just seeing the approach to Auckland Airport, try one of the many other options for getting up and above the city and its surroundings, from helicopters to classic aircraft.
Nothing says "rock star" more than arriving by helicopter. You too can be the one everyone's looking at by taking one of Helicopter Me's Fly In, Dine Out packages to one of Waiheke's top vineyards.
Helicopter Me flies its share of real celebrities and the super rich, but offers anyone the chance to live the dream, either with a scenic flight, adventure experience such as heli-fishing or heli-golf, or transport to a restaurant or resort.
Co-owner Stuart Poppelwell says that though most people have flown in an aeroplane, taking a helicopter ride is a whole new experience -- especially on one of its popular "doors off" outings. "It's not the cheapest way to get around, but everyone who gets back from a flight has a smile from ear to ear and wants to do it again."
The company's most popular scenic flight is the Coast to Coast Discovery, where passengers are taken from North Shore Airfield at Dairy Flat down the west coast beaches, across the city and harbour and back up the east coast. "The diversity of scenery on that flight is incredible," says Poppelwell. "There aren't too many places in the world where you can fly along both coasts and in one flight. Even Aucklanders can't believe how much beauty there is, so close to home."
Classic of the skies
A vintage DC3 flies over Motuihe Island. Photo / Supplied
Bringing a bit of living history to the Auckland aviation scene is a group of passionate aircraft enthusiasts who own and operate a classic Douglas DC3 airliner out of Ardmore in South Auckland.
Jessica Cooper of the Fly DC3 group says the aircraft was built in 1944 in Oklahoma and spent the first part of its life as a transporter for the US Air Force. After seeing service in the Korean War it was sold to Philippine Airlines, where it flew that line's first international service, then spent some time in Papua New Guinea and Australia before being brought to New Zealand in 1987 by a group of Warbirds enthusiasts.
Now, the fully restored, 30-seater DC3 spends her days doing charter work and flying regular Sunday Scenic tours. Cooper says the DC3s are incredibly strong, meaning planes that are 70 or more years old are still flying today.
Because the DC3 flies "low and slow", it is ideally suited to scenic flights, Cooper says. Many Kiwis will remember flying in them when NAC, forerunner of Air New Zealand, ran a fleet of the planes from the 1940s into the 1970s. "It's a special aircraft. At times like D-Day and the Normandy landings, these were the planes that towed gliders over to France then went back to Britain and picked up the nurses," Cooper says.
"I'm a nurse, and I know those nurses heard the same sounds I hear every time I fly now. I always think about that."
Air and water
Also reflecting an important aspect of New Zealand's aviation heritage is Auckland Seaplanes, which will shortly be operating a second de Havilland aircraft on the waters and in the skies above the city. Chris Sattler, who with his wife Masako set up the seaplane operation here two years ago, says the inner Waitemata Harbour was once New Zealand's first international "airport", with flying boats from Australia landing from the 1930s onward. The company's classic 1961 de Havilland Beaver was given the registration AMA, the same code as the first TEAL flying boat to make the trip from Auckland to Sydney, in 1940.
Today the company's "aerodrome" is the area of harbour between Princes Wharf, Stanley Point and the Harbour Bridge. The company runs regular scenic trips, as well as offering fly-and-stay and fly-and-dine packages around the Hauraki Gulf, with its planes able to land literally right off the beach.
Sattler says one of the biggest thrills of travelling by seaplane comes when taking off.
"When you first go out, by law you are a motor boat until you take off, then within about 15 or 20 seconds you have turned from a boat into an aircraft," he says.
"Very few people have experienced that before so it's a real novelty and a real thrill."
Thrill-seeking
Take the plunge with Skydive Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Flying around is all very well, but if what you really want to do is jump out of a plane, Skydive Auckland can help you out -- literally.
They will help you out of the plane at 9000, 13,000 or 16,500ft (2743m, 3962m or 5029m), in tandem with an experienced instructor, so you can "enjoy" up to 70 seconds of freefall, then a parachute descent over Auckland's northwest, providing views over the Kaipara Harbour and across to the Hauraki Gulf.
Sales and marketing manager Jo Austin says during summer as many as 700 first-time jumpers a month take the plunge, along with many "sport jumpers" -- regular thrillseekers who will do multiple jumps a day.
While the 16,500 foot jump is the highest offered in the North Island, Austin says it's no more daunting than jumping from a lower altitude.
"You get to a certain point where it doesn't feel any higher -- you lose perspective on it -- but the whole experience lasts longer and you can see further."
Jumpers can learn to skydive solo after just eight jumps. If you decide you love it so much you want to make a career of it, Skydive Auckland also runs the country's only skydiving school, offering a 32-week NZQA-approved Diploma in Commercial Skydiving.
Next to Skydive Auckland's base at Parakai is Xflight, which offers aerobatic flights and stunts in the type of planes used for events such as the Red Bull Air Race. You can enjoy thrills ranging from the gentle "Lazy 8" to barrel rolls and the "Half Cuban", experiencing up to six times G-force.
Pilot Wayne Ormrod says the flights, which have been taken by kids as young as 6 up to a 93-year-old man, don't have to be all about the adrenalin rush.
"The moves can be tame, gentle and smooth -- good for anyone -- or it could also be the most extreme thing you can do," he says. "We can pull more Gs than a fighter pilot or an astronaut."
Balloons over the Waikato
Balloons over Waikato overlooking Lake Rotoroa. Photo / Christine Cornege
With changes to CAA regulations after the Carterton tragedy, there are no hot air balloon operators in the Auckland region. However, the Kiwi Ballooning Company, the only operator in the North Island, is not far down the road in Hamilton.
Pilot Mark Brown says flights will resume in September once the calving season has passed -- the noise of the balloon's burner upsets the cows -- with flights every day that the weather is co-operative. The operation is certified by the CAA, with safety practices constantly being checked and updated, Brown says.
