Episode 88 – Black Sands 2015 Fly-In

Guests: Bruce Cooke, Alistair McLaughlan, Doug King, John Farmer, Peter Beere, Willie, Tony Quayle, Peter Merwood, Bruce MacDonald, Gary Williams, John Lissington, Gavin Magill, Don Wilkinson and David Wilkinson

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 6th, 7th and 8th of November 2015, at Raglan, New Zealand

Duration: 2 hours 57 minutes 13 seconds

In this episode Dave Homewood talks to various aviators and engineers at the Sport Aircraft Association of New Zealand’s superb annual “Black Sands” Fly-In, at the lovely Waikato west coast seaside resort of Raglan, also known as Raglan-by-the-Sea. The event is run by the members of the Waikato-Thames Valley Chapter of SAANZ, and with this being the eleventh of the annual fly-ins at Raglan, “Black Sands” is a firm fixture on the calendar of anyone interested in sport aviation and general aviation.

As well as the relaxed social atmosphere and pleasant stay at the Raglan Kopua Holiday Park – which butts on to the airfield, and the beach! – another feature if the weekend fly-in is the chance for the pilots to go en-masse to a nearby beach and experience beach landings on the sand while the tide is out.

In this episode Dave talks with:
Bruce Cooke (Cambridge) – Waikato-Thames Valley SAA Chapter Secretary and Black Sands Operations Manager
Alistair McLaughlan (Clarks Beach) – Ex- pilot and aircraft engineer with many great stories to tell of working in the RNZAF including at Korat, Thailand in Operation Scorpion (NZ’s entry into the Vietnam conflict)
Doug King (Mercer) – Foxbat sales representative
John Farmer and Peter Beere – Octogenarian aviators who still enjoy life with the Foxbat they share and fly around the country. They share some stories from their years in various forms of aviation
Willie (Kaikohe) A pilot who also flies a Foxbat
Tony Quayle and Peter Merwood( (Paraparaumu) – Aviators who’d brought their aeroplanes up from their home base at Paraparaumu
Bruce MacDonald (Wharepapa South) – The Waikato-Thames Valley SAA Chapter President
Gary Williams (Otorohanga) – a pilot and Waikato-Thames Valley SAA Chapter Treasurer
John Lissington – A Zenair pilot from Te Kuiti
Gavin Magill (Auckland) SAA National Organisation Administrator
Don Wilkinson and David Wilkinson – Father and son pilots who own and fly the Corby Starlets, and David also has an RV8. And they have some great stories from the past.
Cheque Presentation to the Raglan Fire Brigade and St John’s Ambulance service by chapter president Bruce MacDonald
Summing Up with Bruce Cooke and Dave Homewood