By Anita Holland

Two Jabiru aircraft Flown together over the Tasman, by two A Cat Instructors/Flight Examiners

We (my husband Tim and I) own and operate Euroflight on Tauranga airfield which we set up five years ago with the aim of providing personalized flight training. Earlier this year, we decided to upgrade our fleet. We were looking for something which would make flight training safe, affordable and fun. We narrowed down the options available using these criteria, then set about checking these options out further. Our research led us to the conclusion that composite aircraft would be the way forward due to strength, durability and no risk of the dreaded corrosion. Jabiru aircraft were ticking all the boxes at this stage so Tim, with the support of friend PPL holder Marty, headed over to the factory in Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. Owner, Rodney Stiff, gave them the guided tour of the factory where the boys could see the aircraft in all stages of construction and meet the staff. Next it was time to fly the aircraft –the J230, J160 and J120 were all tried and both Tim and Marty were impressed with the smooth running, power and stable characteristics of the aircraft. So after a whirlwind tour the boys were on their way home to try to convince me they had found the ideal aircraft. Two weeks later we were heading back to Bundaberg where I had a chance to meet the team at Jabiru, and fly the J230. We decided on getting a brand new J230, along with a slightly smaller J120 which was one year old with only 100 hours total time.

Two months later and the J230 was ready to collect. Tim enlists the help of friend and CAA board member, Ross Crawford. With over twenty thousand flying hours, including many international flights as an Air New Zealand captain, Ross makes an ideal choice as fellow ferry pilot. Their packing list includes satellite phone (from Tait Mobile in Auckland), 2 life rafts (from Aviation Safety in Auckland), a Spider Track (lent by friend John Reid), 2 GPS each, flares, life jackets and an additional personal locator beacon.

Back at the Jabiru factory LAME, Paul Waterhouse from Central Aero in Hamilton, meets them to complete ARAs and 100-hour inspections on both aircraft, to allow the CAA to issue them with airworthiness certificates. From 5th December both aircraft will be registered as LSA (light sport aircraft) allowing them to be used for PPL, CPL and instructor training. As the aircraft are on the New Zealand register under the Special category, CASA needed to issue permits to fly in Australia. This was completed at 11am on the 11th November, and after a quick local flight to complete a photo shot, Tim and Ross (in the J120 and J230 respectively), set off for Lismore, just North of Coffs harbor, where they had an overnight stop with Ross’ ag pilot friend, Peter Lox.

The next morning they awoke to fog, which fortunately lifted by the time they had pre-flighted at 6:30 am. 3 hours and 48 minutes later, they were at Lord Howe Island. After refueling, they were soon airborne again, the next leg to Norfolk Island taking 4 hours 34 minutes. The J230 hold 135 liters of fuel, with the six cylinder, 120hp engine using between 16 and 18 liters of fuel/hour fuel endurance wasn’t an issue. The J120’s 80hp four cylinder engine’s fuel consumption of 18 liters/hour meant a 100 liter ferry tank had to be fitted and carried on the passenger seat. The other piece of equipment that proved very useful was the satellite phone, which allowed them to provide position reports every 30mins to either Brisbane or Auckland Oceanic. Regular communication was also made on frequency 123.45 with pilots from Air New Zealand, Qantas and Cathay Pacific, some of whom had previously flown as first officers with Ross.

After dinner at Norfolk Island’s RSL and a good night’s sleep, Tim and Ross woke to find it was raining. During the time spent pre-flighting, filing flight plans and re-fuelling (at $3.88 Australian per liter!) the weather improved and at take-off time of 6:30 the cloud base was 2500 feet. This lifted during the flight, allowing them to climb to 7500 feet. Sighting Three Kings let them know they were on track, the next land sighting being Cape Reinga from where they tracked south to Kerikeri airfield to encounter their most turbulent landings of the trip at the end of a five hour flight. Customs and MAF were waiting to perform routine inspections at Kerikeri, after which they refueled and set off home to Tauranga.