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AIRSPACE COMMITTEE REPORT Spring 2009


16th September 2009

With summer coming on its time to turn our thoughts to soaring and cross-country flight which may turn our attention to airspace and the changes that are to be implemented in November.

The good news is that there has been a slight reduction in Class D controlled airspace. The area to the south of the Woodbourne Control Zone has been freed up considerably and airspace over Mt Arrowsmith, north of the Rangitata River has been raised to 13,5000 feet which will make it easier to transit southwards with enough height to cross the Two Thumbs Range into the McKenzie Basin. Full details of the changes can be viewed on the NZCAA webpage.

http://www.caa.govt.nz/airspace/airspace_review.htm

If you are flying in these areas be sure to acquaint yourself with the changes, carry a current chart and if you are using GPS navigation to assist you make sure the data base is up to date. The Class D airspace in the North Island is unchanged but there have been changes to the Mandatory Broadcast Zones (MBZ) at Taupo, Paraparaumu and Motueka which need to be complied with. In addition many of the associated non-mandatory Common Frequency Zones (CFZ) have also been changed.

Two things are new for this season. Many clubs have appointed an airspace representative whose task it is to encourage and educate pilots to use Class D airspace to their advantage. The second is the introduction of a web based airspace usage tracker which will enable any pilot to conveniently record their airspace experiences both good and bad. These reports will enable the airspace committee to document trends and assist us to lobby Airways and NZCAA for improved access based on factual information rather than the anecdotal stories.

The current list of airspace representatives is;

            Peter Thorpe                                                 AASC

            Kevin Bethwaite                                          Canterbury

            Terry Delore                                                 Canterbury

            Gavin Wills                                                  GlideOmarama

            Mike Dekker                                                Marlborough

            CJ McCaw                                                   OGC

            Hugh Turner                                                 OGC

            Ralph Gore                                                   Piako

            Chris Rudge                                                 Southern Soaring

            Clinton Steel                                                Norfolk

            Tony Passmore                                             Wellington

            Vaughan Ruddock                                       Wellington        

The web site for airspace reports is located at http://airspace.gliding.co.nz/ 

My thanks to Tim Bromhead for the time and effort he has donated to this project. It is planned to include a direct link from the GNZ website in the near future.

Trevor Mollard

GNZ Airspace Committee Chairman