Below is a report written by Sergeant Andie Thompson, who attended the National Aviation Course earlier in the year:-
“I was pleased to be selected for attendance on the National Aviation Power Flying course at RNZAF base Woodbourne during January 2012.
At the time of the start of the course I was on holiday in Nelson, so I was able to catch a bus from Nelson to Woodbourne, which is near Blenheim. On arrival for some reason my name was not on the list of rooms but there were plenty of spares so it wasn’t a big problem.
After breakfast each day (6:30 am) we got into our flight suits and marched to the flight line. At that time we attended daily briefing that included weather information and flying conditions. The Navigation and Power Flying courses then split up for daily activities.
At the start of the day and before individual flights our section had to prepare the aircraft. We also had classroom lessons which were conducted twice each day to ensure that everyone could attend. One session was at 9am and the other was at 2pm.
During the flying day we were required to do the aircraft refueling and marshaling.
We had to sign out of our work area when lunch was required.
After the days flying for our section we had to wash and tie down our aircraft.
Then it was back to barracks for dinner time.
After dinner we studied our aircraft checks and procedures.
At 9.30pm we had the final briefing of the day which covered any issues from staff or instructions for the next day. Lights were out at 10pm.
I flew 5.4 hours on a variety of exercises during the course, however the number of flying hours was a little low and disappointing due to a variety of factors. Each individual worked at their own level. I myself did revision for going solo and learnt post take off emergency procedures. Unfortunately I did not quite make it to flying solo.
I met lots of new friends during the course. We managed to get 18 people in a telephone box!
Overall the course was a wonderful experience and was a good step toward my future career path.”
Pictured:-
1) Sgt Thompson relaxes between flights, 2) Coming in to land at RNZAF Base Woodbourne, 3) Sgt Thompson (bottom left) and her flying syndicate
