Today, I tried to fly our Skyleader GP One through to Taieri Airfield, but was thwarted by very low cloud along the Otago Coast. 

After stopping at a deserted Gore airfield for lunch, I headed across the Kaihiku Range to Balclutha. The cloudbase was sometimes below 1500 feet, so I wasn't able to fly very high.

At Milton, I turned down to Toko Mouth to see if the VFR transit lane along the coastline was clear. Unfortunately there was sea fog rolling up onto the hills, so no go.

I back-tracked to land at Balclutha and had a pleasant chat with a couple of South Otago Aero Club members. Of course they were interested to look over the GP One and ask lots of questions. 

Headed west to find the Waipahi farm where my son and his family were staying. All the paddocks were too small, too steep, had powerlines in them or were full of sheep, so no landings today. I just circled twice while they all waved enthusiastically from the house. 

Then it was on to Gore.

Landed at Gore again, this time there were some Gore Aero Club members to yarn with.

Final leg was back to Oporo Flats to land in the 'pocket handkerchief'-sized paddock. With a very light SW wind, I was able to come in low over the fence and stop quickly. I measured that it took 120m from threshold to full stop, so I was very pleased with that. Over 140m of airstrip left in front of me.

Today I flew our Skyleader GP One demonstrator aircraft down to a farm strip just 2km outside the Invercargill Airport control zone. 

My plan is to have the GP One much closer to home for the rest of the NZ's optimal flying season (late summer/autumn). It will be easier for me to visit other aero clubs in the south and to drop into private air strips. I'd like to show the GP One to as many people as possible.

The farmer kindly offered to take the farm machinery out of his disused hangar, so that the GP One could be out of the weather. It's a snug fit - there's only a 200mm gap at each wing tip.  The paddock itself has some challenges by way of tall trees, uneven ground and sheep, but it does have a 260m long 'flattish' area for take-off and landing. I'll have to work on my precision landings.  

The Sabre is an easy-to-fly aeroplane with superb handling and a wide flight envelope.
Great short field take-off/landing ability, helped by its Fowler flaps and robust trailing-arm landing gear. Comfortable cockpit with loads of shoulder room (courtesy of slightly offset seats).

A pleasure to fly!

Find more info at 2003 Kappa Sabre

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