A successful one-day fly-in was held on 31 January at Middlerock Station. Middlerock is located in rolling hill country to the west of the Rakaia Gorge in central Canterbury.
Bruce Nell tells us the station got its name when the pioneers were digging fence posts by hand and found a rock in the middle of every hole! Taking advantage of fantastic weather, more than twenty aircraft turned up for the one-day fly-in, including a large group of microlight pilots in their Alpi’s.
The airstrip, which is a regular on the annual Darfield Fly-in itinerary, proved a little different this time. Landowner Bruce Nell had planted the paddock in turnips for winter feed but when approached about hosting a one-day fly-in, he rolled a strip through the turnips to produce a useable vector, taxiways and parking. Now that’s commitment! Thanks Bruce!
This article first appeared in the Winter 2021 edition of Approach Magazine, the dedicated magazine of AOPA NZ, which is published quarterly.