By Phil Pacey
November of 2020 saw the annual North Island Christmas BBQ back at Turangi, and it proved a great opportunity to to celebrate the close of a challenging year, and to enjoy some healthy annual competition.
The small Turangi Aero Club always look after us with a great meal and fellowship. Their little airfield is always in good order and is very easy to find, as it is at the south end of New Zealand’s biggest lake (Stump Bay to be precise) on Grace Road.
The November gathering saw a good turnout of 37 aircraft, ranging from light sport to Kim McKay’s Seneca II (Kim is currently flying 747 freighters out of Florida, which is quite a change from the grass at Turangi). The spot landing for the Richard Primrose Memorial Cup was won by Kjell Westerburg in the Tecnan, with Peter Armstrong (PSA) second and Brent Ferguson in this Malibu third.
The 2021 North Island Christmas BBQ will be held at Turangi on 21 November – mark it in your diary now.
This article first appeared in the Autumn 2021 edition of Approach Magazine, the dedicated magazine of AOPA NZ, which is published quarterly.