Skip to content
Pre-register: AOPA NZ Meet & Greet – Te Kowhai 20 June 2026 - Pre-register today! Come along and meet the AOPA NZ Committee and other members. Saturday, 20 June 2026 at Te Kowhai Airpark. Members, please ensure you are logged into our website – then click the link below. Please pre-register here (AOPA NZ members only) All members and partners welcome.
AOPA NZ Haast Winter Fly-in: 17-19 July 2026 - Save the Date! This year’s AOPA NZ Haast Winter Fly-in will be held from Friday, 17 July to Sunday, 19 July. The team at Heartland Hotel are holding rooms for us. We will get back to you soon with a link to register. We hope you can make it! More info and registration details to […]
AOPA NZ Fly-in – Darfield 18-20 Sept 2026 - Save the date! Friday-Sunday, 18-20 September 2026. AOPA NZ Fly-in at Darfield. Registrations available from 1 August 2026
AOPA NZ Meet & Greet – Wānaka Airport – 12 december 2026 - Save the Date! We know some members like to plan ahead, especially for the busy month of December. We’re pleased to announce that our December AOPA NZ Meet & Greet will be held in Wānaka on Saturday, 12 December 2026. If you might like to attend, please put this in your diary now. Perhaps think of […]
Back-to-Basics – January 2027 - The 2027 AOPA NZ Back-to-Basics will take place in January 2027 – date yet to be confirmed. Watch this space!
AOPA NZ North Island Fly-in – March 2027 - The date and venue for our March 2027 AOPA NZ North Island Fly-in are yet to be confirmed. It will be held around 19-21 March 2027. The location and date TBC closer to the time. Watch this space! Pictured above: AOPA NZ members enjoying a good catch-up at our recent Hawera Fly-in – March 2026.
AOPA NZ AGM Meet and Greet – Whakatāne – 6 March 2027 - The 2027 AOPA NZ AGM will be held in Whakatāne. We will hold a Meet and Greet for members in conjunction with the AGM. Save the date! Saturday, 6 March 2027 More details will be sent to members closer to the time. Pictured above: A photo from our AOPA NZ AGM Meet and Greet in […]
Approach – Browse AOPA NZ’s magazine online - Our AOPA NZ Approach magazines are online for you… Click here to visit our Approach page & read editions online!
AOPA NZ AGM 2026 – photo gallery - Here is a selection of photos of the things we love best – people (members!) and planes (belonging to members!) from our Annual General Meeting in Greymouth at the end of February. All photos taken by Nikki McKay.
AOPA NZ One Day Fly-in – Kokonga – 17 May 2026 - Kokonga Airstrip – Sunday, 17 May 2026 You are invited to join our One Day Fly-in (ODF) at Kokonga this Sunday, 17 May from 10:30am for lunch. Come along for a great day out with other members. All AOPA NZ members and partners welcome! Members, please ensure you are logged into our website – then click the link […]
Submit content for member UPDATES - It’s really helpful and much appreciated when members send in suggestions for inclusion in our digital comms. It really helps us to gather great content to share with the members. Your contributions might include: Articles you’ve found (written by someone else) Something written by you (of any length) Links which members might find interesting Dates […]
AOPA NZ One Day Fly-in – Taumarunui Aerodrome – 17 May 2026 - Taumarunui Aerodrome – Sunday, 17 May 2026 You are invited to join our AOPA NZ ODF this Sunday, 17 May from 11am. Come along for a great day out with other members. All AOPA NZ members and partners welcome! Members, please ensure you are logged into our website – then click the link below to register. Please register […]
AOPA NZ – Hawera Fly-in – March 20-22 2026 - The locals have ordered good weather, are organising some strips to visit and Taranaki hospitality will ensure a great weekend. See details and pre register here
CANCELLED – AOPA NZ – Highlands Breakfast Sunday 22nd February - Due to a deteriorating wind forecast for Sunday we have decided to cancel Sundays Fly-in We will look for a suitable day in the future If you have registered you will be contacted by email 13:20 19/02/26 Ian , Kynan
Taming the Taildragger - This article from Approach Magazine has been opened up for everyone including non-members to access on this website (see the end of the page below for further details). By Neville Bailey It’s been said many times that in the world of taildraggers, there are those who have, and those who will. We’re talking, of course, […]
Destination Picton - By Holly Lyttle If you’re looking for somewhere new to fly, consider Picton, the gateway to the Marlborough Sounds. Nestled in the valley on the road between Blenheim and Picton, you’ll find Koromiko, home to Picton Airport, owned and operated by Sounds Air. Landing here will give you the quickest access to a day or multi-day […]
AOPA NZ – Lunch at Omarama Saturday 14th February - Looking like a nice day on Saturday so why not bring your valentine to lunch at Omarama Please register here so we can let the Glider Cafe know numbers
Summary of Member Benefits - AOPA NZ member discounts, special deals and member benefits include: Approach magazine – Receive your own copy of AOPA NZ’s quarterly magazine Participation at our regular AOPA NZ fly-ins and member events Get an Avsec card Order a Visual Navigation Chart book at a discounted rate Order AOPA NZ apparel Apply for the Cessna Maintenance […]
Significant steps for the Trust - By Richard Bradley After the AGM in Hawera I was appointed as an interim Trustee to replace the founding Chairman Sid McCauley, who stood down after the Trust’s very intensive set up period. It has been a very steep learning curve over the last six months and I have to thank the present chair, Mandy […]
AOPA NZ – ODF – Kyeburn Station – Saturday January 31st 2026 - Keen to attend ? Details and register here- Restricted content
Russell Taylor on the joys of IFR and his “most terrible experience” - You’d have to look hard to find an AOPA NZ member who is more passionate about IFR than Russell Taylor. Russell started out as a mechanic and moved into car dealership, at which stage flying around the country became a very useful business tool. But with weather limiting his movements, he decided to “go IFR”. […]
Inspection Oddities - By Jay McIntyre Apparently, my last article generated some great feedback… and some not so good! I personally didn’t hear any of the great feedback, but I sure heard about the other feedback! My apologies to Nick and the Aviation Radio team for mis-identifying the ELTs I referred to in the article as Kannad, when […]
AOPA NZ Back to Basics Tutaki January 2026 - We have settled on Monday Jan 19th to Wednesday Jan 21st for the fly-in Please see more details and pre register here to be kept in the communication loop Stephen and John Todd have kindly agreed to allowing us access to their farm strip in the Tutaki Valley, SE of Murchison. Over the weekend, anticipating […]
AOPA NZ – Johan’s Fly-in breakfast – Saturday, 10 January 2026 – Darfield - Please see here for more details and to register
Approach -2025 Summer edition
aopa nz – puketoi station xmas lunch 06TH december 2025 - We have decided Saturday 7th December is good to go Please follow the link below to view the information and pre register so we can keep you in the loop. Details and pre register here
Waitomo Aero Club – Te Kuiti Airfield – Hanger opening and Christmas lunch – Sunday 7th December - Please register here for catering numbers Waitomo Aero Club – Te Kuiti Airfield – Hanger opening and Christmas lunch From 11 am onwards. Celebrating a new hangar opening Combined with the annual pre-Christmas BBQ luncheon of the Waitomo Aero Club. Includes invite to AOPA NZ & SAA area members. All welcome. Please register to help get […]
AOPA NZ – Hastings BBQ lunch and meet and greet 13 December - Please see details and register here
DAVE WISEMAN: magnificent man and his flying machine. - AOPA NZ member Dave Wiseman runs a panel beating business and has always been fascinated by machines. So when he got introduced to flying, his reaction was simple: “I’ve just gotta do this!”. Dave describes flying as “a thrill” and he certainly loves his aviation. This Pilots’ Talk episode is part of series of candid […]
Why Brian Wigley’s father used to read the paper and then throw it out the (airplane) window - Brian Wigley has been involved in aviation all his life. From a young age, he was surrounded by it – first flying in a Tiger Moth. His father found it was faster to deliver papers rurally by air. And his family started various aviation businesses including what became Mount Cook Airlines. He has a few […]
ROBBIE BURNSIDE: I hated opening gates. - When you ask Robbie Burnside about his early days of flying, he’ll tell you that he hated opening gates on the farm, “so to do away with the gates, I just fly over them.” Of course. Robbie has used his plane as an essential work horse around the farm, and also to get him from […]
ADS-B Roll out - We have ADS-B units ready to install. We are looking for locations, with internet and power available, that can view areas that have poor ADS-B coverage. If you think you fit this criteria please complete the information form here. Once we have your details we will contact you and discuss what happens next. If you […]
Summary of “HOW TO” section - In this section of the website, members can access a series of “how to” articles – to help you do things you might want or need to do as a GA pilot. Use the menu above to select “how to” article you are looking for. Currently in this section we cover how to … add […]
Order your Chart book - This is one of the many benefits of being a member of AOPA NZ. Members can purchase this great chart book at a reduced rate. Details are below, please contact us if you need any help member.service@aopa.nz Order your new VNC book – Effective 27 November 2025 – here Once you have completed your order […]
Murray Smith: flying to get away from it all - AOPA NZ Live Member Murray Smith has been flying for a long time, and he absolutely loves it. In this video he shares some of his experiences, including a flying “trip of a lifetime” around Australia, and also the joy of passing the love of flying to his son. He also shares how flying enables him […]
Ag pilot Robin Langslow on North and South - Robin Langslow is an experienced Ag pilot. Based in Hawkes Bay, he has worked extensively in both the North and South Islands, and has also spent plenty of time flying the length of the country for fun. In this video he shares some of his stories, as well as his advice to new/young pilots, and […]
George Galpin: happiest flying in the mountains - As a five year old boy in 1949, George Galpin saw a Tiger Moth. Since then, he’s been plane obsessed. Now based in Wānaka, George is close to the Southern Alps – where he is at his most comfortable flying. In this video, George shares some of his thoughts and experiences, including flying float planes in Canada. […]
Darfield Fly-in thwarted by winds, but doesn’t stop social - Our Darfield 2025 fly-in was weather affected with strong winds. The forecast stayed quite constant during the week before and certainly was not conducive to travelling from outside Canterbury by aircraft. We attempted to do some flying on the Saturday morning but decided that the day was only going to deteriorate and cancelled the flying. We had […]
Update your contact details - It’s important to keep your contact details up to date. Our central database is used to contact you in different ways (eg regular comms, specific email, fly-ins, Approach Magazine by mail). From time to time, we’ll remind you to do this. But you may also have reason to (moving house, changing mobile number or email, […]
Reasons to fly – Phil Pacey interview - Phil Pacey first started thinking about flying when, as a boy, he saw top-dressing planes doing their thing. Fast forward many years, and he decided to get into General Aviation so that he could “take the family on days out” and other fun trips. He did exactly that, and had a blast. Over 2,200 flying […]
Never stop learning about flying – Charlie Draper interview - Once a year, AOPA NZ members attend a spring fly-in near Darfield (30km West of Christchurch Airport). The fly-in is run by Charlie Draper, who hosts the annual event for members on his farm. Some years, there are over 60 planes at the fly-in, and as with most AOPA NZ fly-ins, they all head off […]
From control tower to cockpit – pilots’ talk with Rex Brereton - Rex Brereton is an AOPA NZ member currently flying out of Fielding Aerodrome in the lower North Island. He has a long history of general aviation in New Zealand, including many years in ATC (Air Traffic Control). In this interview, Rex talks about his experiences behind the controls of various airplanes, as well as behind […]
Frustrations at hood aerodrome masterton - Roger Fairbrother is an AOPA NZ member and past member of the Executive who recently made submissions to the Masterton District Council in relation to works undertaking at the airport. For background, have a quick read of this article in the Post on 24 June: Airport runway falls short of gaining safety credential. Photo credit: […]
A year in Abu Dhabi – Lessons from the sandpit - Up until leaving New Zealand recently, Stu Haynes was an AOPA NZ Executive member from New Plymouth, and was also a founding member of the AOPA NZ Charitable Trust. His family’s live was turned upside down by the abrupt cancellation of the ferry replacement project and he went looking for opportunities further afield. Here’s a […]
Rust never sleeps, and neither do property speculators … - ... especially when they are eyeing up airfields and golf courses with lots of empty land. This is a contribution from AOPA NZ member Bruce Govenlock, focusing in on some of the significant frustrations local pilots are experiencing in relation to his local airfield. In 2008 the Hastings Airfield community won an Environment Court Case […]
Social Calendar - You can find AOPA NZ fly-ins and Social events as well as activities for other clubs and organisation here. This page is also now in the menu and in the public domain, accessible by anyone on the internet. AOPA NZ events and meetings will have links to “member only” pages where you can find out […]
AOPA NZ ODF SMALLS 15TH jUNE 2025 - You are invited to Smalls on Sunday 16th June. See details and register here All welcome. Lunchtime get together. Contact Murray 0293353277
AOPA NZ – Haast Winter Fly-in July 2025 - Pre registration is now available for the Haast Fly-in. Pre register and see details here
AOPA NZ – 2 for 1 awards Friday – ODF and presentations – Friday May 2nd - You are invited to join us for a two for one Awards Friday. From 11.00 – ODF at Kokonga to present John Evans with his award – Above and beyond. See details and register here And / Or At 15.30 – Fly or Drive to Taieri Airport to present Southair Ltd for their award – […]
