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 in small groups to explore (relatively) local airstrips.
In this interview with Charlie, he talks about his love of flying – and more particularly his love of constant learning about flying – and why he finds the AOPA NZ social gatherings hugely valuable. He also shares some of his own learnings, and has solid advice for pilots – young and mature!
This Pilots’ Talk episode is part of series of candid interviews with AOPA NZ members. Pilots, engineers, aviation experts and others who are passionate about General Aviation, have great experience, and have a yarn or two to share. To see all Pilots’ Talk videos published to date, including short clips, click this link. You can also head over to our YouTube channel. If you have suggestions for future interviews, please email comms@aopa.nz with the member’s details and your thoughts on why they’d make a great interviewee for this series. Interviews were conducted, produced and edited by Mark Sinclair of yBC.