Strip 2

 

Me to right, surveying a course through the junk.

Approach 16, too low! Strip is beyond fence.

Take off 16, surface is as rough as guts.

Our Rangi Point, Northland N.Z.,  strip aligns 34/16 and is suited to the prevailing winds. It is about 20 feet above sea level and has good easy approaches. There is a wire fence to cross when landing on runway 16. The length is 180m but there is over run availability provided you aim between the fence posts that remain after an old wire fence corroded away. The surface is very hard and has good drainage. It is also incredibly  rough, being shared with stock, (cattle and horses). They pug it up badly in winter and in summer it is as hard as a rock. The strip is also shared with dead and rusted vehicles, so care is really required. Apart from that it is an easy operation for the 701. We have an electric fence unit built in to the airplane and the tie down ropes have a conductive strand for earthing. We carry wire and light weight posts on board so it easy to run a wire around to keep the stock away. Stock present the biggest drama, on one occasion a bull with big horns was not fazed as I taxied towards him, increasing and decreasing engine RPM to scare him off. His solution was to threaten to charge and I am sure we have the world record for turning on the spot and scrambling into the air! It takes us 1hr 50 min. from Auckland to here in the 701 vs. 8 hrs in our motor home.