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Caribous in Kiwi land
By FLGOFF Eamon Hamilton

Edition 4909, 31 May, 2007
 
SPECTACULAR: A 38SQN Caribou makes a soft landing with a stunning backdrop as it approaches Minaret Station near Queenstown in New Zealand.
Photos courtesy of SQNLDR Vicki Rookyard
 
CHILLY: From left, FLGOFF Ali Torr, SQNLDR Vicki Rookyard, FLTLT Tim Oldfield, FLGOFF Dirk Taylor and CPL Tim Oxley at Queenstown.
 
The Land of the Long White Cloud received a pair of trans-Tasman visitors recently – two 38SQN Caribous.

A rare sight in New Zealand skies, the Caribous were there on a two-week trip that included an air show appearance and training among some breathtaking scenery.

Trip commander SQNLDR Vicki Rookyard said it was an invaluable opportunity for the Caribou crews to fly outside of their regular ‘stomping grounds’.

The combination of sheer mountainous terrain and small grassy airstrips was well suited to challenging Caribou operations.

“Australia is a relatively benign environment for the Caribou to operate in, as we don’t have unpredictable or extremes of weather, and much of our terrain is relatively low,” SQNLDR Rookyard said.

Fellow 38SQN pilot FLGOFF Ali Torr elaborated on the weather extremes. “In New Zealand, the crew had to deal with strong winds, moderate turbulence, cloud layers on the mountains, and freezing levels as low as 4,000 feet, along with hail and snow,” FLGOFF Torr said.

“The freezing level was quite often below the average height of the terrain, which means we can’t fly in cloud at these heights, and need to navigate around visually.”

The trip’s first hurdle was transiting safely from RAAF Base Amberley to Auckland, requiring both Caribous to make fuel stops in Lord Howe and Norfolk islands.

Extensive contingency plans were laid out for the over-water legs in case of an emergency, and the 15 personnel flying with the Caribous had to pack light with the equipment and spares they brought for the trip.

From Auckland, the pair of Caribous flew to the Classic Fighters 2007 Air Show at Omaka Aerodrome on South Island.

“The crowds at the Omaka Air Show were ecstatic about seeing the Caribous, and they went out of their way to ensure that we were looked after,” FLGOFF Torr said.

Many of the air show’s star performers were privately-owned warbirds, with the pair of Caribous being the only ADF aircraft at Omaka.

“Our flying display demonstrated the tight turning circle of the aircraft, as well as the short field landing and take-off capability which is our bread and butter,” SQNLDR Rookyard said.

“The spare aircraft provided a static display from behind a cordon – we opened the engine cowl of this aircraft so people could appreciate the Caribou’s massive radial engine in all its glory.”

Following Omaka Air Show, the two Caribous left for Queenstown via Milford Sound to conduct mountainous terrain flying and short take-off and landing training.

An airfield engineer with the 38SQN contingent was able to survey new landing grounds for the Caribou, including two private airstrips on property owned by New Zealand warbird identity Sir Tim Wallis. “One of the strips – called ‘Beehive’ – was only 1300 feet long, which is the shortest strip any of the crews had ever operated into,” SQNLDR Rookyard said.

“As well as being quite challenging, it was also a lot of fun, and having the airfield engineer come with us and survey strips before we went in was invaluable.”