iggytheaviator

I can’t help myself – if it’s about aviation, it has me thinking. The purpose of this blog is to share my insights on anything to do with flying. I come from the viewpoint that when things go wrong, it is better to draw lessons than to apportion blame. Life and limb are too precious to allow people to be adversarial, thereby running the risk that important evidence and lessons are not brought to light. My lifelong love of aviation was well-established when, on leaving school, I joined the RNZAF. As a school student, I mowed lawns and worked as a labourer on roads and building sites to raise the money for weekly glider flights. The RNZAF Wings Course presented new challenges on a daily basis. In the Air Force I flew 4,100 hours on Harvards, Devons, Vampires, Skyhawks and Strikemasters. I dabbled in the Macchi, Airtourer, Airtrainer and Tiger Moth. I didn’t do a single day’s work, while flying! Many of my Air Force colleagues left to be successful pilots, earning more than any RNZAF pilot could dream of. As an Air Force pilot, I had aviation adventures that many an airline pilot would envy. These are part of the subject matter of my soon-to-be-published book, Iggy’s Air Force Tales. In recent years I took up the opportunity to fly again – this time in a leased Piper Cub. From there, I was able to become a tow pilot at Piako Gliding Club in Matamata, flying a Pawnee that is over half a century old. It is hard to beat the satisfaction of spotting a thermal and taking a glider pilot to the spot where he can release to soar over our magnificent New Zealand countryside.