NZFF

Hey there, these are just some pics I took last month after our snow storm.

Route was Christchurch-Franz Josef-Hokitikia-Christchurch.

The route ahead. Low cloud was a bit of a pain, preventing me from going above 5,500'. Even at this height outside air temp was -10 degrees. Flew through some light snow in some areas.




I eventually came to the end of the valley, and had to get through Whitcombe pass, shown below. I needed to gain more height to get through the pass safely, or risk being dragged into the mountain in the event of a downdraft. Air pressure was a very low 988, so my pathetic underpowered aircraft, a Tomahawk, was getting a measly rate of climb of 500' per minute at full power and best climb angle speed. This was getting worse as I got higher. By the time I'd made about 10 climbing circles and reached 7500', I was only getting about 200' per minute, and dont think I could have got much higher. Generally getting to 9500' is no problem.





After such a slightly hazardous trip through the alps, the sight of the west coast was a small relief.



Refueling at Franz Josef.

Looks like a cool flight Berg. I'm glad I didn't start my training in a Tomahawk, they look like a nightmare! *hugs tecnam*

Na they're alright. Simple, and cheap. Ah well finished in the thing now

Nice photos, how much horsepower does that have, how does it compare to a C172?

Great photos BerG- thanks for sharing

FlyingKiwi wrote: Nice photos, how much horsepower does that have, how does it compare to a C172?

112HP, but only about 750kg MAUW.

Im guessing a Cessna 172 is 172 HP? And about 1150kg MAUW?

The 172R has 160hp, not sure about earlier models.

Beautiful! And brave! Awesome pics.

Most newer C172s are around the 160hp mark, although the very early ones are only about 130hp I think. Likewise the takeoff weight varies between about 1000kgs for an early model up to about 1100 or so.