This is something I’d been mulling over for a long while, but with our time running out in Abel Tasman, I decided that this was not something I could walk away from.
After booking for the morning of our final full day in the area, we headed over to Motueka, a larger town about 20 minutes outside of the Abel Tasman National Park. We met the owners of ‘U-fly Extreme’, Vincent and Alison, who are genuinely about the nicest people I have ever met! Vincent calmly briefed me on the manoeuvres I would be doing and soon eradicated all of my anxieties about the whole thing. Unfortunately however, the wind had decided to level up to some ferocious gales that morning and we decided it would be best to postpone until the following morning.
Thankfully, when we returned we had a glorious morning and there was no danger of the weather dictating things today. Once we arrived, I was surprised how quickly I was suited up and shown to the cockpit of the small plane I would soon be controlling. We’d already discussed the general flight plan the previous day, so the bulk of the preparation had already been dealt with.
Just to add, the atmosphere was so relaxed at this place. The relatively small building was home to the plane, an office area and a nice lounge area that was made to feel just like your average living room. The whole setup, helped no-end by the niceness of our hosts Vincent and Alison, was just what you want when you’re about to take on one of the most daunting experiences of your life!
Once in the cockpit, with Vincent in the seat behind, we went through the processes, made sure I was comfortable with the joystick and ensured our headsets were working properly. Then, the waiting was over! Vincent handled the take-off and the landing and then for most of the in-between, I was in control. Once we were in the air, I moved the plane gently from left to right on Vincent’s instruction and immediately I was struck by how responsive the plane was to this stick I was moving and how easy it all seemed.
As we approached the coast, we spared a few seconds to take in the beauty of the Abel Tasman National Park below, before moving straight into some aerobatics! The first were some rolls, achieved simply by easing and holding the joystick to the right (or left) which literally spun the aircraft around 360 degrees; as soon as we were upright, it was just a case of snapping the joystick back to the centre immediately.
Over the 15 minutes in the air, I completed several rolls, loops, hesitation rolls (also called 4-point rolls), a cuban figure eight and even flew upside down!! I was barely aware of the manoeuvres I was completing at the time, I was just so focused on Vincent’s instructions and following exactly what he said. It was an absolutely unbelievable experience and definitely the highlight of our travels so far for me.
I can’t emphasise how straight-forward the whole thing was. I was pretty anxious beforehand about actually controlling a stunt plane several thousand feet in the air, but Vincent talked me through the whole thing and made it feel like a breeze, even for someone with absolutely zero flight experience like myself.
If this is something you’re mulling over, then just bite the bullet and do it. I can’t recommend the whole experience highly enough; the owners Vincent and Alison really do transform something that should be completely terrifying into the most enjoyable experience you could wish for. Five stars in every aspect.
They also send the video of your flight (if you choose to have the video) a couple of days later to any worldwide address, so hopefully I can add that on here in the near future!