Second PilotExpoNZ in February
December 1st, 2008
The second PilotExpoNZ—a biennial expo for general aviation (GA) in New Zealand—will be held at Ardmore Airfield on the afternoon of Friday the 27th and all day on Saturday the 28th of February 2009. The first PilotExpoNZ in 2007 was the first aviation expo of its kind to be held in New Zealand and provided pilots, aircraft owners and operators the chance to meet the businesses that supply aviation products specifically for GA flying.
The Expo follows the format of many similar events around the globe and its main focus is to allow aircraft buyers and sellers, aviation suppliers, pilots and owners to meet face to face and give everyone the opportunity to see, touch and sample products or services that they may have only read about or seen on the web.
According to the Expo’s organisers, the second event will incorporate a number of “tweaks and improvements”. The event’s timing (Friday afternoon and Saturday) should help to overcome the difficulty experienced last time by some businesses, of staffing a stand all weekend, particularly in mid summer.
Organisers have also planned a fun social event for Friday evening, once the Expo closes for the day.
The Expo will be staged in a permanent hangar, which will provide more space for stands and a better infrastructure for elaborate displays.
In addition to trade stands and static displays, the Expo will also include a number of GA-related seminars. These will include:
• “Mountain Flying”, presented by Ruth Presland of Wanaka Flight Training.
• “Oil Analysis and the Health of Your Powerplant”, presented by Michael Hooper of Goughs.
• “Helping Pilots Get Down Safely”, a presentation by Airways Corporation NZ about air traffic control.
• “Rotax Engines – All You Wanted to Know”, presented by Colin Alexander of Solowings.
• “The Right Gear for the Dreadful Moment”, a presentation by Lloyd Klee of Aviation Safety, with particular focus on the new 406 ELTs.
• “Air Insurance – The Inside Track”, presented by Bill Beard of AvSure.
• Cirrus Aircraft – From Humble Beginnings to Major Manufacturer”, presented by Steve Maltby – Cirrus’s Australasian distributor.
• “CAA – Sport Aviation in New Zealand” presented by the CAA’s manager of sport and recreation, Rex Kenney.
PilotExpoNZ will be free to the public; there will be no entry charge.
More information about PilotExpoNZ is available online at www.pilotexpo.co.nz
