It was another perfect day for flying around the country. Today’s destination is Tauranga.

With blue skies and light winds above my pilot and I prepared the aircraft for the flight.

It would seem other pilots were taking advantage of the summer weather as well.

We lined up on the active runway and went though our line up checks. Once we were at full power the breaks were released and we were off.

Flying time was expected to be under an hour taking us across papakura, south of themes, then onwards towards matakana island.

As we dodged clouds generated from the passing cold front we levelled off at four thousand 300 feet in somewhat turbulent conditions.

The approach of Mt Maunganui was a good indication we were close to Tauranga airport. We tracked down the coast as requested by the local tower then crossed Papamoa Beach Road to set the aircraft up for landing.

On the ground I disembarked and went to check out one of the local aircraft museums while my pilot talked to an engineer about one of the engines.

It was decided after a little tinkering we’d take the aircraft up for a short test flight.

From the air the Bay of Plenty looks so flat. We tracked south down the coast passing some of the popular holiday spots for New Zealanders.

Once my pilot and his engineer were happy with the engines performance we dropped him back off at Tauranga and started our journey north. With the wind on our side we joined the local traffic pattern and gracefully landed at Ardmore.