Going Somewhere

As I mentioned in my last post, I was doing a flight plan.  I even used that flight plan and flew to Raglan and back.  How exciting to say that I've now used my own pilot skills to fly myself somewhere for a little mini holiday!

Now, I didn't go all by myself of course.  My husband is an instructor in the microlight class, so he took the title of Pilot in Command while I did all the work. 

We packed up one of the "microlight" aircraft the flying school has on offer, a Tecnam P92 Echo Super.  Now, some of you may be thinking I'm talking about a low performance, open cockpit, fabric construction plane when I say microlight but instead I mean one of these:

 

You may also remember my post on aviator chic "Flying in Style" in which I kinda promised an outfit shot when I thought I was doing all right looking "casually glamorous" when heading off for a lesson and this is about as close as we're going to get.  It was a warm day out so I went with black trouser style shorts, belted with a brown leather belt, topped with a light weight leopard print cardi worn as a blouse and little brown ballet flats.  Not exactly an Amelia Earhart look but better than my usual!

And before I get side-tracked onto a style post, onward to an in flight photo (where, incidentally, you can see my rhinestone headset doing it's job...)

 

And here's my husband, moving the plane to a suitable spot to tie it down overnight.  The wide expanse of grass to the left in the photo is where I landed the plane.  It was my first grass landing, and a bit tricky as there is no "runway" to aim for - just a big ol' paddock.

That night in Raglan, we stayed at a nice little bach and had a night out to see the One Man Ska Band, Chris Murray (all the way from LA), and supporting act from Auckland Atsushi and the Moisties.  A great night of ska and many impressed people around when they found out we flew down for the show :)  Just one photo of Chris Murray jamming with this guy Nate who played the harmonica...it was awesome!

In the morning, we were happy to find the plane still tied down, exactly where we left it...

 

On the way home, my husband was so relaxed, he spent most of his time taking photos of the rugged west coast as we flew along.

I must say, there is something quite satisfying about having completed a successful cross-country flight...and not just any cross-country but one that took me somewhere I needed to go for a specific event.  This little jaunt was quite possibly just what I needed to get back to my PPL lessons.  Looking in my logbook, it's sad to note that my last PPL lesson was on 10 Oct - over a month ago.

Silver Wings - New Zealand Women in Aviation

A little while ago, I got my hands on a copy of Silver Wings - New Zealand Women in Aviation.  I managed to get it for a bargain price but would fully recommend it at the full retail price as well.  It's a beautiful little soft cover book, with 288 pages and as many photographs.

The book chronicles the women flying in New Zealand from Gladys Sanford receiving her pilots license in Dec 1925 up to modern women flying any and every type of aircraft you can imagine at all levels.

My favourite photos were those of the women in the 1960's and 1970's - many of them recreational pilots - dressed in some of the most fashionable items of the times with hair to match and ready to fly!  As I said in in my post Flying in Style, the best clothes for flying aren't necessarily the most fashionable or stylish, so these women are yet another source of Aviator Chic inspiration.

The easiest way to get your hands on a copy of this great book is to order it from NZAWA via this order form.  Alternately, you can borrow it from your local library (if they have it) or scour Trademe and used book stores to find a more modestly priced copy if you really want to own it but can't afford the $50 price tag.

Here's a little sneak peek of photos found in the book.  (Please note, I took these from the NZAWA order form as I didn't think it fair of me to scan and redistribute the images from the book without permission.)

Flying in Style

Harriet Quimby, the first woman in the US to receive her pilot's license once said, "If a woman wants to fly, first of all she must, of course, abandon skirts and don a knickerbocker uniform."  While I wouldn't go quite that far, I do believe that there are certain considerations to be taken when dressing for a flight - you must dress so that you will be comfortable and unrestricted.

My usual flying outfit leaves a lot to be desired in the style department, but fits the comfort and ease of movement conditions to a t.  Generally I fly in a t shirt and jeans with a pair of well fitting flat slip on shoes on my feet and a I wear a light weight wind breaker jacket while I'm outside checking over the plane.  While I'm perfectly happy with this, I do think I could easily dress far more stylishly and glamorously and STILL be comfortable and able to move.

You may wonder what has prompted me to reflect on what I wear while flying.  It's simple, I got an email the other day from BurdaStyle encouraging me to try a new look...that look is Aviator Chic.  I suppose the fact that I'm a real live aviator made me take notice of this, and the fact that I don't really bother with chic at all when I fly.  They cite Amelia Earhart, the "First Lady of Flight", as their inspiration for donning such classic pieces as bomber jackets, wide leg trousers, and button up blouses or being a bit more daring in khaki jumpsuits.  Amelia was also known for wearing slim leg jodhpurs tucked into her boots and scarves, knotted expertly around her neck.

I trolled around and found a few of my favourite images of Amelia Earhart and actresses playing Amelia to share here for your inspiration and my own.

While I probably wouldn't go for the khaki jumpsuit, the wide leg pants, blouses, and light scarves would be easy and comfortable to wear and I already have 2 bomber jackets (one black light weight "fashion" jacket and one real army green flight jacket).  So, I will keep the idea of dressing well for flying in the back of my mind for future lessons...no promises, but you may get a photo of me one day as I'm heading off to a lesson and looking as casually glamorous as today's style icon, Amelia Earhart.