Vector Online | aviation.govt.nz

Read our special 'online' Vector stories here. Some are unique to the website, and some have featured in print issues of Vector.

Note: This archive dates back to 2015. So, the advice in some of the earlier articles may have changed.

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Training in marginal weather

A student pilot describes his first flight in windy weather with patchy rain. What does he learn?

Posted 17 days ago

Switched on

The RCCNZ says a lot happens behind the little red ELT switch, which you may not fully appreciate.

A pilot's best friend or worst enemy?

How you implement tech in the cockpit determines its usefulness and safety.

Posted in Pilot performance flying practice and professionalism, General safety,

Posted 31 days ago

Out of the blue

A routine flight from Paraparaumu to Tākaka in November 2024 turns into a dramatic sea ditching.

Fatal distraction

Staying focussed during low-level flying will help keep you from a wire strike.

Bullets, shrapnel, and military drones

These are three potentially lethal reasons for pilots to stay well clear of military operating areas.

Posted in Pilot performance flying practice and professionalism, Aerodromes, Airspace,

Posted 52 days ago

Test flights for aircraft modifications

Lots of aircraft get modified so they can undertake new activities. The CAA has now made it more straightforward to apply for flight tests and related approvals.

Posted in Aircraft owner and aircraft, Pilot performance flying practice and professionalism,

Posted 59 days ago

Don’t be that pilot

Check your NOTAMs! To accommodate increasing numbers of flights to Whitianga airfield, in 2022, Mercury Bay Aero Club embarked on a major three-year works programme.

Posted in Pilot performance flying practice and professionalism, General safety,

Posted 3 months ago

Remedial training to prevent repeated flight test failures

By CAA Flight Examiner Guy Brooking It’s no secret that pilots who’ve had to make multiple attempts to pass flight tests, later feature disproportionally in accidents1.

Posted in Pilot performance flying practice and professionalism,

Posted 4 months ago

The life-saving importance of the duplicate inspection

Don’t allow a once-over-lightly duplicate inspection in your workshop endanger your aircraft and pilots – and their passengers.

Posted in Engineering and maintenance,

Posted 4 months ago

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