Going on a flight in a small airplane in French Polynesia was my dream. I had made an agreement with a flying club on Tahiti, but you never know with the Pacific weather…
Getting there was easy – I got all the instructions. When entering the airport, at the first check point, Flemming and I hopelessly tried to explain the purpose of our visit. None of us speaks French (or Tahitian). Then we just announced “we are pilots” – and the entrance was magically open. At the next one we had to show our documents though.
Members of the flying club invited us in to their hangar.
There were many students pilots, having a briefing. They were very welcoming and polite.
We just waited for our turn.
The weather wasn’t very good for flying that day – low clouds, rain showers, turbulence. Our intention was to fly a little farther, over some private atolls, like Tetiʻaroa – Marlon Brando’s property, but after discussing the weather conditions with the instructor, we agreed to do a flight around the Tahiti island instead of.
We had booked a C172, and the airplane was ready for us:
Waiting for the Air Tahiti Nui landing, our instructor asked the ATC whether we could take off before the airliner would taxi to parking (both take off and landing happens from the same runway, the same direction, no matter the wind). The answer was negative, and we (or our instructor) had to be patient.
Tahiti is the largest island in the South Pacific, around 1,000 km2. Flemming and I had already explored its black sand beaches, waterfalls and lagoons, and looked forward to see the island from above.
Amazing views opened up – coral reefs and lagoons, mountains with deep valleys, rivers and waterfalls.
We flew at around 1,000 feet because the cloud base was low.
Eric was a great instructuror and a very nice person:
He told us about the island, showed some interesting places we hadn’t yet seen, and gave good travel tips.
After about 1.5 hours of flying, we landed. Both Flemming and I were very happy about the flight.
Before leaving, we had some time to hang around. Flemming fell in love with that Tecnam:
We thanked Eric for flying with us, and drove to the beach.
Reflecting over the flight, Flemming and I talked about the challenges private pilots face in the Pacific. Remoteness between the islands make flying limited to flying around “your” island (which could be quite boring); flying over the ocean without having the safety of gliding distance; salty air – they thoroghly wash their airplanes after each flight; probably shortage of spare parts; and of course the weather – always windy, always turbulent. And no matter what, there are pilots – people who just love flying!
