Run or walk down the runway
The South Canterbury Aero Club is hoping a unique new fundraising event will have a successful take-off.
The event, called Timaru Run the Runway, aims to provide South Canterbury runners and walkers of all abilities with the opportunity to complete a loop of the Richard Pearse airport's 1.28km main runway.
The fundraiser will be held on Saturday, October 18 and will feature a static aircraft display, barbecue and raffle.
South Canterbury Aero Club flight instructor Ben Williams said the hope was to use the funds raised to buy a new training aircraft.
"The cost of flight training and just flying in general has increased a lot over the last few years.
"By getting a newer aircraft, it's going to burn a lot less fuel and need less maintenance, so hopefully it's going to make it a lot cheaper for our students and members to be able to fly."
Mr Williams said the idea for the event came from his partner.
"I just took the idea and then ran with it. I started building a picture of how we could make it work because of course, at an airport, it's not something you can just do — let people loose out on to the operational area.
"It all came together pretty quickly. The council owns the airport so we discussed it with them and they were also on board, so everything was good to go ahead."
Mr Williams said as far as he was aware it would be the first time an event like this had happened at the Richard Pearse Airport.
"We'll be starting here at the aero club, walking down past the terminal on to the main concrete runway and we'll have all the lights going out there.
"It's a 3.3km loop and if people want, they can do another couple laps."
He said it had actually been quite easy to organise.
Mr Williams said there were no Air New Zealand flights scheduled that evening and the airport would put out a notice to all pilots in the area to say the aerodrome was closed, but there would be provision for any air ambulance flights doing patient transfers.
Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be bought from the South Canterbury Aero Club website.
The barbecue and display will begin at 5pm while the walk/run will start at 6.30pm.
connor.haley@timarucourier.co.nz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Run or walk down the runway
South Canterbury Aero Club flight instructor Ben Williams is looking forward to South Cantabrians getting the chance to run, or walk, the runway at Richard Pearse Airport. PHOTO: CONNOR HALEY The South Canterbury Aero Club is hoping a unique new fundraising event will have a successful take-off. The event, called Timaru Run the Runway, aims to provide South Canterbury runners and walkers of all abilities with the opportunity to complete a loop of the Richard Pearse airport's 1.28km main runway. The fundraiser will be held on Saturday, October 18 and will feature a static aircraft display, barbecue and raffle. South Canterbury Aero Club flight instructor Ben Williams said the hope was to use the funds raised to buy a new training aircraft. "The cost of flight training and just flying in general has increased a lot over the last few years. "By getting a newer aircraft, it's going to burn a lot less fuel and need less maintenance, so hopefully it's going to make it a lot cheaper for our students and members to be able to fly." Mr Williams said the idea for the event came from his partner. "I just took the idea and then ran with it. I started building a picture of how we could make it work because of course, at an airport, it's not something you can just do — let people loose out on to the operational area. "It all came together pretty quickly. The council owns the airport so we discussed it with them and they were also on board, so everything was good to go ahead." Mr Williams said as far as he was aware it would be the first time an event like this had happened at the Richard Pearse Airport. "We'll be starting here at the aero club, walking down past the terminal on to the main concrete runway and we'll have all the lights going out there. "It's a 3.3km loop and if people want, they can do another couple laps." He said it had actually been quite easy to organise. Mr Williams said there were no Air New Zealand flights scheduled that evening and the airport would put out a notice to all pilots in the area to say the aerodrome was closed, but there would be provision for any air ambulance flights doing patient transfers. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be bought from the South Canterbury Aero Club website. The barbecue and display will begin at 5pm while the walk/run will start at 6.30pm.
Scoop
5 days ago
- Scoop
Dunedin Airport Art Protest
Remember that its a climate emergency and in 2018 our government committed to halving emissions by 2030 under the terms of the historical Paris Agreement? Tuesday July 22nd 2pm at Dunedin airport Recently I began a small ongoing 'art meets activism project' with my colleague, Craig Hilton, in which a person simply stands in a high profile place with a small A3 sign saying 'It's a Climate Emergency'. This well dressed person (me) stands somewhere quietly with a small A3 sized sign around my neck saying 'It's a Climate Emergency' and any interesting interactions with passersby or the authorities are documented by Craig. He is not obviously part of 'the protest' but just standing somewhere close by in case something happens which is worth documenting. Yesterday we went out to Dunedin airport, which is jointly owned by the Dunedin City Council, who declared a climate emergency in 2019 and the government, who declared one in 2020. You might think someone standing there with a small and uncontroversial sign reminding the airport of its owners stated policy wouldn't provoke much of a reaction at all? Well, you'd be wrong. It only took a couple of minutes before airport security and police turned up and asked us to leave. It should be noted that I approached the information desk as soon as we arrived and introduced myself and said I'd be wandering around a little bit with this sign and they didn't seem to think it would be a problem. Our timing wasn't random – we were there to greet some of the passengers coming off one of Jetstar's three new direct flights a week from the Gold Coast to Dunedin. These new international flights have provoked a price war with Air New Zealand with both companies offering a greater range of discounted international flights. Remember that it's a climate emergency and in 2018 our government committed to halving emissions by 2030 under the terms of the historical Paris Agreement? The man from airport security he made it clear he wanted us to leave immediately. We hadn't interacted with any of the passengers coming off the plane and I doubt they even noticed me but apparently we were both causing 'a problem.' As a long-time climate activist and artist I can't help but notice the increasing disconnect between the reality of the terrifying and ongoing ecological catastrophe which is overwhelming the planet and the head down 'business as usual' approach which is being promoted by this government, as well as much of the mainstream media. As a passionate believer in free speech and the right to protest, I find it surprising that an old man standing quietly at the airport with a small sign can provoke a police response. Many people stand at the airport holding small signs to highlight themselves to arriving passengers for 'legitimate business reasons' and it's obvious that my tiny sign wasn't the problem, it was the words on it. I elected not to leave until I was trespassed and was duly taken round the corner to the police part of the airport and given a formal trespass notice from the airport for two years. As a climate activist I stopped flying on planes many years ago so this was hardly an imposition. To be clear – I am not saying I don't want anyone to ever fly again but I do want people to understand that their holiday choices have real world implications which affect us all. A return flight from Dunedin to the Gold Coast for one person produces roughly 1.3 to 2.6 tonnes of CO2 per passenger. The average New Zealander individually produces around 7 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (t CO2-e) per year so if two people take a return trip to the Gold Coast then this one return flight will produce up to five tonnes of emissions which is a big whack of someone's annual total and recent climate models (see – 'The Mortality Effects of Carbon' by Daniel Bressler -published in the journal 'Nature Communications' in 2021) predict that just four return flights with around 250 people on board could produce enough emissions to kill someone by heat related causes by the end of the century, not counting all of the fires and floods etc. I would like people to be more aware of their carbon footprints and try to do the best they can to reduce them at a time when people and animals are already dying all over the world from the effects of this ongoing climate emergency. I am not against people making important visits to see their relatives and for other important reasons but I do want people to know the true possible costs of a quick holiday in the sun.
NZ Herald
7 days ago
- NZ Herald
Air NZ's New York to Auckland service grounded by fuel leak
Auckland-bound travellers heading out of New York with Air New Zealand have been stranded in the Big Apple after the aircraft being used was grounded with a fuel leak. It's the latest disruption to the airline's route, after the cancellation of services both ways earlier this month because of bad
