Club opening hangar doors
The Oamaru Airport is not currently used for passenger flights but there is still plenty of activity going on out there.
The North Otago Aero Club has an open day on Saturday so people can see the aircraft that are based there, talk to the pilots, and find out how to become a pilot for recreation or as a career.
"Most of the time when people drive out here they just drive back off because they think the place is closed," North Otago Aero Club chief flying instructor Sven Thelning said.
"We're opening the doors so people can have a look at the planes and have a chat to us. The public are always welcome to come to our events, we're trying to let people know that.
"There's an incorrect perception that the airport is closed. People think planes don't land here, which is certainly not true."
Mr Thelning said many were unaware the club provided pilot training.
"We do scenic flights and charter flights, but training is the core of what we do. We'll have information about learning to fly and how to get into it. You can start what, I think, is the best career in the world," he said.
Mr Thelning said people who trained with the North Otago Aero Club had gone on to fly for Air New Zealand and Emirates.
Flights will be available, including an opportunity to fly with two-time national aerobatic champion Ivan Krippner.
Mr Krippner, who has recently started up his own business in Wanaka, will put some of the local pilots through their paces and is also offering flights to the public.
Mr Thelning said aerobatics was an "exhilarating experience".
"The feeling of being upside down at 200km/h is one you never forget. Oamaru is often about the more relaxed things in life, so this should give local adrenalin seekers something to do," he said.
"You go up for half an hour for a blast and it's pretty awesome."
Twenty-minute flights for a group of three people will be $33 per person, while aerobatic flights, for the more adventurous, will be $115 on Saturday.
The public are welcome at the airport from 11am onwards.
