Mark Richards Posted November 22, 2009 at 10:24 PM Posted November 22, 2009 at 10:24 PM VATNZ Sunday Night Operations - Sunday 29 November 2009 - Chatham Island Oceanic Rehearsal Auckland <-> Chatham Island <-> Auckland (NZAA-NZCI-NZAA) This week's SNO is a chance for all our pilots to practice their Oceanic Reporting skills ahead of next Sunday's Major Event, Cross the Ditch. Fly between Auckland (NZAA) and Chatham Island (NZCI) in either direction (or if you're really game, why not do the return leg!) Real world routes are operated by Convairs and Metroliners, so it's time to get out your turboprops and head over to the Chathams, or test yourself and see if you can get your favourite jet into and out of the airfield! Aircraft up to a B737 should get in and out ok. NOTE: There is a single runway requiring a backtrack and limited parking at Tuuta Airport on Chatham Island, so expect a hold or two as we get everyone in and out. The archipelago of the Chatham Islands (Rekohu in Moriori; Wharekauri in Māori) is a territory of New Zealand of about ten islands, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island, within a 40 kilometres (25 mi) radius. The remote islands, over 800 kilometres (500 mi) east of southern New Zealand, have officially belonged to New Zealand since 1842. History The first human habitation of the Chathams involved migrating Polynesian tribes who settled the islands about 1500 CE, and in their isolation became the Moriori people. The exact origins of these people remain a matter of some dispute. The Moriori population of the islands numbered about 2000. Their agricultural resources were not suited for the colder Chathams, so they lived as hunter-gatherers, taking food from the sea and from native flora. Whilst their new environment deprived them of the resources with which to build ocean-going craft for long voyages, their intelligence and perseverance saw the invention of the most ingenious craft afloat. Moriori built what was known as the waka korari, a semi-submerged craft, constructed of flax and lined with air bladders from kelp. This craft was used to travel to the outer islands on 'birding' missions. The Moriori society was a peaceful society and bloodshed was outlawed by the chief Nunuku after generations of warfare. Arguments were solved by consensus or by individual duels singular combat rather than warfare, but at the first sign of bloodshed, the fight was over. The name "Chatham Islands" comes from the ship HMS Chatham of the Vancouver Expedition, whose captain William R. Broughton landed on November 29, 1791, claimed possession for Great Britain and named the islands after the political head of the Royal Navy, John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham). A relative of his, Thomas Pitt, was a member of the Vancouver Expedition. Sealers and whalers soon started hunting in the surrounding ocean with the islands as their base. It is estimated that 10 to 20 percent of the indigenous population soon died from diseases introduced by foreigners. The sealing and whaling industries ceased activities about 1861, while fishing remained as a major economic activity. On November 19, 1835, a British ship carrying 500 Māori armed with guns, clubs and axes arrived, followed by another ship on December 5, 1835 with a further 400 Māori. They proceeded to m[Mod - Happy Thoughts]acre the Moriori and enslave the survivors. A Moriori survivor recalled: "The Māori commenced to kill us like sheep.... We were terrified, fled to the bush, concealed ourselves in holes underground, and in any place to escape our enemies. It was of no avail; we were discovered and killed - men, women and children indiscriminately. A Māori conqueror justified their actions as follows: "We took possession... in accordance with our customs and we caught all the people. Not one escaped....." Today, in spite of the difficulties and genocide that Moriori faced, Moriori are enjoying a renaissance, both on Rekohu and in the mainland of New Zealand. Moriori culture is being revived and they have celebrated the opening of the new Kopinga Marae (meeting house) in January 2005. Population Chatham and Pitt Islands are inhabited. The population of 609 individuals have European, Māori (64.2%) and Moriori origins. The town of Waitangi is the main settlement with some 200 residents. There are other villages such as Owenga, Te One and Kaingaroa, where there are two primary schools. A third school is on Pitt Island. There are also the fishing villages of Owenga and Port Hutt. Waitangi facilities include a hospital with resident doctor, bank, several stores, and engineering and marine services. The main shipping wharf is located here. Transportation Visitors to the Chathams usually arrive by air from Christchurch, Auckland or Wellington (around 1.5 – 2 hours from Christchurch on a Convair 580). While freight generally arrives by ship (4–5 days' sailing time), the sea journey takes too long for many p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]engers, and is not always available. The Chathams are part of New Zealand so there are no border controls or formalities on arrival, but visitors are advised to have prearranged their accommodation on the islands. Transport operators may refuse to carry p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]engers without accommodation bookings. There is no scheduled public transport but accommodation providers are normally able to arrange transport. For many years a Bristol Freighter served the islands, a slow and noisy freight aircraft converted for carrying p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]engers by installing a p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]enger container equipped with airline seats and a toilet in part of the cargo hold. The air service primarily served to ship out high-value export crayfish products. The gr[Mod - Happy Thoughts] landing-field at Hapupu, at the northern end of the Island, proved a limiting factor, as few aircraft apart from the Bristol Freighter had both the range to fly to the islands and the ruggedness to land on the gr[Mod - Happy Thoughts] airstrip. Although other aircraft did use the landing field occasionally, they would often require repairs to fix damage resulting from the rough landing. In 1981, after many years of requests by locals and the imminent demise of the aging Bristol Freighter aircraft, the construction of a sealed runway at Karewa, Tuuta Airport, allowed more modern aircraft to land safely. Departure Time: Sunday 29 November 2009 19:00 NZDT (07:00 UTC) Flight Time: Approximately 2 hr 10 mins per sector for a Turboprop, quicker in a jet! Flight Plan Routes: NZAA / NZCI: AA W115 AP H211 NR Q712 CINZCI / NZAA: CI Q712 NR H211 AP W115 AA Pilots, book your planned flight schedule in vRoute to let everyone know how busy the skies over New Zealand will be. Potential ATC Positions:NZCH-R_CTR - Christchurch ControlNZCH-B_CTR - Christchurch ControlNZZO_FSS - Auckland RadioNZAA_TWR - Auckland Tower Note: If you're providing ATC on the night, please give priority to these positions. They are not an exclusive list, but they are the ones that will see the most action this Sunday. To reserve a particular ATC position, please post a message to that effect (including the times you expect to be online) in this thread. And also book your position using vRoute - large numbers of bookings in vRoute attract additional traffic. * Charts/Airspace Info: Available from the VATNZ Airspace Reference site. If you have any questions please feel free to email me, or reply to this thread. Mark Richards (811451) Auckland, New Zealand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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