Mr Rush said he had flown into Queenstown only twice before this particular departure.
He had pulled out of Queenstown night operations because they were "way too much work, too much stress" and he was "ill-trained for it".
When prosecution lawyer Fletcher Pilditch asked if the incident had "scared" him, he confessed it had "aroused" some feeling, but he had not discussed it with his company until he was notified an investigation was under way.
"I wouldn't say I was scared, I felt an unease."
He had not reported his concern over the contingency plan for Queenstown because he had "diminished confidence" from previous reports he had rejected by his company.
"I had an unease about the [figure of eight] circuit being performed.
"Whether or not the weather was good or bad it occurred to me that this figure of eight pattern was contrary to the rules."
The "compromise" of the pattern was one of the reasons an alternative contingency plan was taken up by both he and the pilot he said.
"Pilots make up contingencies all the time based on the weather at the time."
He said while the weather conditions would have allowed them to perform the figure of eight circuit, they would not have chosen it over their alternative.
Mr Rush, who has not flown into Queenstown since, said he and the pilot took wind readings off the nearby windsocks.
"I find them easy [to read] and he's a way better aviator than I am. I have every confidence in his ability."
