Trainee pilots wise up from tent town

Brendon Quinn with the CT4-E training aircraft being used on his training camp, which includes formation flying. Picture / Alan Gibson

Air Force Pilot Officer Brendon Quinn got his first taste of formation flying in the skies over Tauranga this week.

"It was great - but nervous for my instructor, no doubt," he said.

The 25-year-old, who took turns flying in front and behind his instructor's plane, is one of eight young pilot officers in the city for a 10-day Air Force training camp called Exercise Wiseowl.

A field beside Tauranga Airport has been transformed into a makeshift base housing 70 Defence Force personnel, including medics, chefs and aircraft technicians, in rows of green tents.

Seven yellow and black CT4-E Airtrainer planes sit on a strip of grass waiting to put the pilot officers through their paces.

The group, aged 19 to 32, have learned solo instrument flying since their training began in January.

Flight Lieutenant Brent Smith, one of several instructors, said formation flying was the next step and required intense concentration.

The Air Force invested huge amounts of time and money in the pilot officers and they were expected to perform, he said.

"The training we give them is the best flying training you could ever ask for."

The Air Force takes two intakes of about 10 pilot officers each year, but the rigorous course means only about 60 per cent pass.

Graduates are required to give 10 years' service to the Defence Force.

Pilot Officer Quinn joined the Air Force six years ago and trained as a mechanical engineer before being accepted for pilot training. He said the threat of make-or-break "chop" flights for anyone who failed assessments kept pilot officers on their toes, but overall the training was very rewarding.

Once qualified, graduates tend to specialise, learning to fly aircraft such as Hercules, Boeing 757s, or Sioux or Iroquois helicopters. Pilot Officer Quinn favours helicopters.

The pilot officers will fly 14 sorties each while in Tauranga, with increasing numbers of planes in formations as the days progress.

Flt Lieutenant Smith said the 300-horsepower Airtrainers, bought in the late 1990s, were sturdy but complex enough to challenge pilots. "They're fully aerobatic."

The Government has approved NH90s to replace the Iroquois and identified a preferred supplier. The estimated cost of replacing both types of helicopters is $400-$560 million.

This year's Budget allocated $4.6 billion over a decade for Defence spending.

* The Air Force camp is open to the public tomorrow from noon to 4pm, with an air display from 1pm to 2pm.