There’s a common misapprehension that pilots think they are gods. That they spend all day strutting around looking (and feeling) cool. Nah! They’re just like everybody else - but their work stories are cool and way different to those of us in the ground bound echelon.

Here’s a selection of funny recollections from some of our crew contributors to brighten your day.

It’s always fun and thrilling to learn to fly an aircraft - when you’re in the aircraft! But all learning, both classroom based and flight lessons, needs to be tested to see if you are retaining the new knowledge. To that end, the dreaded exams have to attempted and passed.

Just how are the exams put together? Captain Arthur Gatland (ASPEQ SME) will tell us in this article.

Have you given any thought to how 1300 flights a day over a vast, stormy and cold ocean are monitored and conflicts averted? Wonder no more! John and I visited Nav Canada’s Gander Oceanic Control Centre a few years back and here is the approved report of the visit.

We are being asked more often for John to speak at events and that gave us an idea.

Today, we give you the inaugural speech. The speech that launched the Scholarship.

It’s definitely a coffee and muffin read, so put your feet up somewhere in the warm sun and relax as you read stories from a long airline career.

In New Zealand, most aspiring airline pilots take the tried and true flight Instructor route to get to their dream job. Today, we meet a new contributor, Captain Finn Zweger, whose journey to the airlines was flying in East Africa. Concentrating on keeping himself alive as he dealt with the challenges of war, genocide and warlords. He writes wonderfully and with a dry wit. We look forward to reading more articles from Finn in the future.

Any young person who is serious about becoming a pilot ought to attempt to attend this two week camp.

Matthew Youssef attended this year’s camp and has written about his experience for us.

Today, we wind right back to the very genesis of every pilot’s career. That very first thought of “I could be a pilot!” It’s a big journey from that first thought to finding yourself at the controls of an aircraft. Make that journey in small steps to have a good understanding of what it is you are about to commit to if you want to be a pilot.

In the week when New Zealand says ‘Tarrah’ to the remarkable workhorse of the RNZAF, the 130H Hercules, retired Air New Zealand Captain and Air Force Wing Commander Bob Henderson writes about an operation to the Antarctic involving three of the beloved Hercs.

In Part Two of Captain Chris Kriechbaum’s blog on competencies desired by Airlines in their pilots, the main focus is Leadership and its associated qualities and soft skills.

It’s probably a good idea to keep coming back to this blog to check your progress on the list.

I think it is safe to assume that if some one is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an aviation career, they are probably aiming to work for an airline. If that is the case, then I suggest this article by Captain Chris Kriechbaum (retired), who was the Jet Recruitment Manager for Air New Zealand is essential reading. Look out for part two next week.

What you’re looking at here, is the trophy for the Pauwels Flying Scholarship Special Award. For a winner to receive one of these and the financial reward of up to NZ$13,000, we need the support of our sponsors and today we meet the charity that has been with us since the beginning of the award.

It is said no (wo)man is an island and the same applies to little charities like ours. Though we are small in number - just John and I - we are supported by so many. And none more so than the individuals and organisations that sponsor our scholarship winners. We’d like you to meet Angela and Theresa from the Gattung Foundation.

Gavin Weir, CFI, Auckland Aeroclub, gives us some great, simple and easy to follow advice on calculating aeroplane performance. Something, some of us can find tricky, and many more get frustrated with.

Join Arthur Gatland in the B777 Simulator with our winners - Matthew Youssef and Abi Carter as they give their accounts of what flying the simulator is like.

John and I were filled with a sense of euphoria when Ben advised us that he had qualified as a CCAT Instructor and then a few days later advised he had secured a role as Flight Instructor. The first of our winners to do so!

Matthew Youssef is an on fire young man. Ready to take on the world of aviation. Having lived and breathed aviation since he was very small, Matthew’s passion has been unwavering. And now he’s in his dream years, learning to fly - on his way to his career as pilot.

It is with a flush of pride that we introduce to you our second recipient for 2023 of the Pauwels Flying Scholarship Special Award. Alika is a rural lass with a steely determination to become an airline pilot and we are happy to help!

We’re thrilled to introduce to you our first winner of 2023 - the charming Abi Carter. A remarkable young woman who embodies all that the Pauwels Flying Scholarship stands for!

53 years. I imagine that most people reading this blog will be younger than this. But this is how long Ron Twine was a Flight Attendant for Air New Zealand. The longest serving. He has just retired and we had a chat to him about the changes he has seen over those years.

This unusual looking structure is a B787 Simulator. In this article, Arthur Gatland, tells us all about it and the videos demonstrate what it can do.