In the latest Autumn issue of Giltrap Group’s 66 Magazine, they showcase our brand new Cessna Grand Caravan EX’s from Textron Aviation as they take to the skies with us on our Milford Sound Fly | Cruise | Fly.
Read an excerpt below and click the link below to read the entire article.
The Grand Tour
For some of the best views on offer in the country, you want one of the best aircraft available to show them off. In the hands of a skilled pilot with immense local knowledge, Glenorchy Air’s Cessna Grand Caravan EX and the iconic vistas awaiting at Milford Sound are a match made in heaven.
And the man at the controls of Glenorchy Air’s Cessna Grand Caravan EX 14-seater today certainly ensures we don’t. It’s not every day you get flown to your destination by an airline’s top brass, but up front our own personal aerial tour guide today is none other than Glenorchy Air’s owner and managing director, James Stokes.
A Queenstown local, James’ passion for and knowledge of the stunning alpine region he flies through every day is obvious from the moment the trusty turboprop’s wheels leave the runway. This is ‘Scenic’ with a capital ‘S’. And James knows every square metre of the dramatic topography below us.
The generous glasshouse of the Cessna Grand Caravan EX provides for truly jaw-dropping vistas in every direction. We are particularly blessed with a bluebird day for flying: the chatter among fixed- and rotor-wing pilots in the area heard through our headsets during our journey suggesting that even they are impressed with the stunning conditions. James manoeuvres ZK-MMZ to afford us grandstand views of the ice plateaus, glaciers and peaks of the Darran Mountains and Barrier Range, Lake Quill and Sutherland Falls, the distant shining Tasman Sea and, as we draw nearer to our destination at Milford Sound, the iconic waterfalls and sheer mountain passes of the fjord.
In highlighting the many natural wonders below us, what else becomes increasingly obvious as we make our way to our destination is the incredible precision and talent James brings to flying.
A CAA certificated Airline Flight Examiner with years of mountain flying experience and a background in flight instruction of both private and commercial pilots, James has served as both a regular pilot for Glenorchy Air, as well as its Training Captain and Flight Examiner. In 2019 he realised a lifelong ambition when he purchased the respected family business.
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