Fly a plane around NZ without a licence

Fly a plane around NZ without a licence

Ōtautahi - Flying around New Zealand through Microsoft’s flight simulator has just been updated and includes 62 points of interest.The 12th edition of the hugely popular video game was first launched in 1982 and is a long-running PC series, taking players behind the controls of gliders, wide-body jets and helicopters.

For the New Zealand update Microsoft has added seven new cities, nine airports and 62 points of interest for players across the motu.

Aotearoa is globally renowned for its breathtaking vistas from Aoraki, to Milford Sound, Auckland’s Sky Tower, and the Bay of Islands, a group of 144 islands and numerous small peninsulas and inlets.

Players can experience the stunning vistas that unfold with each glance from the cockpit above New Zealand.

The Microsoft flight simulator team brought together the latest geographic data to create World Update XII: New Zealand, including satellite imagery, aerial photography, and digital elevation models.

It’s strange one of the fly-overs includes an aluminium smelter but no famous Oamaru post office or no amazing Rangiātea church in Ōtaki.

The cities to view on the simulator include:

Auckland

Christchurch

Hamilton

Nelson

Queenstown

Tauranga

Wellington

Points of interest:

Akaroa Dolphins cruise

Akaroa St Patrick’s Catholic church

Akaroa waterfront

Auckland harbour bridge

Auckland war memorial museum

Balclutha road bridge

The Beehive

Big Lemon and Paeroa bottle

Cape Egmont lighthouse

Cape Reinga lighthouse

Cardrona ski resort

Castle Point lighthouse

Christchurch cathedral

Coronet Peak ski area

Cromwell big fruit sculpture

Dog Island lighthouse

Dunedin law courts

Dunedin railway station

Durie Hill memorial tower

Edith Cavell bridge

Farewell Spit lighthouse

First Church of Otago

Fo Guang Shan temple

Forsyth Barr stadium

Hell’s Gate

Hobbiton village Matamata

Hole in the rock

Hopwood clock tower

Huntly power station

Invercargill water tower

Kawarau gorge suspension bridge

Kerikeri mission station

Larnach castle

Majestic centre

Mohaka viaduct

Mount Cargill transmitter

Mount John Observatory

Mount Kaukau transmitter

Mus. of NZ Te Papa Tongarewa

New Plymouth power station

New Zealand parliament library

New Zealand parliament house

North Harbour stadium

Ohaaki power station

Ohakune carrot

Otira viaduct

Rakaia bridges (road and rail)

Rugby league park

Sky tower

Skyline Queenstown

Sugarloaf transmitter

Taiaroa Head lighthouse

Taramakau road-rail bridge

Tekapo A power station

The Church of the Good Shepherd

The Remarkables ski area

Tiritiri Matangi lighthouse

Titahi Bay transmitter

Tiwai Point aluminium smelter

TSS Earnslaw, Lake Wakatipu

Waitangi treaty grounds

Wellington regional stadium and railway station

Bush trips:

The North Island in a Textron aviation Beechcraft Bonanza G36

The South Island in a Pilatus PC-6/B2-H4 turbo Porter G950

A historic recreation of the country’s first air route in a Douglas DC-3 Classic

Discovery flights:

Auckland, the country’s largest city, in a Cessna 152

Queenstown in a Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopter

Lake Benmore in a DG Aviation DG-1001E neo glider

Landing challenges:

A strong wind landing at Wellington airport in an Airbus A320neo

An epic landing at the Ryan’s Creek aerodrome in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk

A technical landing at Gorge River airstrip in a Savage Cub

A famous challenge in an Airbus A310-300 at Christchurch airport

Airways New Zealand reports $2.6 million half-year profit

Airways New Zealand reports $2.6 million half-year profit

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