Fly by wire

4th February - Queenstown, South Island

The idea is simple; get a plane, hang it from a massive length of wire in a narrow valley and use it as a petrol powered pendulum. Simple. This seemed like an opportunity too good to miss; picturing a real-time simulation of flying a WW2 German dive bomber, though without the bombs and the strafing, I headed for the hills.

Although the plane looks quite cool and goes pretty fast, it is clearly modelled on the air boat from the opening titles of Gentle Ben. You lie on top and they hoist it up one side of the valley by its tail. By the time it reaches the top, you are hanging upside down with a swollen head as all of your blood travels south. Then it's over to you; you release the plane using one handle, open the throttle with the other and you are off!

I should stress that it is even more fun than it sounds. As you get the feel of the beast, you swing higher and higher and gain more and more weightless hang time when you make each turn at the top. It is, as someone said, a roller coaster that you drive yourself.



Even so, it is perhaps not for everyone; one girl used too much energy screaming and not enough holding onto the throttle. As a consequence she spent a lot of time swinging down backwards and didn't get the killer speed that you need to get high. If you don't like driving or computer games, then maybe stick to Thorpe Park.


Have a look at the official website here