‘Plane without wings’ to fly again

It attracted celebrities and international tourists and now Ka¯ piti’s Fly By Wire ride is returning to the skies.

A high-altitude ride that lets punters reach speeds of 120kmh on a self-powered, rocket-shaped plane suspended on wires, the original attraction was destroyed during a flood in 2003.

Now, inventor Neil Harrap says the time is right to relaunch the ride, and he plans to reopen on April 16. ‘‘There’s nothing else

like it on the coast. With social media and increased tourists, now was the time.’’

Before it was destroyed during the Paeka¯ ka¯ riki

2003 flood, the original Fly By

Wire was a popular attraction for the Ka¯ piti Coast.

It was reviewed by the BBC’s Jeremy Clarkson, who described it as a plane without wings. ‘‘It’s funny that a human being is clever enough to build a machine like this, yet we’re stupid enough to risk everything by going for a fly in it. I love it.’’

Harrap said the ride stood out from other adrenaline attractions because the rider controlled speed and height. ‘I woke up in the middle of the night

with the idea of a swing that could be steerable.’’

Propelled by a two-stroke engine, the rocket flew just metres above the ground as it skirted over ridges and trees before it reached up to 60 metres in height. ‘‘There’s those who love it and those who say ‘no thanks’.’’

The attraction’s marketing manager, Joe Simmonds, said it was exhilarating flying the rocket. ‘‘It’s absolutely bloody terrifying. I’ve done lots of extreme sports and this was the biggest buzz.

‘‘The thing that got me was swooping over these ridges and you’re only two or four metres off the ground.’’

In 2001, a Swedish tourist was seriously injured when the Queenstown rocket-plane she was in crashed into the ground. Harrap was fined $30,000 and the attraction

was shut for 15 weeks.