Hubbard flies high again at 90
Derrick Hubbard has celebrated his 90th birthday with a ‘‘remarkable’’ solo flight around Rangiora Airfield.
A former Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) pilot, Hubbard hasn’t flown for 25 years, but set the goal earlier this year to fly solo.
‘‘I discovered Dave Mitchell was the senior flight instructor out in Rangiora. I was his commanding officer when he was a flight sergeant in the RNZAF. I knew him well and his immense capabilities and decided, with Dave’s instruction I would make it a goal to fly solo on my 90th birthday.’’
Mitchell was ‘‘delighted’’ to be reunited with his former boss. After an initial flight, it was clear Hubbard was still a capable flyer and his goal was realistic, Mitchell said.
‘‘Derrick’s basic training and knowledge of flying was obviously still there,’’ Mitchell said.
Hubbard, from Christchurch, completed a number of training flights with Mitchell in February and March, then had a scheduled break before picking up training again in July which was a ‘‘consolidation phase’’ ahead of his solo flight, Mitchell said.
‘‘Usually pilots don’t know when they are going to fly solo. We as instructors will pick a day when we think they are ready and the conditions are just right, so for Derrick it was a little bit different.
‘‘On the day of the flight conditions weren’t ideal. There was a slight cross wind, but I made the decision that Derrick would be up to it and he certainly was.’’
Hubbard was ‘‘very excited’’ to have achieved his goal flying a Tecnam P92 solo. ‘‘It really was a wonderful day,’’ he said.
Hubbard was inspired by a former RNZAF colleague, John ‘‘Sandy’’ Sandilands. The pair met when they were both members of the Royal Air Force in the UK in 1947. Both were based in Rhodesia, where Sandilands was an engineer and Hubbard a trainee war pilot. They lost contact, but were reunited in New Zealand in the 1960s as members of the RNZAF.
‘‘After we retired from the RNZAF, it was Sandy who suggested we get our pilots licence again. So we did. I let mine lapse but Sandy kept his up and it was his goal to fly a helicopter solo on his 90th birthday this year. Unfortunately he was killed in a car accident in Blenheim at the end of last year. So I thought, ‘if Sandy can fly a helicopter at 90, I can fly an airplane’.’’
Mitchell said what Hubbard has achieved at 90 is extraordinary. ‘‘I doubt this will ever happen again. It’s certainly a one-off. It’s very very special.’’
Hubbard is already making plans for his 100th birthday. ‘‘I keep saying I’d like to take up a Havard and do aerobatics.’’
"I doubt this will ever happen again. It's certainly a one-off. It's very very special" Dave Mitchell, senior flight instructor in Rangiora