Waiheke Island Aerodrome facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Waiheke Island Aerodrome
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Private | ||||||||||
| Operator | Waiheke Airport Management Ltd | ||||||||||
| Location | Onetangi Bay | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 445 ft / 137 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 36°48′30″S 175°05′07″E / 36.80833°S 175.08528°E | ||||||||||
| Runway | |||||||||||
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The Waiheke Island Aerodrome (IATA: WIK, ICAO: NZKE) is a private airport located on Waiheke Island. This island is about 17 nautical miles northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. It's a small airport mainly used by people visiting or living on the island.
Contents
What is Waiheke Island Airport?
The Waiheke Island Aerodrome is the only airport found on Waiheke Island. It sits on top of a ridge line, which is like a long, narrow hill, south of Onetangi Bay. This airport is privately owned and operated. This means you need to ask for permission before your plane can land there.
Who Uses This Airport?
The airport is mostly used by people who live on Waiheke Island or those coming to visit. There's a company called Waiheke Wings that operates flights from here. The airfield is also very important for medevac flights. These are special flights that take sick or injured people from Waiheke Island to hospitals in Auckland.
Flying to Waiheke Island
The runway at Waiheke Island Aerodrome is made of grass. It's built on top of the ridge line. Pilots usually prefer to land heading north because that direction goes uphill. This helps planes slow down.
Challenges for Pilots
Because the area has many hills and valleys, pilots sometimes face tricky winds. These are called crosswinds. A crosswind blows across the runway instead of straight down it. Sometimes, winds can even come from both sides of the runway at the same time! This makes landing more challenging. Because of these winds and to keep noise down for local residents, pilots must get permission before flying to this airport.
Helicopter Landings
The Waiheke Island Aerodrome is also the only official place on Waiheke Island where helicopters are allowed to land. While there are other private spots where helicopters can land, these places have limits on how many times a helicopter can land there each month.
