An upcoming review will feature Got Friends Double Ender, a delightfully quirky and weird bushplane, that I recently took out for some fun flying with a friend of mine. Our background New Zealand flying treated us to some incredible scenery and a lot of joy of just flying around and a bit of goofing off in the process. Let’s fly!

From the river to the mountains

NZWS Westport-Carters Beach Airport is a small airport located on the north-western coast of New Zealand’s south island. This was our departure point. One that came with custom scenery in the New Zealand world update package and ended up being a great place to start a scenic journey along the Buller River and into the mountains.

Taking off from the strip we flew along the coast for a brief moment before making use of the Double Ender’s incredibly tiny turn radius to head inland along the river. Part of the scenery package includes a moving ship that heads up the river (which we buzzed of course) and the port facilities at Westport.

After that, we followed the river into the mountains with steep peaks rising up from the surrounding terrain. Into the gorges and river valleys we flew. Of course an airplane like the Double Ender invites all kinds of shenanigans and so that’s what we did. Sandbars? Landed on several! Skimming the water and taking advantage of Got Friend’s water/landing gear effects? Did that too!

After a lot of flying at low levels we climbed up and took in the scenery. This is truly an incredibly scenic part of the world based on the pictures that I’ve seen and MSFS does a pretty good job of making us feel like we were there.

We eventually reached a fork in the river at Murchison and I decided that we should explore the long lake nearby. A short flight later through and over the mountains and we arrived at the scenic vista of Lake Rotoroa. We did a few circuits taking all of that in before looking for a place to land.

We came across a nearby airport that I later learned is home to Nelson Lakes Gliding Club. The grass strip was the perfect way to end a back-country bushplane flight.

What a fun adventure and a great airplane to do it in. Flying along with a friend, taking in the scenery, doing a bit of exploring and just appreciating all of the things that help make this kind of experience work was immensely rejuvenating.

The Double Ender really impressed on this outing. I have more flights to do and lots of work ahead before I get to the full review but its definitely coming. In the meantime, you can learn more about Got Friends Double Ender right over here on their website.