Mt Cheeseman Ski Field

GPS Coordinates: -43.156, 171.671

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Wind Direction: LIGHT WINDS (Take-off faces east)
 

Minimum Pilot Rating: PG2 / HG Advanced

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Airspace: 9500ft above Craigieburn Range, lowering to 7500ft at Torlesse Range when flying towards Springfield. Please check VNC.

 

Access: From SH73 turn off to the Cheeseman Ski Field. Follow the access road to the locked gate. The club does have a key that will allow you to drive all the way to the ski field carpark.  The key procedure is stated below. 

 

Parking: Vehicles should be left at Texas Flat. For drive-up access you need to complete the online induction and join the Road Access Whatsapp group (see link, above). DO NOT drive your vehicle any higher than the main ski field car park (i.e. up to or above the ski lodge).

 

Main Take-off: Either take-off from the main carpark or from the hairpin approximately 100 m south of the carpark.  The initial slope down from the carpark is shallow and at times turbulent.  In the summer dust devils/thermals will trigger from the car park so make sure you do not spend unnecessary time clipped in.  The spur is generally cleaner and easier for paragliders to take-off from as the slope is steeper. 

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Upper Take-off: A higher launch area (~100m above main take-off) with a large, gently sloping scree slope provides an alternate launch (here). From the main carpark, hike up the ski field maintenance track for approximately 20mins. This launch is much closer to the main ridge and sheltered further back into the ski field bowl, so care must be taken to ensure it is not lee-side to any wind.

Landing: There are two bottom landing options. The closest (LZ1) is Texas Flat. Texas Flat has a shallow slope and the large tussocks can make landings technical for HG’s. Castle Hill Village Golf Course (LZ2) is where the majority of HG’s land as it has a better approach and is normally facing the thermic wind or NE if it has pushed into the plateau. There are plenty of wind markers on the golf course in the form of flags and the irrigation pond (due East of LZ2). 

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Flying: Cheeseman provides the easiest access to the Craigieburn ranges. This is a good starting point for XC flying within the local area or straight line distance flights. From here pilots have flown to Otira, Springfield and Hanmer Springs. Cloudbase can reach higher than the start of controlled airspace at 9500 ft. Sometimes it can be a struggle to get your first climb from Cheeseman. Your best bet is to turn right after take-off and follow the scree slope along the access track. This gives you some room to work initial thermals that will track up the scree slope until they release properly at the top of the ridge. This will put you in close proximity with terrain. If you are not comfortable with this, you can try your luck further out away from the mountain and try and find a thermal triggering off one of the lower slopes. This will give you much better terrain clearance.

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Cheeseman is an Alpine site. In the summer thermals and turbulence can be strong. Typical dangers of mountain flying in increasing strong wind day and effects of increasing turbulence whilst low flying over spines apply here. The area enclosed by the main Carigieburn ridge on the West and the Torlesse range on the East (the Craigieburn 'bowl') can provide some temporary shelter from the sea breeze, which pushes in from Porter's pass to the South and along the Waimakariri river to the North. At some point this may overwhelm the bowl, so be mindful of wind conditions, e.g. foehn-like clouds spilling over the Torlesse range, wind on lakes.

Make sure you are current and have all the necessary safety equipment. Personal locator beacons are highly recommended. 

DO NOT FLY here in a strong SW, W or NW. Take-off is leeside and it may seem ok but it will be very turbulent.