Explorer Flight Missions - Edge of the World: Lifeline
New Zealand sits on the edge of the world. Beautiful, remote… and when things go wrong, help doesn’t arrive quickly. That’s where you come in.
A powerful storm system has swept across the South Island, cutting off communities, delaying transport routes, and stranding critical personnel. Roads are compromised. Ferries are grounded. Airspace is tightening.
You’ve been tasked with a multi-leg relief operation: moving essential cargo, repositioning key personnel, and restoring a fragile network that people on the ground are depending on.
Suggested Aircraft:
Any GA aircraft with performance suitable for the fields below. Turboprop with STOL capability is a popular choice.
Admin Notes:
You can fly these missions on your own or get a group going - it’s up to you. Make sure you choose an appropriate aircraft and conduct proper flight planning.
To get the Explorer server role (access to Explorers DISCORD channel) and 2000 TPC Points (+ 1000 Points if you complete all 5 Legs):
Fly each leg described below (500 points per leg, 1000 points for Bonus Leg 5).
Leave a comment on this post with details about your journey.
Post pics from your flight in screenshots channel on DISCORD.
[OPTIONAL] Post a video of your landings in streams and videos channel of TPC Discord, for extra 500 TPC Points!
Leg 1. Ryan’s Creek (NZRC) to Queenstown (NZQN)
NZRC-NZQN
You depart Ryan’s Creek loaded with emergency medical supplies and communications equipment. Isolated coastal communities have already felt the storm’s impact.
The terrain rises fast, and weather remnants still linger in the valleys. Queenstown is your first critical hub, but getting in requires threading through unforgiving terrain with limited margin for error.
Objective: Deliver priority medical cargo. Establish the first operational link inland.
Leg 2. Queenstown (NZQN) to Christchurch International (NZCH)
NZQN-NZCH
Now it gets serious. You’re transporting engineering specialists and high-value repair equipment needed to restore infrastructure across the South Island.
Every route choice matters: efficiency versus safety becomes a real decision, not a theoretical one.
Objective: Deliver personnel and equipment to support regional recovery operations.
Leg 3. Christchurch (NZCH) to Wellington (NZWN)
NZCH-NZWN
With the South Island stabilizing, the mission shifts north. You’re now carrying government officials and coordination staff needed to manage the wider response.
Crossing the Cook Strait won’t be a smooth handoff. Winds are unpredictable, and Wellington is infamous for making even routine landings feel like a test of skill.
Objective: Transport leadership to restore national coordination efforts.
Leg 4. Wellington International (NZWN) to Hamilton (NZHN)
NZWN-NZHN
Relief efforts expand across the North Island. You’re moving time-sensitive cargo: power grid components, communication relays, and logistics support.
Weather remains unstable. Fatigue is setting in. This is where professionalism matters more than adrenaline.
Objective: Deliver infrastructure support to stabilize northern regions.
Leg 5 (BONUS): Hamilton (NZHN) to Ryan’s Creek (NZRC)
NZHN-NZRC
Most would call it here. But not this operation.
You’re tasked with returning south carrying displaced passengers, relief workers rotating out, and critical reports from the field.
This leg isn’t about urgency—it’s about closure. The system is coming back online. The mission is nearly complete.
Objective: Complete the network. Bring people home.
