Glenn Martin, the retired aircraft engineer/biochemist/entrepreneur who created the Martin Jetpack single-person aircraft, did the trip in his Sting S4 microlight plane.
The 62-year-old took off from Rangiora Airfield at 9am last Tuesday and completed the 876km journey to Tuuta Airport on the Chathams in 4.6 hours, assisted by a 20-knot tail wind.
The return trip to Rangiora last Friday morning, without wind assistance, took him five hours.
Martin is the first Canterbury Regional Aircraft Club member to make the trip.
"The modern microlights are very similar to any other plane, unlike the earlier models of the 1970s which were quite rudimentary," he said.
"They are modern wee planes now. People have flown all around the world in microlights.
"They are also the most cost-effective plane you can buy."
"So far I have been to 121 of them, including every airfield in the South Island," he said.
Martin stayed three nights on the Chathams, visiting tourist attractions and flying.
Canterbury Regional Aircraft Club members tracked his flight to the Chathams and back using global positioning systems and his wife Vanessa Martin, who is also a pilot, met him on his return to Rangiora.
However, modern technology made it a lot easier than it would have been in the 1960s.
He was able to tap into the vast aviation experience of club members while planning his trip.
This included air traffic controllers and a former United States Navy pilot who has 30,000 hours' flying experience "landing all sorts of planes on aircraft carriers" and as a commercial pilot.
"The club has all sorts of people around who are available to share their wisdom.
"Rangiora is sort of an understated place but there is a whole lot of aviation expertise here that is available to club members. That is one of the strengths of this club."
- By Shelley Topp
