---PRESS RELEASE---
For Immediate Release
1 September 2011, 12pm

Cambridge Farmer’s Thrill of a Lifetime

FPA NZ Director Brett Emeny presents Kevin De Groot with a voucher for a ride in the De Havilland Vampire Jet.

Pukeatua farmer Kevin De Groot will soon be strapped in the De Havilland Vampire Jet and thundering through the sky up to 800 kilometres per hour, experiencing up to 6 Gs. Kevin was the lucky winner of fertiliser processing and application company FPA NZ’s “Win the Thrill of a Lifetime” competition run at Mystery Creek Fieldays this year.

Kevin is employed as a farm worker on a 260ha dairy farm on Oreipunga Road near Lake Karapiro where he has been for the last 2 years with his wife Beth. Kevin is excited and nervous about his upcoming ride, “I have always had a keen interest in aviation” says Kevin “I have flown in Cessna’s before, I’m sure this will be an experience I won’t forget’

The 30 minute jet ride will be taking place in New Plymouth where the 1958 De Havilland Vampire Jet is based. These jets were the first fighter jet in service in the NZ Air Force and can operate at speeds of up to 800km/hr, consuming 1,500 litres of jet fuel an hour.

Taranaki based business FPA NZ received over 1,200 entries for the competition from a very busy Fieldays. According to FPA Director Brett Emeny, “Fieldays enables us to talk to farmers directly about the environmental and economic advantages of applying fertiliser products in fine particle form” says Brett “We congratulate Kevin on his win and look forward to catching up with him and his family when he comes to New Plymouth for the ride this Summer.”

ENDS

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