"A competent drop pilot with a smile a mile wide" was remembered and mourned in Glenorchy on Saturday afternoon, two weeks to the day after he was killed in a plane crash at Fox Glacier.
Pilot Chaminda (Chami) Senadhira (33), of Queenstown, was one of nine people killed when the Fletcher FU24 Skydive New Zealand plane he was flying crashed in a ball of flames at the edge of the Fox Glacier airstrip just after it took off on September 4.
Four of Mr Senadhira's colleagues also died, along with four tourists.
About 100 people gathered at the Glenorchy Cafe to remember Mr Senadhira.
Tributes flowed for "one of life's true gentlemen"with a "big, genuine smile".
Mr Senadhira was a student pilot at Auckland's Mercer Skydiving Centre before he moved to Fox Glacier about two years ago.
John Kerr, who worked with "Chami" for about 18 months, said the pilot's reputation had preceded him.
"We were pleased when he decided to come work at Fox.
"He was a highly-skilled pilot and the ultimate professional.
"Chami could only be described as a lovely man - he always had a smile on his face and he loved his wife, Nina, to bits.
"He proposed to her in the Southern Alps.
He wanted to make his wedding something special and, of course, he involved helicopters," Mr Kerr said.
The couple married in March this year.
Colleague Rod Davis said Mr Senadhira was a "great mate" and a "great, great pilot".
Several members of the skydiving community also paid tribute to Mr Senadhira, who was respected in New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia.
At 1.27pm on Saturday - two weeks to the moment of the crash - a minute's silence was observed in Glenorchy.
Mr Senadhira's ashes were scattered on Mt Earnslaw on Saturday afternoon.
He is survived by his wife and their young daughter, Madi.
