The 2024 Australia Rally...

[ViperPilot2]

2 minutes ago, TomPenDragon said:

 

Timing&Scoring is already set up to handle this.  I'm scouting out the route and only made it as far as YPAG yesterday, at 3,500' and 160 TAS, not timing it or stopping, with the aux. tanks enabled.  The Australians and anyone else who's spent sone time there knows this already; I only fly there once a year for the Bathurst 12H, usually in something supersonic, so I did not: Australia is BIG!  The 1976 alone is 2,400 miles and has 1 1/2 times the number of stops as Route 66 had.  While I will chase all of you all around Australia trying to get interviews and will report T&S for everyone who wants to run the Combined, closing out the race portion of the event in Sydney is fine with me.

 

I'm just responding to Comments about the Event being too long and drawn out, and the concerns that there isn't enough Time to Complete the Event. Trying to Roll with It...

[ViperPilot2]

1 minute ago, ScottishMike said:

I agree with only having the southern B&H route timed.

Was anybody intending to time the eastern (Basil) route?

TomPD, I will be changing aircraft for the untimed eastern route; using the Aerostar 700 PA60:

 

It would also be good to have a quick reminder/format of the information you need after each leg is completed. This I believe is to be sent to you (TomPenDargon) as a private message?

 

Pretty sure it's Participant, Segment, V +/-. PM to TPD.

[TomPenDragon]

12 minutes ago, ViperPilot2 said:

I'm just responding to Comments about the Event being too long and drawn out, and the concerns that there isn't enough Time to Complete the Event. Trying to Roll with It...

 

It makes sense, though.  Should people still wish to run the Eastern Route after getting to YSBK can do so, but the '76 should be handled as a separate entity, with separate prizes.

 

13 minutes ago, ScottishMike said:

I agree with only having the southern B&H route timed.

Was anybody intending to time the eastern (Basil) route?

TomPD, I will be changing aircraft for the untimed eastern route; using the Aerostar 700 PA60:

It would also be good to have a quick reminder/format of the information you need after each leg is completed. This I believe is to be sent to you (TomPenDargon) as a private message?

 

(Sorry for taking the picture out - Beautiful bird, Mike!)  One of the Daily Updates between now and the start of the race will be dedicated to the rules, so that they are all in one place, and this will include the PM format, which VP2 correctly describes as, "Participant, Segment, V +/-. PM to TPD."

[Melo965]

16 hours ago, jgf said:

Unfortunately, no.

 

Sorry, I guess the FSX files are not backwards compatible to FS9.

[Melo965]

1 hour ago, jgf said:

To save time I'll take my one hour penalty now.

 

One thing for sure, you are consistent! 

 

[Melo965]

49 minutes ago, Bossspecops said:

While you're reading this  I'll be en route to AUSTRALIA! 

 

Great!  You may reach Perth ahead of me after all.  Still waiting for the new paint to dry on the Chipmunk.

 

[Melo965]

57 minutes ago, ViperPilot2 said:

As others have said, perhaps it'd be a good idea to start a separate Thread for the Rally itself with just the Daily Leaderboard and leave this Thread for the Screenies and Stories.

 

Makes sense to me.

[TomPenDragon]

38 minutes ago, ViperPilot2 said:

As others have said, perhaps it'd be a good idea to start a separate Thread for the Rally itself with just the Daily Leaderboard and leave this Thread for the Screenies and Stories. Also in the interests of making the Thread easier to read, it might be a good idea to limit the Size of the Screenies? Just a thought...

 

I think MAD1 has shifted the paradigm on us.  Radio Chachapoya has always been intended as a co-writing project for the group - I only started it; I don't own it.  "Elias Pacheco" and the Daily Update format are my tribute and thank-you to the Radio LeMans team.  Originally, I had intended it to have its separate thread.  As I have been writing it, I felt it could fit quite well in the single, linear thread that we have been working with.  But with MAD1 coming in with an absolutely stunning post, written as part of, "Radio Chachapoya," let me propose the following thread structure:

• The FBO: The thread for everything that doesn't go in the other threads - pretty much what this thread is now, except for:
• The Stories: Radio Chachapoya's Daily Updates, Special Segments, and all other long-form story posts.  One detractor from the excellent storytelling that's going on here is the lack of continuity - Someone posts a beautiful chapter, and by the time that we get to see the next chapter, there are 7 pages of organizing stuff, plane talk, nunsense, etc.  The organizing stuff, plane talk, and nunsense is who we are, and should not be curtailed in any way.  The stories are, too, though.  I'd like to see them have a place of their own, a thread that can be read like a novel.
• Official:  A lot of the organizing stuff gets buried as well, and that causes a lot of confusion.  This needs to be a small reference and clarification thread, posts kept strictly on topic.

Thoughts?  Counter-proposals?  I'd like to include the final structure in the Rules summary.

[taoftedal]

2 hours ago, JSMR said:

Send me the money! $25,000 USD. I'm rich!

 

Not to worry mate ... checks in the mail ... 

[taoftedal]

1 hour ago, TomPenDragon said:

* - All prize monies shall be donated to the Aerial Rally Correspondents' Retirement Fund, in the name of the winner.  Please note that this is not a tax-deductible donation and the winner will be liable for any and all taxes that incur as a result of winning said prize.

 

Whoa!  Talk about reading the fine print ... what in the ______ is also in there?  

[Airbasil_1]

15 minutes ago, TomPenDragon said:

Thoughts?  Counter-proposals?  I'd like to include the final structure in the Rules summary.

 

How about moving all the threads concerning the Event to the particular Club which was created extra for it? 

 

[ViperPilot2]

1 hour ago, JSMR said:

Send me the money!! $25,000 USD. I'm rich!!!

 

 

I checked the Safe in the floor, the Tip Jar in the FBO, I even dug up the Mason jar buried in the yard. All I came up was a few quid, three Strips of Gold Press Latinum, and 35 Quatloos. All told, it's worth about 40 bucks US.

 

Maybe the Sponsors will kick in some...

[ViperPilot2]

4 minutes ago, Airbasil_1 said:

 

How about moving all the threads concerning the Event to the particular Club which was created extra for it? 

 

 

I hadn't intended to formally open The Club until after this Event concluded, since its Creation took place behind the scenes. Plus, I'm still trying to navigate my way around the Club structure to see how it easy it is to get around there.

[Rupert]

3 minutes ago, ViperPilot2 said:

 

I hadn't intended to formally open The Club until after this Event concluded, since its Creation took place behind the scenes. Plus, I'm still trying to navigate my way around the Club structure to see how it easy it is to get around there.

I hope the "Club structure" is not too big. I hadn't planned on bringing a bicycle.

[ViperPilot2]

1 minute ago, Rupert said:

I hope the "Club structure" is not too big. I hadn't planned on bringing a bicycle.

 

Not to worry; you won't need a cycle to get around the Station.

[JSMR]

35 minutes ago, ViperPilot2 said:

 

I checked the Safe in the floor, the Tip Jar in the FBO, I even dug up the Mason jar buried in the yard. All I came up was a few quid, three Strips of Gold Press Latinum, and 35 Quatloos. All told, it's worth about 40 bucks US.

 

Maybe the Sponsors will kick in some...

I’ll take it!

Is this Latinum won at Quarks at the Dabo table? 

[TomPenDragon]

The Daily Update

(Cue The Cult’s, “She Sells Sanctuary”)

 

Elias Pacheco: “Hello and welcome to a very special edition of the Daily Update. We will be turning today’s episode over to our brand-new Aussie Correspondent, who will take us on a tour of his beautiful homeland. Before that, here is the Spotters’ Guide:

 

“This will be the last time the Spotters’ Guide will be published in the Daily Update before the start of the race. For the next few days, we will be bringing you some special features, hopefully some interviews, a recap of the rules… And what better way to kick us off than to have our Aussie Correspondent tell us what we’re going to be seeing during the first part of our journey toward Sydney, or Cairns for those who will be flying up the East Coast:

 

8 hours ago, MAD1 said:

Well, I signed off 'over and out' as MAD1, no intention to communicate until 15 Jan (US date, 16 Jan WA date). So here is my alter ego, the 'Aussie Correspondent'. I should have applied to the Editor of Radio Chachapoya, Elias Pacheco, for a job, probably voluntary (no pay) as a Chachapoya 'Aussie Correspondent' (if there's a newspaper accompaniment to the Radio, perhaps the 'Chachapoya Chronicle', then I'm filing my first copy here. (Did intend to pm Elias to apply and seek permission to publish, but as he's asleep at this time, am applying the old adage 'Take action and seek forgiveness later'!).

 

As a rolling series of articles, here is a start (places are numbered in the B&H race order). They'll hopefully be of interest to the 'armchair travellers' in the Gaggle. (References will be to Wikipedia, Google Maps [G] which has good photos, and others including Geoff Goodall history). There are many stories to tell, but limited space in the Chronicle, and your correspondent has a life to live and can't waste all his life compiling stories.)

2 YKNG Katanning [G]. Deep in the wheat belt (and sheep belt) of the Western Australian dry farming lands. From the coast, e.g. Perth/Jandakot, there is the coastal strip, with good rain, and good farming. Further east, you pass into dry country. Flat as a tack. For some, quite boring. But rich farming, large hectares (acerages) out here.

 

3 YNSM Norseman [G]. Minerals country, gold.

 

4 YCAG Caiguna [G]. We're far into the Nullabor Plain now, desert country. For us east coast folk, nothing worthwhile out here. However, the desert country, like all deserts, to those who grow to appreciate them, is very beautiful in it's starkness. (I just wouldn't want to live here). Between Balladonia to the west and Caiguna is Australia's longest straight stretch of road, 146 km (90 miles).

5 YFRT Forrest [G]. In the 'middle of nowhere'. Now we're on the main east-west route for both flying and trains. In the old days, West Australian Airways was a major player pioneering the air route from the east side to the west side of Australia. So why is there a fully paved airstrip here? Well, it's an emergency diversion airfield for flights across Australia, a Jumbo can land here. Nowadays, commercial flights from Adelaide and Melbourne cross the Great Australian Bight, but a few decades ago, without comms and nav, they stayed over land, with Forrest being one of the few waypoints.

 

It's also on the Trans-Australian Railway, which once ran the Indian-Pacific cross-country train (which runs now only as an exclusive tourist train). (Reference: song, Slim Dusty 'Indian-Pacific'). Interesting helicopter story. The longest straight length of railway line in the world is east of Forrest, 477 km (296 miles).

 

Your 'Aussie Correspondent' for the Chacapoya Chronicle, signing off for now.

 

“This is Elias Pacheco for Radio Chachapoya, on behalf of our Aussie Correspondent, signing off. Have a wonderful flying day!”

[ViperPilot2]

1 minute ago, JSMR said:

I’ll take it!

Is this Latinum won at Quarks at the Dabo table? 

Part of a Debt he owed, and that still hangs over him.

[defaid]

2 hours ago, ScottishMike said:

Was anybody intending to time the eastern (Basil) route?

 

I'm still considering it and, as TPD wrote above, the setup already accommodates both methods for both routes.

 

I'll make the decision in Sydney. Of course, if nobody else wants to do a timed east-coast run, I'll win by default, taking the 25G. I'll also be last to finish so will beat JGF too.

[Bossspecops]

2 hours ago, Melo965 said:

 

Great!  You may reach Perth ahead of me after all.  Still waiting for the new paint to dry on the Chipmunk.

 

 

Right now I'm 100 nms from the North Australian coastline, and about to make a right turn to head south east to Derby. 

 

The end is in sight. 

 

Oh yeah, I fully intend to fly Airbasil's East Coast route, that's one reason why I'm flying an amphibian, I can use it's flotation capabilities at quite a few of the places en route. And I'll time my flights anyway, whether in competition, or 'au concours', it's something I do as a matter of course with FS flights.

[PhrogPhlyer]

4 hours ago, ScottishMike said:

Aerostar 700 PA60

Excellent choice!!!

[MAD1]

Chachapoya Chronicle. (Part of the Chachapoya Media group). Travel section. By your Aussie Correspondent.

 

I've had a private correspondence from Elias Pacheco, anchor of Radio Chachapoya. It seems there is a thirst from some non-Australians in the Gaggle for more reports, and it seems I'm hired as an official correspondent. (However, there seems some misunderstanding about wages, Elias seemed to indicate that it's ungentlemanly to discuss money, and we'd sort that out later!)

 

My next report will cover the next three airports to Adelaide: YCDU Ceduna, YPAG Port Augusta, YPPF Parafield (the major GA airport for Adelaide). Until then ...

 

Special Report - Aussie Culture - by your Aussie Correspondent

 

For the high-brow and educated members of the Gaggle, who might be inclined to cultural things, here is some poetry, read by actor Jack Thompson, and a song.

 

All countries have myths and legends, we do too, and many today in 2023 would question whether they're relevant or appropriate for our highly urbanised society. But, the Gaggle is and will be flying over the country, and perhaps can appreciate the ethos of past eras, 150 years ago.

 

1. 'bloody'. The great Aussie adjective. 'Tumba Bloody Rumba' by John O'Grady. (Jack Thompson link above, at 3 minutes into the recording). ('bloody')

 

2. '... the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended ...'. 'Clancy of the Overflow' from 'The Man From Snowy River' by Banjo Patterson. Words, song. ('overflow' is a side channel to a river, an anabranch. In the 'inland', being very flat, the watercourses can be very braided, known as the 'Channel Country', especially in far western Queensland.)

 

More in future reports.

[Airbasil_1]

5 hours ago, MAD1 said:

My next report will cover the next three airports to Adelaide: YCDU Ceduna, YPAG Port Augusta, YPPF Parafield (the major GA airport for Adelaide). Until then ...

Great... as I am currently expanding a massive Photoreal Surrounding Scenery at YPAG.

(For those who like or want it and for those who want to experience an "as real as it gets" approach Feeling, i'd upload it to the library once completed.
As of now 1/10th of it is allready done, the eastern part with the Mountainrange and the southern Part to approach from the Sea, is yet to be done... ). 



Edit: some parts of the north easterly Mountainridge are done...
So if you need to, you can take some Time out from flying and visit the Mountains after your arrival in YPAG and go for some Explorer's hikes. 





if your a fan of Earth's and Chacapoya's history, and if you love Geology, there's plenty to discover there for you... Definitely worth a longer stopover in YPAG!
Oh... and don't forget to bring your Gold Mining Equipment with you... Might be worth it! 





It looks awesome, even in wintertime... definitely worth a return in wintertime for some Heli Skiing...

However, if you want to use VOZ YPAG with the Scenery, YPAG definitaly has to be adjusted, as it's brutally off from where it needs to be!

[jgf]

The continuing saga;  I departed UHMM for the next closest airport - UHSS, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.  Water, water, everywhere, for over 800 miles.

 

963 miles and 5 hours later there is UHSS

 

This place actually seems inhabited, though so far all Russian airports have lacked navaids, except the occasional NDB (and this Beech doesn't have an ADF receiver).

 

Five hours and seventeen minutes, and 14 gallons of fuel left.

 

Next stop - RJAA.  Tokyo!  A mere 675nm away.  Those long barren stretches and empty skies are hopefully behind me now.

 

 

[ViperPilot2]

surprise arrival

much needed supplies from the

guys and gals in white

the time quickly approaching

before the journey begins