The 2024 Australian Air Rally - The FBO

[PhrogPhlyer]

54 minutes ago, ScottishMike said:

Down in Mackay:

Very nice run today. I could never tire of watching an AeroStar. Well done.

[Melo965]

12 hours ago, Bossspecops said:

tomorrow's amphibian, and that's going to be a big difference......................... 

 

Can't wait to see what is next. 

 

[Rupert]

5 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

They also were designed for water landing and taxiing. Of course with all the seals and drain plugs tight. Seeing into the water through the chin bubble was quite a sight. 

Good point!  I should have mentioned that.  It was rather a strange feeling to be traveling in water like a motor boat in a 46.  We did that more than once while offloading Green Berets and Montyards into rivers in places were we never went while under the cover of the over hanging trees.  We'd turn around in the river and motorboat back to where the overhanging trees weren't prevalent, and take off to fly back to our refuel point.  Then after a few days we'd return to that same river where we never went and motorboat along with a long knotted line hung out the back.  The troops we had dropped off days before would grab the line and pull themselves back into the cabin.  If they missed the line on the way in, they hoped to catch it on the the return trip out.

 

Having said that, your comment about seals and drain plugs was spot on.  Every 46 I made a water landing or cruise in did tend to seep water.  I'd not want to have to spend much time in the water without the rotors turning!

 

On another topic.  I just checked out and read a library book called FLIGHT 100 YEARS OF AVIATION. This book probably weighs 10 pounds or so and goes back to early balloons.  They even found one (1) page to mention "HELICOPTERS IN VIETNAM." That single pages lists seven(7) different choppers.  The H-46 was not even listed there or in the index.  They mentioned and had pictures of the H-34, OH-6A, H-47, etc.  But the H-46 didn't make the cut.  They had pages and pages about hot air balloons etc. but only one page on Vietnam choppers from all our armed forces.

 

 

[JSMR]

Time to continue my posts as to where I'm at in the race (finished of course). 
Next leg was Naracoorte to Warrnambool. 
Planned was 45 mins. 

 

Vrooom! Vrooooom!! Vroom Vroom!!!!!! 

er...ok, Engine is off. That was just me saying it. 

Taxing out, wondering WHO put grass on the taxiway...ok it was me.

Climbing out. Leaving the beautiful Naracoorte behind. Sad to leave this pretty little town. 

 

Kidding!!! We're still in SA....lets get out of here!!

Making good speed. The C210 is humming along nicely. 

 

Descent, approach, land, taxi, park and relx. 

42 (round up) . minus 3. 

[PhrogPhlyer]

29 minutes ago, Rupert said:

The H-46 was not even listed there or in the index. 

I have this book in my library and this oversight makes me question the level of research for the whole book!

I've attached the simplest and detailed overview I've found for Marine Helicopters in Vietnam.

Mobility War - Marine Helicopter Operation Vietnam.pdf

[Melo965]

Warrnambool (YWBL) to Moorabbin (YMMB)

Continuing my flight reports.

 

Leaving Warrnambool, and Kit and his Sealand behind.
Glad he was able to get the Sealand airworthy and flying again.

 

This was a very consistant view for almost the entire flight to Moorabbin.

I had planned to overfly the Point Cook RAAF base on my way to Moorabbin so purposely flew on a slightly more North Easterly heading.

Alas it was to no avail, I never even saw Point Cook as I flew almost directly overhead the base.

 

 

Finally broke out of the clouds as Moorabbin was coming into view ahead.  For a while there, I thought I would have to divert to an alternate airport because of the weather.

 

On the approach.  And only 1 minute early with quite a distance to go.  May not make the timing I am searching for.

 

On arrival target minute but still pretty far away from the runway.

 

Did manage to touch down on time, but landed long and fast!

 

I did get the Chippie stopped and over to the parking area, but this was for sure the worst landing on the Southern route.  Will have to get a mechanic to check over the brakes of the Chippie before the next leg.

 

Next stop is Mangalore (YMNG)
 

[JSMR]

Also posting my Warrnambool to Moorabbin leg. 
Planned..I think was 50 mins. 
Now I WILL miss Warrnambool. NIce seaside town. The western end of the Great Ocean Road.   

 

Begin the take-off. Timer started. 

 

Yep she's a beautiful aircraft as we head toward Melbourne. 

 

Northern end of Geelong and over Port Philip Bay. Melbourne in the distance.

 

Approach, land, taxi and park at Moorabbin airport. 

V-3. A good run. 

[Bossspecops]

You won't have to wait long Melo. 

 

Today I went large, in the shape of another Sikorsky, a 4 engined S-40 PanAm amphibian airliner, and they only built three of them, this one being 'Caribbean Clipper'. With a span of 76 ft and being able to carry 36 passengers, this was a BIG aeroplane in the 1930s.

 

 

The FS model is very nice indeed, and flies very well, but won't turn worth a dime on the water. I had to use differential throttle at both ends of the flight, and that's not easy with a single throttle lever joystick! The cockpit is well presented in both 3D and 2D forms, and has some good auxiliary views too.

 

 

But the passenger cabin is REALLY special!  Not sure if this is Tourist, Business or First Class, but it looks good anyway.

 

 

And how many FS airliners do you know that have a backgammon table in the cabin! 

 

 

And through that door you can see the REALLY posh cabin, which has to be First I guess.

 

 

Anyway, enough of all this, I needed to get under way and taxied into the water for take-off. Luckily I only needed a gentle turn to line up with the wind and the river went the same way too, so off I went.

 

 

Climbing out I could see the whole extent of the Gold Coast Airport, and it was obviously capable of taking some big jets with that runway. The red arrow indicates the waterway which I used as a runway, very handy being that close to the airport itself.

 

 

Climbing slowly at around 600 fpm to my standard 5000 ft cruise altitude took a while in the S-40, but there was lots to look at. Like almost everywhere else on this coast line there was water all OVER the place, either as a river, or as lakes,. or just areas of water connected by other areas of water!

 

 

The northern end of Gold Coast itself was like a water resort, with lots of small islands absolutely PACKED with houses and cabins, and a check with Google Earth showed that almost all the real-world versions all had boat jetties right in front of the house. Definitely the high rent district! 

 

 

The area of land away from the main city seems to have been built artificially from the way it looks, but I couldn't confirm that anywhere. A few miles north there was a hole in that area of land and that's apparently called the The Gold Coast Spit. It probably lets all those zillions of boats out into the ocean! That's it just off my starboard quarter here.

 

 

Around here I cranked on a slight right turn and flew along the length of a big island, called North Stradbroke Island, which is the 2nd largest sand island in the whole world! I'm afraid I don't know what the largest is, sorry. It has a cultural position in these parts, being an arts and culture centre for many small groups and societies, and is just across the water from Brisbane itself. The island, known as 'Straddie' to the locals has a small airport with an NDB, which I used as a waypoint for turning toward Brisbane.

 

 

Even from this distance I could see a lot of traffic going into and out of Brisbane Airport, but ATC had cleared me for a water landing along the east side of the city and airport, but I kept a good look out nonetheless. This Virgin Australia 737-800 made a turn right after take-off and I reckon the Captain told all the pax about '.....that old biplane airliner down on our right....'

 

 

Closer in I had to pass over a freight dock before nearing my landing spot of choice, and I could hear ATC vectoring in an Aerostar that was having a job lining up for landing. I knew just how he felt as I had a 90 degree crosswind from port and no real way to find a better approach. 

 

 

However all turned out well as soon as I was in the wind shadow of the land and I greased 'Caribbean Clipper' in for a nice landing.

 

 

Having fought the hull with hard rudder applications and differential throttle again I got her up on the beach and taxied up to the airfield perimeter, where they suggested I leave her for the night.

 

 

Tomorrow's aeroplane is a bird of a TOTALLY different feather, more different than any of the others I'm flying this Rally. 

[PhrogPhlyer]

1 hour ago, Bossspecops said:

Tomorrow's aeroplane is a bird of a TOTALLY different feather, more different than any of the others I'm flying this Rally.

Keep 'em coming!!!

[ViperPilot2]

2 hours ago, Bossspecops said:

You won't have to wait long Melo. 

 

Today I went large, in the shape of another Sikorsky, a 4 engined S-40 PanAm amphibian airliner, and they only built three of them, this one being 'Caribbean Clipper'. With a span of 76 ft and being able to carry 36 passengers, this was a BIG aeroplane in the 1930s.

 

 

The FS model is very nice indeed, and flies very well, but won't turn worth a dime on the water. I had to use differential throttle at both ends of the flight, and that's not easy with a single throttle lever joystick! The cockpit is well presented in both 3D and 2D forms, and has some good auxiliary views too.

 

 

But the passenger cabin is REALLY special!  Not sure if this is Tourist, Business or First Class, but it looks good anyway.

 

 

And how many FS airliners do you know that have a backgammon table in the cabin! 

 

 

And through that door you can see the REALLY posh cabin, which has to be First I guess.

 

 

Anyway, enough of all this, I needed to get under way and taxied into the water for take-off. Luckily I only needed a gentle turn to line up with the wind and the river went the same way too, so off I went.

 

 

Climbing out I could see the whole extent of the Gold Coast Airport, and it was obviously capable of taking some big jets with that runway. The red arrow indicates the waterway which I used as a runway, very handy being that close to the airport itself.

 

 

Climbing slowly at around 600 fpm to my standard 5000 ft cruise altitude took a while in the S-40, but there was lots to look at. Like almost everywhere else on this coast line there was water all OVER the place, either as a river, or as lakes,. or just areas of water connected by other areas of water!

 

 

The northern end of Gold Coast itself was like a water resort, with lots of small islands absolutely PACKED with houses and cabins, and a check with Google Earth showed that almost all the real-world versions all had boat jetties right in front of the house. Definitely the high rent district! 

 

 

The area of land away from the main city seems to have been built artificially from the way it looks, but I couldn't confirm that anywhere. A few miles north there was a hole in that area of land and that's apparently called the The Gold Coast Spit. It probably lets all those zillions of boats out into the ocean! That's it just off my starboard quarter here.

 

 

Around here I cranked on a slight right turn and flew along the length of a big island, called North Stradbroke Island, which is the 2nd largest sand island in the whole world! I'm afraid I don't know what the largest is, sorry. It has a cultural position in these parts, being an arts and culture centre for many small groups and societies, and is just across the water from Brisbane itself. The island, known as 'Straddie' to the locals has a small airport with an NDB, which I used as a waypoint for turning toward Brisbane.

 

 

Even from this distance I could see a lot of traffic going into and out of Brisbane Airport, but ATC had cleared me for a water landing along the east side of the city and airport, but I kept a good look out nonetheless. This Virgin Australia 737-800 made a turn right after take-off and I reckon the Captain told all the pax about '.....that old biplane airliner down on our right....'

 

 

Closer in I had to pass over a freight dock before nearing my landing spot of choice, and I could hear ATC vectoring in an Aerostar that was having a job lining up for landing. I knew just how he felt as I had a 90 degree crosswind from port and no real way to find a better approach. 

 

 

However all turned out well as soon as I was in the wind shadow of the land and I greased 'Caribbean Clipper' in for a nice landing.

 

 

Having fought the hull with hard rudder applications and differential throttle again I got her up on the beach and taxied up to the airfield perimeter, where they suggested I leave her for the night.

 

 

Tomorrow's aeroplane is a bird of a TOTALLY different feather, more different than any of the others I'm flying this Rally. 

 

I'll bring the Cribbage Board! 

[taoftedal]

Been enjoying the sights and sounds of Alice Springs this last week.  The Nevil Shute Memorial Library (April Springs Public); Anzac Hill (now that’s a familiar name); the RFDS Base and Dispatch Center; John Flynn Memorial Chapel; and The Gahn; are just a few of the highlights.

 

 

You can get a little taste here Alice Springs - Wikipedia; Royal Flying Doctor Service - Wikipedia; John Flynn (minister) - Wikipedia for starters … and of course I’ve found coffee shops and cafés to keep me ‘in-the-pink’ during my stay.

 

As for our Australian adventure it will be ending soon, and I’m wondering where and when the Committee will be hosting the Awards Banquet (if any).  I’ve heard nothing from them … ?

 

[TomPenDragon]

The Daily Update

(Cue “She Sells Sanctuary”)

 

EP: “Hello and welcome to our Daily Update for the 24th of February, 2024. I’m Elias Pacheco for Radio Chachapoya. Let’s look at the Leaderboard:

 

 

“ViperPilot2 has made an impressive start to his Eastern run, chalking up triple goose eggs to Ballina, Coolangatta, and Brisbaine. Can he knock Melo off of the top step of the podium? Will someone else take a crack at the Eastern, or set a time for the Combined, and surprise us all? Let’s see what today brings, as this is the last weekend of the Great Australian Air Gaggle. Counting today, there are only six days left to fly.

 

“Meanwhile, ScottishMike and Suzanne are continuing their fun run up the coast in that beautiful Aerostar. I’ve always loved the type – it’s what an airplane is supposed to look like. Eschewing the urban bustle of Brisbaine – as a New Yorker, I can’t help but say that tongue-in-cheek – they continued up the coast to lunch at Rockhampton, and then made the hop to Mackay for dinner. I don’t know the current price of a hamburger in an Aerostar, but it’s worth every dime.

 

“The Bosss, meanwhile, chose something that doesn’t look like it could fly at all: A nice, 36-passenger boat, with wings, booms to twin tails, and four radial engines, strapped to the hull with some sticks and wires. At first glance, one might not think it was an aeroplane at all, and if so, then maybe something off of the set of, ‘Flight of the Phoenix.’

 

“But to those who know aviation history, and especially when that knowledge veers toward the amphibious side of the subject, the aircraft is a Sikorsky S-40. And it does fly, rather well in fact for an aircraft of its era. It flies in style, too, with a passenger cabin more akin to the first-class cars of the Orient Express than a commercial aircraft. Aside from being watertight, it is not a very good boat, however, as Bosss reports a turning radius on the water that is just a little wider than a supertanker’s.

 

“Distance-wise, he had a rather short run from Gold Coast to Brisbaine. Time-wise, I’m sure that he wasn’t warned about excessive speed by the tower. If we were awarding prizes for the most fun instead of for Cumulative Variance, he’d be in the gold, no question about it.

 

“And then there’s us. I could see it in her face as soon as we landed the UPF-7 for the first time, Claudine was going to go for her sportsplane rating and wouldn’t stop until she had her Mustang. If she builds a multi-plane hangar, I know one of her other aircraft will be a biplane.

 

“After we got back to Sydney yesterday, we had a nice, long lunch – you know, one of those that ends up turning into dinner. We talked about a lot of things, but the subject always came back to flying. Her ambitions are clear, but when she asked me what I wanted to do in the air, I was at a loss. What did I want to do that I hadn’t already done? Go into space? I’ve been pretty close in the XB-70. Fly my dream aircraft? I’ve flown all of them. Many of them are in the community hangar back in Cuernavaca. I wake up with an urge to fly something and, by the time I get to the FBO, it’s already sitting on the ramp for me, all ready to go. Maybe my only dream remaining was to have a Saratoga again, and now I have that.

 

“But coming as close to being grounded as I did during this trip was a bucket of ice water poured over my psyche. I’m 70. I don’t have all that much time left.

 

“I told her, I want to finish one last circumnavigation. I’m more than halfway there. Sara’s got the range now to get me to the Aleutians, or even to make the hop from Hawai’i to the mainland. She once briefly pointed out that I had flown from Lock Haven to Perth solo and had done most of the Combined Route solo as well. I hadn’t thought about that, and before I could bring it up, we were going on and on about the Aerostar.

 

“We splurged on dinner, talked about everything under the sun, laughed. Nothing ever happened between the two of us – it was more like we were father and daughter, or as Claus likes to point out, grandfather and granddaughter. You know, she started calling herself, ‘Claus,’ because folks in the industry wouldn’t give the time of day to a 28-year-old Black chick from Harlem, but they’d open the doors wide to a German engineer. Sara, the love of her life, suggested that – no, as she corrected me, it wasn’t an unimaginative derivative of, ‘Saratoga;’ it was a tribute to a love that the two of them were just a bit too young and immature to hold onto.

 

“Nothing ever happened between the two of us, but last night’s dinner sure felt like a date. Claus likes guys, too – she’s fluid in a way that’s hard for me to understand. When I grew up, there were only two sexes. Nowadays, it seems like everyone’s their own gender. What I don’t understand I accept, though, because to reject that is to reject a person themself. I’ve always had a great big red light on my wingtip, but I felt that in an intellectual way. Knowing Claus has made it real for me. I’m wrong – something did happen between us: We formed one of those unique, intense friendships that seem to come along when you least expect it.

 

“We joked and laughed all the way back to our FurBo rental. Claus popped a couple of bags of popcorn into the microwave and I turned the TV on. ‘Asteroid City’ had just been released to streaming, so we watched that. ‘Don’t understand, accept,’ applies to that film as well. We then watched, ‘The Nun II,’ and as she so often did, Claus settled into the crook of my arm, jabbing my ribs every time something scary came along. I can’t remember the third movie we put on; I fell asleep during the producers’ credits at the beginning. I’d done that a lot during our stay here – I’d say more than half of the nights, I fell asleep in front of the TV.

 

“I always wake up early, but this morning I woke up around 07:00. Claus is also an early riser, which probably is how we could share a house without killing each other. She had gotten up, as she often did when we fell asleep together on the couch. Her bedroom door was open, which was unusual, so I stuck my head inside. Her clothes and luggage were gone. Her toiletries as well, as I found when I went to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and saw a kiss-print on my forehead.

 

“Yesterday Claus said that, since I wasn’t sure if I had flown from Perth to Cairns solo, I was going to have to do the Combined Route again by myself. This morning, that sounded like a plan. The Saratoga M992 was filled and waiting for me when I got to Sydney Exotics’ ramp, looking rather incongruous amid the Thunderbolts and Mustangs. I plotted a straight course for Jandakot, bent ever so slightly for the few VOR’s along the route.

 

“I kept listening for her to read me the checklist challenges, but save for the wind and the other aircraft moving about Bankstown, I heard nothing, and felt the absence with an ache. While I was taxiing the short distance to 11L, I spotted the Piglets’ Howard 500 in front of the hangar that they’ve been using here in Sydney. It looked like they were loading it for the run to Cairns. They had the look of a pit crew that had just taken care of their car’s last stop of a 24-hour race – tired, methodically packing up their gear and emptying their garage. But I didn’t see Claudine.

 

“Now, I’m up at 24,000’, fighting a quartering headwind and making around 200 knots over land, just about to cross Mount Hope and cut across the Great Australian Bight. The silence over the headset is oppressive; the empty right seat looms as large as a widebody’s cabin. I always have this great big grin when I’m flying. Just for once, before running the Combined Route one last time, I can be a bit maudlin, can’t I?

 

“And this concludes today’s Update. I’m Elias Pacheco – not the Lone Eagle, just a lonesome old pilot – for Radio Chachapoya, signing off. Have a great flying day. Oh, and one last piece of business that I keep forgetting to mention: As always, there will be a awards banquet at the terminus of the race – Cairns, in this case. It will begin at 00:00 AEST on the 1st of March, 2024 – in other words, just after the Gaggle ends for the Australians - and will run until 23:59 PST on the 1st of March, or midnight, Pacific Time. Or until the last person passes out, whichever comes sooner. See you there. Bye, bye.”

[Bossspecops]

I've had to abandon my flight today from Brisbane to Rockhampton sadly, not through any fault with the rather exotic aircraft I chose, but I had a resumption of those pale blue scenery patches. This time they got steadily larger until they filled the canopy and it's no fun flying like that. 

 

I'll re-install the Orbx and Ozx scenery and have another go, either later this evening or tomorrow before most of you guys are up and about, hopefully.

[ViperPilot2]

1 minute ago, Bossspecops said:

I've had to abandon my flight today from Brisbane to Rockhampton sadly, not through any fault with the rather exotic aircraft I chose, but I had a resumption of those pale blue scenery patches. This time they got steadily larger until they filled the canopy and it's no fun flying like that. 

 

I'll re-install the Orbx and Ozx scenery and have another go, either later this evening or tomorrow before most of you guys are up and about, hopefully.

 

Oooh, Computer Induced IMC... Yikes! Hope 'ya get it all sorted out! 

[PhrogPhlyer]

8 minutes ago, Bossspecops said:

I'll re-install the Orbx and Ozx scenery and have another go, either later this evening or tomorrow before most of you guys are up and about, hopefully.

Good luck, looking forward to this being rectified.

[Melo965]

4 hours ago, Bossspecops said:

I've had to abandon my flight today from Brisbane to Rockhampton sadly

 

Good luck getting it sorted out!

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

She sees several sassy seaplanes at the sunny sea shore...

[Melo965]

1 hour ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

She sees several sassy seaplanes at the sunny sea shore...

 

EXCELLENT!! 

 

[Melo965]

Moorabbin (YMMB) to Mangalore (YMNG) to Tocumwal (YTOC)

 

Taxi out to the runway for takeoff.

 

Leaving Moorabbin behind.

 

Melbourne city center behind on the left.

 

About two thirds of the way there.  Nowhere to land below in an emergency.

 

If yesterday had been a clear day like today I would have seen RAAF Point Cook.
There is a Beechcraft Baron ahead flying from right to left.

 

Runway in sight ahead.  Got here much earlier than expected.  Harder to accurately judge times on these shorter flights.

 

Touchdown 3 minutes early.

 

Parked at Mangalore.  Finding accomidations for the night.

 

Ready for takeoff to Tocumwal the next morning.

 

Leaving Mangalore behind.

 

 
Lots of lakes below.

 

Passing Shepparton (YSHT) below on the right.

 

Flying over the Arcadia Streamside Reserve.

 

Almost there.  The Murray river is below.

 

Runway in sight.  Running late this time.

 

A darn tree in the way on the centerline again.

 

Touched down 3 minutes late.

 

Over estimated time on the last leg, but under estimated on this leg.  Luckily they cancelled each other out, so back to a cumulative V0.  

 

Parked at Tocumwal.

 

Only four more legs to go on the Southern route.

 

[JSMR]

OK, my final Leg. 
As i mentioned earlier along with the skyvector pdf,, I went for it. 2:44 leg. 

On the ground, packing my food and drink for the long trip. Along with some bottles...with big openings. 

 

There's plan. FL190 planned cruise. So I have oxygen. 

 

Take off. Clock a ticking. 

 

Departing down the eastern corridor. Bye bye Melbourne. Sure will miss your coffee. And freeways making it easy to travel around. Sydney however...
 

 

 

Over Mangalore. My hometown north west of here about an hour drive. 

 

Over 'Toc' (Toke), Tocumwal.  (pronounced Toe-come-wall) A little ahead of schedule which is ok. For now. 

 

Narrandera! Not much to see out here. On the Newell Highway. Little town to pass through if you drive 'up the middle' to Brisbane from down south. Also situated on the beautiful Murrumbidgee River. 

[JSMR]

Parkes. Home to the famous 'Dish', The big old radio telescope that helped during the moon landing. A pretty cool place to visit. I'm starting to get too far ahead of schedule. Time to throttle back a little. 

 

Bathurst. If you love motorsports, head to the 'Mountain'!  And we start down, but too close! I wasn't concentrating. 

 

Increase the descent rate which isn't ideal in a slippery bird. 

 

Gear down to slow her up!

 

Turning final from a weird approach I gave myself. High, WAY too fast. Normal.

 

Missing my other screens! Gotta find out where they went. 

[JSMR]

Last few.  Landed. 
2:46. so a V+2. Almost! 
Skyvectors plan was pretty accurate. 
Main race over!!

[MAD1]

The Chachapoya Chronicle. Travel and culture news. Sunday 25 February 2024.

 

Ballina, Byron Bay, Coolangatta

 

Your correspondent's home territory, in the sub-tropics (not too hot, not too cold), beautiful beaches, no nasties in the water like in north QLD (apart from sharks of course). In the spirit of the Gaggle, going amphibian, your correspondent enjoyed a ride yesterday Saturday 24 Feb with MAD1, who has upgraded from his trusty Cessna 182RG to the Cessna Caravan (part of the FS2002 default fleet) (PDF: flight pics, which  MAD1 has also posted). In the footsteps (or should that be 'fins') of Bossspecops (we think, could have been someone else), we took off from the Richmond River at Ballina, eastwards into the prevailing sea breeze, turning north and left, climbing out over Ballina township and the airport, heading to Coolangatta.

 

But just as Bossspecops did, we did a circuit around Cape Byron, Australia's most easterly point. It's a beautiful place, with a lovely walk up to the lighthouse which is high above the town. Byron Bay is on the international backpacker route, heaps of young people around. Very nice views of beach life! Wategos Beach (pronounced 'wat-e-go-s') at the northern base of the lighthouse hill is a famous surfing beach, the only north-breaking surf in NSW. And for the older folk who are well-heeled, the houses there are now in the multi-million price bracket.

 

There are many 'creatives' living in the hills in the hinterland, and in the town itself, as well as celebrities. Over the years, Paul Hogan of 'Crocadile Dundee' fame, lived there with his TV celebrity wife, and his manager, they owned the Main Beach hotel. So the area is rich in very gifted people, musicians included, who often fly to Sydney for their 'day job' and back to their idyllic North Coast (aka Northern Rivers) NSW home and/or beach house. The lifestyle from here to North QLD is similar to California, laid back but vibrant. ('Relax man, you're not in the big city now, just chill, have another beer and 'chuck another prawn on ...' etc.)

 

Your correspondent was born in the area, back before the tourist boom, and grew up on a dairy farm (Jersey cows for cream to make the famous Norco butter). The hinterland is a very rich farming (dairy, beef) and horticulture area, given the very rich volcanic soil.

 

Coolangatta QLD is a 'twin town', the NSW-QLD border runs down the middle of the main street, with Tweed Heads NSW being the town name on the other side of the street! Part of the fun is that NSW uses daylight saving time in summer, clocks go one hour ahead, whilst QLD doesn't, so people living and working across the border have to deal with two time zones, including one side of the street is one hour different to the other side of the street!

 

From north coast NSW all the way to Cairns QLD is really a wonderful, fun, playground with many towns and many beaches with great surf. The waves roll in from the deep Pacific Ocean, and the water is warm. (Coolangatta is the southern end of the Gold Coast, a Brisbane playground one hour's drive from the big city, whilst one hour or so north of Brisbane is the Sunshine Coast, another great playground.)

 

Finally, back to aviation, the Coolangatta airport is nowadays international, flights to China and Bali (Indonesia). The NSW-QLD border crosses the runway! So Bossspecops and us landed on Terranora Lakes, NSW, and walked up onto the southern perimeter of the airport, crossing the border. And technically, you can start your take-off roll at one end in one state, and lift off at the other end from a different state and one hour time difference! Who said that Australia is a weird place? We're just a little bit different that's all!

 

Postscript. Forgot. The region is dominated by the 65 million year old Mount Warning (Aboriginal name Wolumbin) volcano, now a caldera rim. Named by Captain Cook in May 1770 as he sailed up the coast, a very distinctive mountain, seen from Byron Bay, which warns of a submerged reef off Point Danger (also named by him), where the NSW-QLD border is.

 

20240224.pdf

[MAD1]

Cessna Caravan flight Ballina to Coolangatta Sat 24 Feb with the Aussie Correspondent as a passenger. Included a circuit around Cape Byron.

 

[Bossspecops]

6 hours ago, MAD1 said:

The Chachapoya Chronicle. Travel and culture news. Sunday 25 February 2024.

 

Ballina, Byron Bay, Coolangatta

 

Your correspondent's home territory, in the sub-tropics (not too hot, not too cold), beautiful beaches, no nasties in the water like in north QLD (apart from sharks of course).

 

 

What a great write-up, thanks so much, and from a 'native' of the area too. 

 

Certainly your description of that neck of the woods confirms how it looks from above. 

 

My scenery re-install went OK, and I'll resume my flight from y'day later on today. But food shopping is a priority right now, we're all out of apple juice etc.