The 2024 Australian Air Rally - The FBO

[Melo965]

Kitanning (YKNG) to Norseman (YNSM)

 

Just a note that up until now I have been flying all of my flights solo.  I have set the weight of the back seat person to zero, but unlike in some other aircraft, the person is still displayed when viewed in external view.

 

It was a short and pleasant walk from the Yellow Gum Bed & Breakfast over to the Cafe on Cornwall.  I was there promply at 8:00 AM as Charlie and I had agreed the night before.  I waited for a while but Charlie did not show up.  We had not exchanged phone numbers so there was no way to reach him.

 

Eventually I ordered a delicious breakfast.  Not sure what it is called, but it tasted great!

 

At 8:56 AM, just as I was finishing my meal, Charlie showed up at the Cafe.  I mentioned that it was almost 9 AM and wondered why he was so late.  Charlie got a panicked look on his face and said "What! It can't be almost 9. The Cessna Caravan is scheduled to leave at 9:05 AM."

 

Charlie mentioned that he is not from around here, and it is confusing in Australia.  Australia has multiple time zones. Some of them are half-hour and quarter-hour time zones. Not all states and territories use Daylight Saving Time (DST).  We checked our watches and realized that Charlie's was set to 7:58 instead of the correct local time of 8:58 AM.

 

We quickly left money for my breakfast and headed out the door to Charlie's car.  He drove quite fast to the airport, but as we were getting close we saw the Cessna Caravan overhead climbing out.  When we arrived at the airport, sure enough, a different aircraft was parked there.

Charlie said that he was one of a group of music lovers who were headed to Melbourne for the St Kilda Music Festival on February 17th and 18th.  There were over 375,000 people there last year, and they were hoping to set a new attendance record this year.  Charlie mentioned that the next stop of the chartered flight was at Norseman.  So, of course, I spoke up and offered to fly him to Norseman.  If we were lucky we could get there in time to drop him off for the next leg of the Cessna Caravan journey.

 

So after a quick weight and balance calculation, and my normal thorough pre-flight of the Chippie we were ready to go.  Luckily I had a spare helmet on hand just in case there was a passenger.

 

Engine started at Kitanning and ready to taxi.

 

For this leg I plan on a cruise speed of 115 kts at 4,000 ft.  Skyvector predicts 2 hours and 5 minutes for the 226 mile flight.  My Active Sky flightplan predicts 2 hours and 23 minutes.

 

Seeing that there were headwinds again, I predicted an arrival after 2 hours and 15 minutes.

 

Performed a fast climb out, leaving Kitanning behind.

 

Lots of lakes around here.

 

Close to 1 hour so far, even more water below.

 

Another half hour gone by, having animated conversations with Charlie.  This is the smallest aircraft he has ever flown in.  He is really enjoying the flight so far.

 

Unusual sparse trees down below.

 

Airport barely in sight ahead.  I realize now that I am a bit ahead of schedule for my predicted landing time, but Charlie has been urging me on during the whole flight.  He is happy to see the airport ahead.

 

An external view.

 

I was origionally lined up for a landing on runway 04, but had trouble spotting the runway as it really blended into the background terrain.

So I turned further right and flew south and east to line up for the longer runway 1 instead.  As I was very close and still too high, did a right hand circuit and came around again to land on runway 01.

 

Right Crosswind for 01 over Norseman.  Also realized that a left pattern over the water would have been better.  Had to climb a bit in the pattern because of some small hills.

 

On final approach for runway 01.

 

Landed at 2 hours and 12 minutes.  Three minutes earlier than predicted.

 

Parked at Norseman.  Charlie said "Thanks!" and waved Good Bye as he scrambled out of the aircraft.

Even though I missed my scheduled time by a bit, did my good deed for the day.

 

Charlie managed to board before the Cessna Caravan started engines to taxi out on the way to Melbourne.

 

Back on my own again.  The walk in to town this time is 2.8 km or just under 2 miles.  I had a nice stroll into town.

 

Got a room at the Norseman Hotel for the night.

 

More adventures await tomorrow. 

 

[TomPenDragon]

The Daily Update

(Cue “She Sells Sanctuary”)

 

CU: “Hello and welcome to the Daily Update for the 31st of January, 2024. I’m Claus Ullrich, for Eli Pacheco and the rest of the Radio Chachapoya crew. Let’s kick this off:

 

 

“JSMR’s excellent run to Caiguna has put him in the lead, with a CV of -1. I have to say, I just love that Cessna Centurion. And he’s been planting grass along the way – the ground cover kind, not the fun kind, but it’s still prettying up the airports and keeping the dust down. Let’s hope it survives until the rains start again.

 

“Yesterday, it seemed like everybody had a 2. That’s been broken up. defaid, dj, and their cute T-tailed Arrow are the first of our remaining 2’s. He remains in Adelaide Parafield, in second place.

 

“ViperPilot2 and The Lady have a -2, in Ceduna, for third place.

 

“ScottishMike left Caiguna as soon as he could, and flew out of there as quickly as he could – so quickly, in fact, that he arrived in Port Augusta 19 minutes ahead of plan. He deftly made up most of this as he continued on to Adelaide, finishing his run 13 minutes late for an aggregate for the run of -6 and a CV at Parafield of -4. He’s in fourth.

 

“Melo965, and somebody named Charlie who Melo helped out, made the long run to Norseman in his Chipmunk. His -3 puts his CV at -4, dropping him into fifth place.

 

“Bosss is still ahead on the course, at Warnambool, in his Sealand. He’s in sixth place, with a -5 CV.

 

“MAD1 and his 182RG are enjoying the wonders of Katanning, in seventh with a -8 CV.

 

“And the PhrogPhlyers’ Bell 206, with Capt. Dirk Doovalacky in the rather firm right seat, rounds out the field in eighth, in Renmark with 44 minutes to make up.

 

“Eli, are you there? Oh… That’s okay… Sorry, listeners – live radio. I’m going to wrap up today’s Update here. This is Claus Ullrich, for Elias Pacheco and Radio Chachapoya, signing off. Good flying, everybody!”

[JSMR]

I won I won!!! Woohooo!!!! 
So I’m the champion and first ever winner of the virtual event??!!
 

I just want to thank my fans…especially the pedestal fan which helped during the warmer part of the day. 

Also to thank :

My cats. 
My parents.
My friends.
My wife. 

 

Possibly in that order but not necessarily in that order. 
  

[JSMR]

Oh…I reread it. I’m leading despite not having flown all the legs. And the events still not over. 
 

oh…embarrassing. 

[PhrogPhlyer]

8 hours ago, JSMR said:

Also to thank :

My cats. 

Smart man, they are ALWAYS listening!

[taoftedal]

I've always known that the cats were behind JSMR's operation ... 

 

[JSMR]

11 minutes ago, taoftedal said:

I've always known that the cats were behind JSMR's operation ... 

 

 

They operate the gear and flaps for me with a carefully placed paw on the keyboard. Usually mid flight in the cruise.  

[JSMR]

Here's my 3rd leg (no pun intended wink wink) from YNSM to YCAG.
I need a chronometer as the Carenado timer does weird things at times. So I've been using the FS2004 flight planner. Seems to work ok. 
ETE for the flight was 1:12. 

Landed in 1:13. 

So pretty good effort (patting my own back)for this leg. 
On the apron at Noresman.  May add some more grass and shrubs however I believe its on a salt flat or near one. 

 

Taxing out, and take off. The 310hp gets us up quickly. 

 

Turn right, and say good bye to Noresman.  Good pub lunch a the local. Learnt a few interesting tidbits of info from some proceeding racers.
 

 

Not much to look at in the outback. 8500ft cruise altitude. Looking for a 165 TAS in the cruise. 

 

Descent into Caiguna which is nothing more than a big truck stop it seems. 

 

Approach and landing. What have I been doing in ADE....

 

...adding lots of shrubs and grass!! And completely added YCAG from new using ADE.  Wanted to see how I could do it. Seemed to work ok. 
Nice landing kinda. 

Long Taxi to the end. 

 

Parked and enjoying my handy work. 
Got to fix a few things up in all three airsrips Iv'e worked on. I can share them but not sure whether they will work the same as I don't know what libraries I've used. 

One minute early! 
Off to the truck stop for a cold drink. 8 mins from bottle to throttle is the rule out west isnt it??


 

[TomPenDragon]

The Daily Update

(Cue “She Sells Sanctuary”)

 

EP: “Hello and Happy February! I’m Elias Pacheco, for Claus Ullrich and the rest of the Radio Chachapoya team, here with the Daily Update. We’ve got a lot to get to today, so let’s go right to the Leaderboard:

 

 

“JSMR’s -1 CV at Caiguna is still good enough to put him – for the moment, JSMR; you have fourteen legs left to go – at the front of the field.

 

“defaid remains in second, with a +2 at Adelaide.

 

“ViperPilot2’s in third, in Ceduna with a -2.

 

“Melo965 had an excellent run to Caiguna, shaving 2 minutes off of his previous -4 to move up into fourth place.

 

“That drops ScottishMike into fifth, at Adelaide with a -4.

 

“Bossspecops is in sixth, with a -5 after 10 legs.

 

“MAD1 is in seventh, with a -8 after 1 leg.

 

“And the PhrogPhlyers round out the field in eighth, with a +44 after 8 legs.

 

“And now, we’re here on the tarmac of Parafield with ScottishMike and one of my favorite aircraft, his Mooney M20J. How are you doing today, Mike?”

 

SM: “Very well thank you, now that I've left Ceduna. Elias isn't it? Eli just grab that rag, give me a hand with the back windows. We can talk as we scrub.”

 

EP: “Sure thing! Now, I just love the Mooney M20 series - like a sports car with wings. What made you choose this particular plane for the Gaggle?”

 

SM: “The big windows are easier to clean than lots of small ones. Sorry, just joking! As you know I competed in both the Bendix re-creation - and won that one in a Griffon powered Spitfire, well me and the team - and the Route 66 challenge, where I was not so successful, for that I had chosen a Beagle Airedale, a delightful aircraft but underpowered, especially for a time trial, Suzanne and I were at max cruising speed just about all the time. If for any reason we were behind projected time there was no chance of speeding up: 100 Kts max cruise and absolute max busting the engine speed of 107 kts. For this trial I wanted an aircraft with plenty of power in reserve. In the M20 I can happily cruise at 140 kts, and if needs be increase that to 175 Kts. In other words it gives me the ability to correct for my poor flight planning. As a bonus this Carenado model is delightfully balanced, poise and speed combined. Like a fighter, if coming in too low, a touch of power lifts you back onto the glideslope. Originally I had decided on the Porsche power plant but it turns out it is no longer supported by Mooney, so went for the Lycoming and no complaints.”

 

EP: “Now, we have to talk a little about your passengers – Giorgio Bianchi and the late David Segfield. How did you meet them? When did you first begin to sense that something was off about them? Did you ever feel in danger from them? Claudine Ullrich and I flew back to Forrest yesterday morning and spent the day going back and forth to Ceduna to try to see what was described in the police report, without any luck. Do you have any idea what they were really looking for when they said that they were searching for native Australian landmarks from songs? How satisfied are you with the official finding that Mr. Segfield’s death was accidental?”

 

SM: “I have no doubt they were looking for something and no doubt they thought they found it around Cape Adieu. I had a look at one of the Police scene of crime photos and it shows a large hole they were digging in the centre of a triangle delineated by four cairns. The cairns would have been visible from the air. Three cairns forming the base of the triangle and the fourth and largest cairn at the apex. I hope to have a chat with an expert, a friend of a friend, lecturer in Indigenous and Australian studies at Flinders Uni here in Adelaide. Apparently The Prof., David Segfield, was an academic with what appeared a bright future. I've heard rumours that there was some sort of incident with the Dean's daughter. Segfield was studying for his doctorate but left the university and the academic world abruptly.

 

“He certainly sounded very knowledgeable when I first met him in Sydney at the AOPA event. As for Wombat Willie I first met him in Perth at the start of our timing adventure. Never liked him from the start, aggressive and threatening, not what you would expect from a Professor's assistant. In retrospect I wonder if he had some sort of hold on Segfield.

 

“As for the post mortem, although officially it was recorded as accidental death the Constable that drove me from the station to Ceduna airfield said it could be interpreted otherwise. The forensic team found a rock behind Segfield's head with skull fragments and brain matter on it. They assumed Segfield fell backwards hitting his head on the rock. The Constable - who should not have been telling me this - said what if the Prof had been pushed? Or hit with the rock?”

 

EP: “The two were supposed to be covering the expenses for the Rally, as I understand it. Did they actually do so? How is their absence going to affect your continuing participation in the Rally?”

 

SM: I think I'll have to whistle for any contribution. It's not a problem financially, the Mooney is leased to Golden Aviation Supplies one of my Golden group of companies, we will cover any costs, probably put it down to marketing costs, we are always looking for reputable companies to partner with Down Under.”

 

EP: “So, what are your plans for the rest of the race? You’re in fourth right now with a -4, which with ten legs still to go seems easy to make up. When are you planning on finishing?”

 

SM: “As I said I have a few meetings with old friends here in Adelaide, and an old school pal who has ended up as Senior Lecturer in Aerospace and Aircraft Maintenance at The University of New South Wales. We used to build balsa gliders together back when. He took an academic route and I went into business, but I guess that's another story for another day.

 

“I fully intend to finish the timed section, then enjoy the free run up to Cairns. It would be nice to share the journey with a companion or two, I hope no one is afraid to fly with me now. (joke)

 

“I am not too worried about the times, after all it's not a matter of life or death, is it?” (laughs)

 

EP: “Well, thank you very much, ScottishMike. And this concludes today’s Update. I’m Elias Pacheco, for Claus Ullrich and Radio Chachapoya, signing off. Have a wonderful, safe, and successful February, folks! Bye, bye.”

[Melo965]

Norseman (YNSM) to Caiguna(YCAG)

 

Engine started at Norseman and ready to taxi.

 

For this leg I plan on a cruise speed of 115 kts at 4,000 ft.  Skyvector predicts 1 hour and 43 minutes for the 190 mile flight.  My Active Sky flightplan predicts 1 hour and 52 minutes.

 

Seeing that there were some headwinds again, I predicted an arrival time of 1 hour and 45 minutes.

 

For Active Sky I had to learn how to add the airport of Caiguna to the database before I could generate the flight plan.  I also added an approach point SW of Caiguna to make for an easier approach to land on runway 04.  Also completed my first aircraft repaint for this Rally. Really enjoying learning new stuff with this talented Gaggle.

 

Ready to advance throttle and takeoff.

 

Climbing out on course, leaving Norseman.

 

One fourth of the way there.

 

Some lakes in this region.

 

Half way there, not much to see below.

 

Arriving in about 15 minutes.  Finally seeing some cultivated areas below.

 

An external view.

 

Flying over more cultivated areas.

 

Spotted a small farm below.

 

On final approach to runway 04.

 

That derelict aircraft below is a cautionary reminder.  I flew a more deliberate approach this time, landing on the first try.  Much better than my performance at Norseman on the last leg.  No wonder Charlie hopped out as quick as he could there.

 

Touchdown.  Landed two minutes later than estimate.  No worries, happy to have a good approach and landing. 

 

Parked at Caiguna.

 

Quite an assortment of aircraft also parked here.  Thanks a lot PP for building the Caiguna airstrip for us.  I was kind of dreading landing at the third dirt strip in a row, but was very pleasantly surprised at how easy the approach and landing was here.  Great visibility compared to the underlying terrain!

 

Made the short walk to the Roadhouse for a meal and a relaxing evening.

 

And no, we are not in the middle of nowhere.  Quite the contrary as it turns out! 

 

If you take a walk about (or walkabout) 1 hour and 15 minutes west on the Eyre Highway you will get to the Caiguna Blowhole.  This is one of the breathing vents of the Nullarbor caves.  The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast. It is the world's largest single exposure of limestone bedrock, and occupies an area of about 200,000 square kilometres (77,000 sq mi).

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

Going to attempt another marathon day, flying nine legs, 895.2 nm with a planned 6.2 hours in the air. The weather is varied with scattered clouds and there are a couple rapidly moving fronts heading in from the west. That should equate to nice strong tailwinds the whole way.

YREN – Renmark, and the day begins.

 

 

YLOX Loxton off my nose, one of the few definite landmarks on this leg.

 

 

YNRC – Naracoorte Ahead.

 

 

During the brief touch and go I noticed the windsock clearly showing I still have a good tailwind. 1+23 / 1+15 (V -8)

  

 

After a boring 135 miles, Warrnambool.

 

 

YWBL – On the runway at Warrnambool. 0+48/0+43 (V -5)

 

 

Over Lake Corangamite I can see Mount William 70 miles to the NNW. 65 miles to go.

  

 

Just reached Port Phillip (lake) with Melbourne in distance and Point Cook Airfield to the North.

  

 

Moorabbi ahead.

 

 

YMMB – Moorabbin. A quick tour of the air museum, and then a light lunch. 0+26/0+23 (V -3)

 

 

 Ready for takeoff to Mangalore. Windsock shows that the winds are still in my favor.

 

 

 Heading North, Melbourne off my port side.

 

 

Approaching Yan Yean Reservoir. Mount Disappointment is visible on the horizon.

 

 

Mount Disappointment. Had to climb to 3500’. Tallarook, my next checkpoint, is visible on the horizon.

 

 

YMNG – Landing at Mangalore with a stiff quartering tail wind. Crab angle with a helicopter is much more pronounced than with fixed wing aircraft.   0+26/0+24 (V -2)

 

 

Over Shepperton.

 

 

YTOC – Tocumwal, 0+31/0+26 (v -5)

 

 

Quick tour of the Air Museum at Tocumal.

 

 

On the go to Narrandera.

 

 

Approaching Lake Urana.

 

 

YNAR – Narrandera on nose. A quick touch and go. 0+50/0+46 (V -4)

 

 

Lake Cowal – Newnes Plateau on the horizon.

 

 

YPKS – Landing at Parkes. 0+50/0+46 (V -4)

 

  

Parkes Aviation Museum. One can never have enough aviation!

 

 

After a quick flight leg, YBTH – Bathurst. Busy field, aviation is alive and well here. Gliders, GA and 2 Mig-15 in the grass. Wish I had time to explore, I must return at a later date. Sun is starting to set. 0+28/0+24 (V -4)

 

  

Crossing Blue Mountain Natl Park enroute to Bankstown.

 

 

YSBK – Bankstown. Lots of lights as I line up on Runway 11L. 0+28/0+26 (V -2)

 

 

How it looks in the daytime.

 

 

I air taxi in the dark and park at John Cameron Aviation. 5+32 total flight time, picked up 37 minutes today. Gotta’ love a tail wind.

Even with the 5 hours spent at the three aviation museums, all in all, not a bad day.

 

 

I walk across the street to get a room at the High Flyer Hotel.

 

 

And then do some light reading in their pub.

 

  

Next morning I grab a quick breakfast and the a few short blocks walk to the Condell Park Indoor Firearms range. Always relaxing to put holes in paper.

 

 

  

Then it’s back to John Cameron Aviation.

 

 

They took me on a complete tour of their facility and the airfield.

 Many aircraft scattered about the ramps of interest. This airfield is a bustling aviation commercial park where taxiways and side streets with businesses merge seamlessly. My kind of place! And of course the Bankstown Aviation Museum.

 

 

What a day, what a week, what a race.

Wondering how to get the aircraft back to Pearce. The crew here at JCA told me not to worry, they’ve got me covered. After considering a shipping container,

 

  

They found more appropriate accommodation.

 

 

 

 

 

[Rupert]

4 minutes ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

Going to attempt another marathon day, flying nine legs, 895.2 nm with a planned 6.2 hours in the air. The weather is varied with scattered clouds and there are a couple rapidly moving fronts heading in from the west. That should equate to nice strong tailwinds the whole way.

YREN – Renmark, and the day begins.

 

 

YLOX Loxton off my nose, one of the few definite landmarks on this leg.

 

 

YNRC – Naracoorte Ahead.

 

 

During the brief touch and go I noticed the windsock clearly showing I still have a good tailwind. 1+23 / 1+15 (V -8)

  

 

After a boring 135 miles, Warrnambool.

 

 

YWBL – On the runway at Warrnambool. 0+48/0+43 (V -5)

 

 

Over Lake Corangamite I can see Mount William 70 miles to the NNW. 65 miles to go.

  

 

Just reached Port Phillip (lake) with Melbourne in distance and Point Cook Airfield to the North.

  

 

Moorabbi ahead.

 

 

YMMB – Moorabbin. A quick tour of the air museum, and then a light lunch. 0+26/0+23 (V -3)

 

 

 Ready for takeoff to Mangalore. Windsock shows that the winds are still in my favor.

 

 

 Heading North, Melbourne off my port side.

 

 

Approaching Yan Yean Reservoir. Mount Disappointment is visible on the horizon.

 

 

Mount Disappointment. Had to climb to 3500’. Tallarook, my next checkpoint, is visible on the horizon.

 

 

YMNG – Landing at Mangalore with a stiff quartering tail wind. Crab angle with a helicopter is much more pronounced than with fixed wing aircraft.   0+26/0+24 (V -2)

 

 

Over Shepperton.

 

 

YTOC – Tocumwal, 0+31/0+26 (v -5)

 

 

Quick tour of the Air Museum at Tocumal.

 

 

On the go to Narrandera.

 

 

Approaching Lake Urana.

 

 

YNAR – Narrandera on nose. A quick touch and go. 0+50/0+46 (V -4)

 

 

Lake Cowal – Newnes Plateau on the horizon.

 

 

YPKS – Landing at Parkes. 0+50/0+46 (V -4)

 

  

Parkes Aviation Museum. One can never have enough aviation!

 

 

After a quick flight leg, YBTH – Bathurst. Busy field, aviation is alive and well here. Gliders, GA and 2 Mig-15 in the grass. Wish I had time to explore, I must return at a later date. Sun is starting to set. 0+28/0+24 (V -4)

 

  

Crossing Blue Mountain Natl Park enroute to Bankstown.

 

 

YSBK – Bankstown. Lots of lights as I line up on Runway 11L. 0+28/0+26 (V -2)

 

 

How it looks in the daytime.

 

 

I air taxi in the dark and park at John Cameron Aviation. 5+32 total flight time, picked up 30 minutes today. Gotta’ love a tail wind.

Even with the 5 hours spent at the three aviation museums, all in all, not a bad day.

 

 

I walk across the street to get a room at the High Flyer Hotel.

 

 

And then do some light reading in their pub.

 

  

Next morning I grab a quick breakfast and the a few short blocks walk to the Condell Park Indoor Firearms range. Always relaxing to put holes in paper.

 

 

  

Then it’s back to John Cameron Aviation.

 

 

They took me on a complete tour of their facility and the airfield.

 Many aircraft scattered about the ramps of interest. This airfield is a bustling aviation commercial park where taxiways and side streets with businesses merge seamlessly. My kind of place! And of course the Bankstown Aviation Museum.

 

 

What a day, what a week, what a race.

Wondering how to get the aircraft back to Pearce. The crew here at JCA told me not to worry, they’ve got me covered. After considering a shipping container,

 

  

They found more appropriate accommodation.

 

 

Nice series with great photos and screenies!  Having said that, 6 plus hours on the sticks wasn't a picnic when I was young.  I'd sure not want to do that today!!

 

Michael

[PhrogPhlyer]

Just now, Rupert said:

6 plus hours on the sticks wasn't a picnic when I was young

Thanks.

Not any easier with age!

[jgf]

6 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

Smart man, they are ALWAYS listening!

[PhrogPhlyer]

3 minutes ago, jgf said:

That would upset the whole order of the universe!

[PhrogPhlyer]

1 hour ago, Melo965 said:

Caiguna Blowhole

And I thought that was the owner of the Roadkill Roadhouse.

Who know it was actually a location.

[Rupert]

8 minutes ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

And I thought that was the owner of the Roadkill Roadhouse.

Who know it was actually a location.

Probably caused by a Roadhouse customer.

[PhrogPhlyer]

2 hours ago, Melo965 said:

That derelict aircraft below is a cautionary reminder.

Also makes a great directional sign "Runway That Way!"

I think this airport needed one.

 

[JSMR]

4th Leg YCAG - YFRT are in. 

ETE 1:00

ATA : 1:03

V3. 
Cruise ALT : 8500ft (should be 9500 however I like even numbers. :p)
 

YCAG and ready for the next leg. A straight run to Forrest. 

 

Blasting on out and conversative climb settings. I see some climb it at 35 but I like to use 30/2600rpm. 

 

Nice view of....nothing. Good thing the legs are short as I may lose interest haha. 

 

Nearing my descent point. Needing some fuel when I arrive. First refuelling point. 

 

 

My landclass about to kick in.  

 

Gear down. Lets slow er up!

 

 

Taking a gamble that the winds are aligned roughly with 09 that I'm landing on. As I get closer I see the windsock is showing a 45 degree crosswind which is ok. 

 

 

Not a good touchdown as my crosswind technique was non-existent. 

 

Another good leg. A longer one coming up to Ceduna. Got some flight planning to do...

[Melo965]

1 hour ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

I think this airport needed one.

 

 

THe juxtaposition of the aircraft in the tree and the "Learn to Fly Here" sign, priceless!

 

[taoftedal]

5 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

What a day, what a week, what a race.

 

Epic run PP ... Chuck, PT and Helen would be proud of you.  Well done!

 

 

[Melo965]

6 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

They found more appropriate accommodation.

 

Yes, that was an EPIC flight! 

 

Don't let them damage your rotors when they stuff the Helo into that beast!

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

1 hour ago, taoftedal said:

Chuck, PT and Helen would be proud of you.

That is a humbling acknowledgement.

Will have to watch some more episodes. see how the pros do it!

[PhrogPhlyer]

On 1/31/2024 at 2:09 PM, Melo965 said:

Eventually I ordered a delicious breakfast.  Not sure what it is called, but it tasted great!

Every time I look at this pic I get so so soooooo hungry!

[PhrogPhlyer]

One of many things I tried to highlight during the AAR was that Australia has many fantastic aviation museums.

Large, small, or somewhere in between, they are troves of history to visit and enjoy.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Aerospace_museums_in_Australia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Railway_museums_in_Australia

 

When I was in Perth in the mid-80's I found a great train museum.

https://www.railheritagewa.org.au/

And I visited the Aviation Heritage Museum in Bull Creek.

https://www.railheritagewa.org.au/

 

It was enjoyable to talk with like minded train or plane enthusiasts no matter where I was in the world.