TomPenDragon

FS9.

How's Molly doing? How was her birthday?

One last thing: Attached are the source files for the Timing&Scoring spreadsheets used during the Gaggle, which are: GAAGLB - The Leaderboard GAAGSG - The Spotters' Guide I use LibreOffice, so the original formats are .ods. I've also converted them to Excel (.xlsx). GAAGSource.zip

Let me jump in and take the first shot at PRT. Nearly everything. I really like this form of Timing and Scoring - it's as fair as an honor system can be, is auto-handicapping (no need to adjust scores for competition's sake), and is quite easy to maintain using the spreadsheets Melo and I developed. I had my reservations about the length and the multi-race format, but I think it worked out quite well in the end. I don't think doing just the Combined would have worked out, at least not in GA aircraft. The DU "radio broadcasts" were a completely different style of writing for me. I've never been good at meeting deadlines, but the DU forced me to develop a writing discipline that I've never had before. I really liked the role. I think I prefer Free-Flying over having to set times or keep to a route. I think I actually flew more than I would have had I been racing. When I left Lock Haven, the Saratoga had 15 hours on the Hobbs. I looked at it this morning and it had 243. And that's not counting the time I spent sailing or in other aircraft. And I still have to fly Sara back to Lock Haven. Mainly, though, what worked was the people flying the GAAG. The discipline that all of you showed in your Timing PM's made maintaining the spreadsheet almost effortless. Your great stories and scuttlebutt filled the DU every single day, to the point that I wasn't able to develop Claudine's and Elias' stories the way I would have liked (but don't worry, I've got plans for the both of them) or complete the interview series. UnVOZ. I spent enough time in IT to be of the religion, "Jesus Saves, coz he uses Microsoft," so I faithfully backed up my entire Scenery, Addon Scenery, and Texture directories before installing VOZ. I changed texture areas in VOZ a couple dozen times in the nearly 2 months I've spent here, and I noticed that sometimes it took a scenery backup before changing sets. This morning, first it told me that I couldn't UnVOZ because it wasn't installed, then after VOZing to the Northern texture set it told me that it UnVOZ'd correctly but did nothing. I restored from my backups and so far everything looks fine. Should that change, I'll let you know. The length of the race, both in distance and in time, were daunting. In my unique position in the Gaggle, it oftentimes felt like a full-time job. I'm feeling a bit exhausted now and I'm reminded that I'm way too much of a huevón to work so hard. I do like these grand, monthlong-plus endurance events. I'd just like some time before the next one. Maybe we could hold 3-4 major Gaggles throughout the year, spaced 3-4 months apart, with smaller events or Fly-In Challenges in between. If you'll have me and if RL circumstances permit, I'd like to reprise my role as TSO and Radio Chachapoya. Yeah, it was tough, but a whole lot of fun, too.

We have one last item of business for this Gaggle: Post-Race Tech (another Radio Lemans thing). Before discussing the next event, let me ask three questions: What "worked" for you about the GAAG? What didn't work for you? What would you like to see next time out? My original thought (back in January) was to set up a separate thread for Post-Race Tech, but I think we can handle it here in the FBO, unless anyone has any objections. Let's keep this discussion brief - weigh in by your end-of-day Sunday the 3rd, if you have an opinion. Then I'd like to keep the FBO open during the return flights of those who choose to do them and open up The Next Challenge to figure out what we're doing next. Thanks!

Good morning everybody! Thank you all so much for a Gaggle that far exceeded my wildest expectations!! You made Timing & Scoring easy, and the Daily Update a pleasure to write. It feels weird to log on and not immediately start scouring the FBO for material for it and checking my PM's for timings. For those who have had kind words for the Updates throughout the Gaggle, thank you so much! Those sustained me on those rough days when I was tired and RW pressures forced me to "do the show" in a rush. Who knows where we'll go from here? But where we've been has been pretty damned special. Thank you for that, guys!

The Daily Update (Cue “She Sells Sanctuary”) EP: “Hello and welcome to our final Daily Update. It is now the 29th of February, 2024 back home. I’m Elias Pacheco for Radio Chachapoya, Claus Ullrich, and the magnificent team from Piper’s Performance Planes. Their Howard 500, that Bill Piper the Fourth procured for the division as an inspiration, is all packed and ready to go. I’ve spent the morning dealing with the airport, the caterers, and the headlining band. It’s been raining on and off all week, but the skies over Cairns cleared just about an hour ago. “So, thinking that Melo might need a ride from Darwin to Cairns, or at least using that as an excuse, I’ve got Sara up for one last Australian cross-country. I realized that I was only getting in everybody’s way anyway. Rodg Carter from Cezium gave me a not-so-gentle nudge out the door when he told me that they’d have something for me to look over in about eight hours or so. That’s about the time it’d take to get the Saratoga to YPDN and back. And if I’m not in an aeroplane, I’d just be fidgeting. “On the 7th of December of last year, ViperPilot2 reopened, ‘The Next Challenge.’ The next day, at 20:20, he said, ‘There's been some murmuring about a possible Australia Air Rally, recreating the 1976 Route.’ Rather fateful words, I must say. During that month, Club Chachapoya members settled on a re-creation of the ‘76 and merged it with the backcourse of a route proposed by AirBasil_1 to form a 25-leg, 3,500-mile long behemoth we called the Combined. They even developed scenery for places in which there were no airports, such as Caiguna. “Behind the scenes, Melo and I developed the Leaderboard and the Spotters’ Guide spreadsheets with the goal of providing maximum flexibility to the timed participants. They could run the ‘76 as a standalone race, run the Eastern standalone in a different aircraft, or run the whole, 3,500-mile Combined Route. They could even set a time for the ‘76, switch planes for the Eastern, and then go back and complete the Combined in their ‘76 entry. “The planning thread was so active that I could not systematize the Rules until the weekend before the race. I was in the air already, having left Cuernavaca in a Seneca II on New Year’s Day, and having picked up the Saratoga from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, for a flight to Goose Bay, Canada, with the Piglets’ Howard in tow. “I wasn’t the only one flying from my home airport to the Gaggle’s starting point in Perth. jgf flew his Staggerwing from Cleveland to Australia, flying against the wind and milking the last iota of fuel mileage out of his Beech in the process. Bossspecops set out from EGDF – Dean Forest – on the Severn, heading east. “Other aircraft rode in style. defaid was in Toronto for AirBasil_1’s fly-in challenge. The aircraft that he had chosen for the Gaggle, a 1979 Piper Arrow T-Tail, was in Cardiff. He, dj, and his crew loaded themselves into a C-130, flew it to Scotland, loaded the Arrow onto the transport, and flew the rest of the way to Australia. An Archangel conveyed VP2 to Australia. He and his Lady flew in a C-17 and a senryú. And a flight from Bremerton to Williams Lake in his Chipmunk disabused Melo of the notion of flying it to Perth. He prevailed on some friends of his in the military to give him and his Chippie a lift to Darwin, took forever to get his aircraft repainted, and then flew his race plane down the coast to Jandakot. Although not entirely, as fuel system problems forced him to change Chipmunks along the way. “Others either lived in Australia or got themselves to Perth, and picked up their planes in-country. ScottishMike found a nice Mooney, Tao a Twin Comanche, JSMR a Cessna Centurion, and MAD1 a 182RG. PhrogPhlyer obtained both helicopter and ‘76 race pilot from the RAAF. “AirBasil’s company sent down a Citation air ambulance. They and the Royal Flying Doctor Service watched over us. Fortunately, their services were never needed. “And then there were those who wished they could have joined us. Sirrus had planned to, but had to have major surgery and is now on the slow but sure path to recovery. He followed the goings-on of the race from the FBO, and has recently felt up to posting. Hopefully he can join us for our next major event. And Rupert’s wife, Molly, unfortunately fell ill, and he had to care for her. He kept up with us as he could. At last report, Molly was on the mend and looking forward to celebrating her 80th in February. Happy birthday, Molly! “As the start of the race approached, most of the participants spent their days testing and surveying. Many also worked on turning Caiguna into a usable airstrip. If only it had had a usable restaurant… “Before we knew it, Race Day was upon us. defaid and dj were the first to start. They were quickly followed by Bosss, ScottishMike, and VP2. A new publication sprang up around the race: Chachapoya Chronicle helped us to get to know the places in which we were flying with a personal heart and exquisite prose. “Just a couple of days into the Gaggle, we realized that the thread structure wasn’t working for us. So we changed it. “It was around that time that signs of strain began to show in ScottishMike’s Mooney. What was supposedly an academic mission by his sponsors soon revealed itself to be something else. The something else ended up with the suspicious death of one of his passengers and the disappearance of the other, and a mystery involving a triangular formation of cairns by a hole, close to where the man died. “It wasn’t until five days into the race that the paint finally dry enough on Melo’s Chipmunk for him to fly out of Darwin toward Perth. “Some entrants flew in spurts, several legs and then spent some time in a place. Others did one leg at a time. Captain Dirk Doovalacky started for the PhrogPhlyers, as did MAD1 and jsmr. Tao and jgf enjoyed just flying along, keeping pace with the racers without the hassle of timing. “This is endurance air racing in classic aircraft. Some teams had mechanical problems. The PhrogPhlyers were the first, with a tail rotor gearbox failure that fortunately they caught on the ground. The Bosss and his Sealand were grounded in Warrnambool with control issues. A 70-year-old radio correspondent had his medical temporarily pulled. “Despite their problems, the PhrogPhlyers were the first to finish the 1976 Australian Air Race, on the 1st of February. Their CV of 7 proved vulnerable, however; they finished the 1976 in last place. Eleven days later, defaid and dj finished with a -2. Two days after that, ScottishMike finished with a +2. On that same day, Melo won the race by finishing with a 0. “defaid and ScottishMike sat 2 and 3 on the podium for six more days, but then the Bosss and VP2 both finished with 0’s to share the silver, send defaid down to bronze, and knock ScottishMike off of the podium altogether. And on the 21st, JSMR took the bronze with a 1. “By this time, jgf had already nearly completed a circumnavigation of all of Australia. “PhrogPhlyer flew a Vampire on the Eastern Route, finishing with a -20. Frustrated by this, he took the controls of his team’s Bell 206 and won the Combined on the 23rd with a CV of 0. On that same day, Melo ran the Eastern in a Canberra, setting a -2 that was all the more impressive because it had to be quite a change from the Chipmunk. VP2 finished the Eastern with a +2 two days later in The Lady, which added to his +1 to Coff’s Harbour gave him a +3 for the Combined. “After his co-second-place finish in the ‘76 in his Sealand, the Bosss decided that he would complete a circumnavigation with it, and while that was being fitted with additional tankage for the longest leg of his planned Pacific crossing, Free-Fly the Eastern Route, switching seaplanes at each port. He made it as far as Rockhampton, where his Russian Beriev would fly no more. Added to that, he was told that there were major issues with his Sealand. He was stranded and needed a lift from ScottishMike and his flying companion, Suzanne to get to Cairns. “This just in: Club Chachapoya’s 2024 Great Australian Air Gaggle is officially over! It has now passed midnight in the UK, and since the last remaining racers were from there, we can now release the final results: “On the third step of the podium for the Eastern Route are the PhrogPhlyers with a -20. They win $6,250. On the second step is ViperPilot2, finishing on the 25th with a +2. He wins $12,500. And on the top step, winning the Eastern overall, is Melo965, finishing on the 23rd with a -2. He takes home $25,000, which added to his first-place winnings from the 1976 Australian Air Race gives him a total of $50,000 for the Gaggle. “Now for the Combined, winning the Silver is ViperPilot2, with a +3. He takes home $25,000 for second place – since there was no third-place finisher, the $10,000 prize for the Bronze is split evenly between the other two finishers. And the PhrogPhlyers take home the Gold with their perfect CV set on the 23rd, and $45,000. “The total winnings for the Gaggle, then, are: “The PhrogPhlyers in first place with $51,250. “Melo965 in second with $50,000. “ViperPilot2, the only team to earn podium finishes in all three events, in third with $43,750. “Bossspecops and JSMR share fourth place with $6,250 each. “And I am so proud to present the Spirit of the Race Award to Bossspecops! “As for your humble correspondent, I am feet-wet on my way home – back to Cairns, sorry – after filling up in Darwin. I’ll see you all at the party in a couple of hours. I had planned to finish my last regular broadcast with some profound words. At this point, I’d settle for some profane ones, yet none come. Maybe I’ll find some by the time I see you in Cairns. Maybe it’ll take a few more days, I don’t know. The final Leaderboard has been tallied; the final Daily Update has now concluded. For now, Sara is humming along at 15,500’ The comm frequencies are quiet; the sun’s going down; it’s just the sound of the engine. “Nothing left to do but fly…”

Nah, you were just hauling *...

Official end of racing in the UK. Official end of the race.

Quick question: Is anybody planning on flying a timed leg today (aside from Melo's 5 minutes, Darwin to Cairns)? If not, we can declare the race over and I'll post the final results in a little while with my last Daily Update. Can we leave this question open for an hour, and if no one says that they're flying timed, the Gaggle will end and the party will begin. Thanks!

Oh, now you tell me!

Already ahead of you... I just saw that episode! And guys, we just hit 1,000 posts!

It's past 21:00 in London. Pop 'em open!

I thought that was you... I'm 50 miles east of YGTE and just heard a boom through the headset that shook the Hell out of the Saratoga. Thanks, I was falling asleep... Now that sounds like a plan. I'm going to leave the FBO open until the last entrant gets home. See you in Cairns in a few hours.

Melo, have you worked out how you're going to get to CaIrns yet? If not, I can give you a lift.

Official end of racing in Perth (AWST).

Yes. Tell me about it! For the past 2 months, I've had this tab open from the time I started my laptop until the time I shut it down: From a practical standpoint, we have three possible choices, from what I can see: Those in AEDT stay on very late (around 23:00 - 00:00), those in North America get on as early as possible (05:00 or earlier for those on the West Coast, which includes the winner of the '76 and, unless someone surprises us today with a run at it, the Eastern as well), and the folks in the UK come on around midday (12:00 - 13:00 or so), on the 1st of March; Those on AEDT get on as early as possible (around 06:00), those in North America get on in the early afternoon (around 14:00 EDT, 11:00 PDT), and those in the UK join us in the evening (around 19:00), on the 2nd of March, Australia, and 1 March, everywhere else, or; Same as 2, only we move it up a day and declare the race over. This depends on whether the Australians are still online, and nobody from elsewhere wants to take a run at the Eastern or Combined today. Iron Maiden landed a little while ago. The caterers are ready. Let me know. It's a good thought, and we have been working behind the scenes to figure out a structure here that is more conducive to our Club format. For now, the closest we can come to "real-time" chat is what we have right here in the FBO. Maybe by our next big event, we'll have something more. We have the last four (the four leftmost) hangars on the GA ramp (left side of the overhead shot). We have a helipad, and airport personnel will provide marshalling and tow services for all of our aircraft. There is a chance that the larger transports may need to park in the Commercial area temporarily, but we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. All landing and tie-down fees have been taken care of. Catering and logistics will be provided by Cezium, which if you remember the end of the Route 66, put out that marvelous spread for more than a week while we waited for the last participants to land. Suffice it to say that they'll have anything you want, and if you want it and they don't have it, they'll make it or get it for you. So your sausage sammies will be just perfect. Funny you mention wet weather. Does Cairns have any dry weather? It's pouring this morning. Yes, we do have hangars, but... ...the roof of the first one is rather leaky.

Official end of racing in Cairns (AEST).

Official end of racing for those in the AEDT time zone.

Elias here. Yeah, the folks in Cairns have been very accommodating, like pretty much everybody I've met here. The Organizing Committee is not one to look a gift hangar in the mouth, so we'll be partying with our aircraft tomorrow night! I can't tell you which band is going to be playing the party, but Tom PenDragon told me to tell the participants to make room on the ramp for a 747-400, tail no. TF-AAK - also called, "Ed Force One."

The Daily Update (Cue “She Sells Sanctuary”) EP: “Hello and welcome to the Update for the 28th of February, 2024. I’m Elias Pacheco for Radio Chachapoya. Dawn has broken on Leap Day in Australia. The end of the Gaggle is here! “Taking a look at our Leaderboard, we can see that not much has happened since yesterday from a Timing and Scoring standpoint. Melo965 has withdrawn from the Combined and has been taken off the board for that race. Bossspecops’ misfortunes continue, so he has been taken off the board for both the Combined and the Eastern Routes. defaid, ScottishMike, and JSMR are still listed as entered, but will be removed from the Eastern and/or the Combined for tomorrow’s Leaderboard if they do not post timings by the time of tomorrow’s broadcast. “There has been some Free-Flying going on, though. taoftedal brought his Twin Comanche from Alice Springs to Cairns. Welcome, sir – it would not be a party without you. I realize I might be a bit… uh… wistful since yesterday, but the end of his PIREP brought a bit of dampness to my eyes. “Suzanne and ScottishMike, meanwhile, have been plane shopping in Brisbaine. What could possibly replace an Aerostar? For those two crazy kids, it’s a Turbine Mallard named, ‘Pearl.’ They were spotted doing a splash-and-go test flight in the Brisbaine area. If they’re planning to join us for the closing celebration, perhaps they could stop by Rockhampton and pick up the Bosss on their way up to Cairns. “And I’ve been sailing a sweet little Sparkman & Stephens New York 55 named, ‘Stormborn.’ around Cairns. Yesterday, I took her around the bay and out to Grafton Point. This morning, I sailed much the same course until Gribble Point, where I ducked into Mission Bay, came as close as I dared to Rocky Island and the salt marsh beyond, rounded Grafton and headed down to Fitzroy Island. I continued south while I went below and had breakfast. Once I went topside again, I turned back toward Fitzroy, on my way back to the marina in Cairns. It’s been rainy, with southerly, light-to-moderate airs. Considering the heat in this part of the country, the rain has been welcome. “The only other thing that’s been going on at the FBO has been a bunch of old gasbags. This differs from every other day at the FBO in that they’re now talking airships. Is there a dirigible race in our future? Only time will tell. “In the meantime, be sure to post your vote for Spirit of the Race to the FBO before end-of-day today. So far, the Bosss has 3, while Melo, PhrogPhlyer, and TomPenDragon have 1 each. “This concludes our Daily Update. I’m Elias Pacheco for Radio Chachapoya, signing off. Have a great flying day.”

A reminder: voting for Spirit of the Race is open. I assume that each nominee has the vote of the person who nominated them; if you wish to change your vote you may do so. The Team PenDragon vote is for Bossspecops. In the endurance racing that I watch, the SOTR most often goes to the team that has faced the most adversity and has never given up. Between the joystick issues and now having to rebuild his simworld pretty much from scratch, the Bosss has epitomized this Spirit. When his rig has been working, he has regaled us with beautiful pictures of a different sort of aircraft for many of us, expertly flown, starting with a quick jaunt from the UK to Australia. Until the most recent, catastrophic failure, he had been planning on turning the Gaggle into a circumnavigation. Hopefully, he'll be able to continue this effort soon.

Don't get me started... whoops, too late.

It's so hard to get published, and it hugely hacks me off that some idiot who forgets to mention such an important part of aviation history gets a contract. A pox on both the writer and the publishing house!