On the 4th of September 2010, Grant & Steve from the Plane Crazy Down Under Podcast (found at www.planecrazydownunder.com) published their latest episode, featuring an interview with none other than ME!!
Here's the link to their website: CLICK HERE Here's the link to download the episode as an MP3: RIGHT CLICK HERE & LEFT CLICK ON 'SAVE LINK AS' (You'll catch my interview at the 1hr 12min mark & goes for about 20mins) We talk about my progress, what my plans are, selling the house to fund the endeavour, among other things...
So we (the wife & I) were supposed to leave Toowoomba on Monday the 23rd of August, however the weather gods were not forthcoming & delayed us by a day... so off we went on the 24th of August!
Originally I'd planned on us flying to a place called Arkaroola in the northern Flinders ranges. Unfortunately due to the time we ended up departing, a 30 knot headwind & there not being any runway lighting at Arkaroola, I altered plans & we stopped in at Tibooburra for the night instead. I'd already planned to refuel at Tibooburra, organising that about a month in advance, due to the remote location.
After preflight, planning & flight notification, we took off from Toowoomba, headed for St George. One of my goals on this trip was not to rely on autopilot & GPS, as I was to be building experience for my CPL, as such I hand flew & dead reckoned to St George, needing a 1 in 60 along the way due to different than forcast winds. After overflying St George I took up course for Cunnamulla, following the VOR from about 50nm out of Cunnamulla.
We refueled in Cunnamulla... that's a story in itself: in order to get fuel one must call the people to come & refuel us. That's all well & good, except that the airport is unmanned usually & there is no public phone at the airport. So what's the problem I hear you ask, use your mobile... ahh yes. If my mobile was on the Telstra network, that wouldn't have been a problem... but alas (at that stage) I was with Optus. I walked around until I found 'the' place that I got 1 bar of coverage, & got through! Fuel price in Cunnamulla wasn't too bad, not that much more than Toowoomba.
After departing & tracking out on the VOR for Tibooburra, I dead reckoned but used the GPS to make sure we were on track. This part of Australia is considered 'remote area' and as such required me to plan & carry 'survival equipment', which included: enough water for all on board for a few days, a large tarp (silver), ropes & pegs, rations, sleeping bags, and a first aid kit. The plane also was equipt with an ELB (Electronic Locating Beacon), hence I didn't want to take any chances with navigation fopars enroute.
The landing at Tibooburra was a little hairy... quite the crosswind.
Here we rested from the day's flight at the Tibooburra Hotel. The locals were very friendly & let me tell you, the meal was the best restraunt food we had for the whole trip.
I'll post day 2 in the next couple of days. This may also include a few 4X4 clips around Arkaroola!
Hi all aircraft owners ( including helicopters) and pilots........I am new to this wonderful web site and congratulate Michael and his wife on the excellent job they have done and continue to do.....I have been involved as a Broker and Underwriter , in the general aviation insurance field for over 50 years in this great country of ours. I am now semi retired but miss the hustle and bustle and competition of the insurance game. If any of you want to have a chat at any time you can contact me on 07 3342 7855 or 0413339966 or e mail gforsaith@optusnet.com.au or Skype Goomfer
It's been a while since I last posted, I have been slowly ticking over the hours and experience to reach GFPT level, looking at my logbook, I have already logged 41 hours before my GFPT.
Went out again this afternoon in PFT to further familiarize myself with the aircraft systems. Got most of the radio work under par so all good in that retrospect. Performed some wing overs, stalls, and some high angle turns to ensure that I can do these to PPL standard. No problem there. Played around with the autopilot which was fun. Came back for a full stop landing. Managed to do that fairly well. I think just another hour or so and I will have it right down packed. The heaver aircraft obviously needs to be flared differently with its greater inertia and approach characteristics.
I am a 19 year old student studying Pharmacy at James Cook University, Townsville. I have a great passion for aviation and began my flying at 17 in our family's RAA registered aircraft (Savannah VG) were I obtained my pilot certificate, with passenger and cross country endorsements.
