FlyingVizsla Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Just returned from Monto. What a turn out and what a venue! We arrived Friday afternoon and (due to work commitments) had to leave just after lunch on Sunday. Met up with other Kara builders/owners, friends, locals etc. Could have stayed longer. Unfortunately with the short notice we couldn't arrange work to stay longer, and three friends and planes who were intending to come, didn't for varying reasons, but swear they will be there next year. It did get REALLY COLD overnight, so perhaps those of us coming by road or with planes with grunt & luggage area could help out some who might otherwise be sleeping under a tarp. There was nothing at the Rec Flying spot - so again - perhaps we should volunteer to set up and man a Meet-n-Greet spot for Forumites and not leave it to Management. All said it was FANTASTIC! Anyone with pictures and stories - post here now! Sue Still on a high
Spin Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Thanks Sue, had been wondering how it had all gone. Interesting your comment about offering to carry camping gear up, I posted more than a month ago that I would be going up alone in a car and could take up bags or tents for anyone in SEQ - and received not a single message. At the end of the day the lack of commitment to anyone else made it easy to pull the pin when my wife's car suddenly packed in on Thursday. I could have made another plan for her, but it was just easier not to. Sad to hear about the Rec Flying site, although that is possibly a reflection of the relative rush in organisation - something to remember for next year I guess, AND caps for id-ing each other! I'm sure though that a hint from management would have resulted in people offering to assist - I was looking for a way to get involved. Maybe next time a register of volunteers could be compiled up front, other events do it that way, publicise it on the advertising posters when they go out and a follow up on this site? Anyhow, good to hear there was a decent turnout - may it go from strength to strength.
JG3 Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Yes, the RAAus Northern FlyIn was excellent! A good turn-out of just the right sort of flyers for really interesting visiting. An excellent venue of a country airstrip, with the catering by local service clubs. All home cooking, and the proceeds to good causes. There was hot soup until late, provided by the P&C of a school with only 46 students, and desperately trying to earn the funds to keep the school open. I really like to be able to help support such efforts! Several big open fires with heaps of good firewood provided. If the conversation turned to politics or some such boring trivia, then just move to another fire to find airplane talk. We'll all look forward to it again next year. JG
Spin Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Oh, and photos - lots of photos for those of us who missed out:question:
Tomo Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Thanks Sue, was just about to start up a thread! Sorry to miss you, I was there most of the day Saturday - flew up in the J120. I had a brilliant time, with lots of great memories and experiences squeezed into one day! Met up with most of you I think - Slarti, Yenn, Metalman, Gundy, Winsor, and quite a few others also on the forums, sorry I forget your usernames! But you know who you are :thumb_up: Went for a fly in Garry Morgans Blue Sierra with his son Tim, was fantastic - you'll hear more about it in the next little while no doubt! ============ Ok, so this is how it sorta went.... Woke up and drove into town (30min trip). Checked out the aircraft, packed up, and started up - fired up first pop! Current outside temperature was -1 degree. Departed cct area in Dalby at precisely 7am tracking north. 1hr and 24minutes later was joining midfield x wind, 34 Monto. Had a 10kt tail wind all the way there. (nil wind on the ground at that stage, hence the reason 34 was in use). Base, final... all going perfect, great air - smooth, aiming point 3 rd line in... full flap, solid 65kts and complete glide approach. About 100agl I threw it into a side slip with the sudden plan of landing on the piano keys - don't ask me why I suddenly thought it a good idea - but later it turned out to be! Flared... held off... off....off... oh that's right we aren't a tail drager! Anyway, did a reasonable touch down with the stall horn squawking, nose wheel probably 3ft off the deck! Promptly lowered nosewheel to the deck, and applied brake - had about a second of it, then bang! The lever went all very loose, and the aircraft suddenly realized it was free... Quickly assessed remaining runway length and made a point where I would hit the power and take off. I zig zagged from one side to the other trying to slow down - which it did do to an extent, passed the point of take off.... ok so the slashed grass on the side was the last resort as friction, I would have switch off the engine if I used it just incase of a pot hole, didn't want a prop strike! For those that know 34 at Monto would realize it's all downhill too! Turned around at the end, going... well, wouldn't want to be any faster! and back tracked back up the hill to the parking spot. After we parked I found the right hand brake line broken off at the wheel, Mmm... interesting I thought, so I pulled the wheel spat off, and the brake caliper fell to the ground!! The "T" plate that holds it to the leg had broken off. Which is extremely surprising considering the thickness of it. And another surprising thing is that it just sat there, and didn't jam and lock the wheel up, or put a hole in the spat! The aircraft had had a pretty hard landing a week or so before on a training flight apparently, so it makes me wonder if the caliper actually hit the deck and consequently fractured it... dunno. It was all good fun, amazing how you come up with ideas when you need to. I can tell you the runout after landing a jabiru as slow as you can into a 10kt headwind still rolls a long way! I know cause I had to do it coming back home! I should add also, thanks a lot to the Unicom guy for coming over and checking if all was ok after parking, and for helping make the backtrack and departure doable without rolling into the fence at the end (was downhill), and other aircraft. Extremely appreciated. Thanks guys. Departed at 3.28pm - 28 minutes later than I planned But it was a great flight back, even with a 15kt head wind for the first half, then it dropped back to only 10kts - we made the 136nm in 1hr and 33minutes. Eww... sorry that all got a bit long didn't it! Here are the photo's - [ATTACH]10999.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]10991.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]10997.vB[/ATTACH] Aircoupe - two of them were there on Saturday. [ATTACH]10992.vB[/ATTACH] Not many there first thing Saturday, was a very pleasant arrival. [ATTACH]10996.vB[/ATTACH] The reason for the grand arrival! [ATTACH]11007.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]10990.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11004.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]10993.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]10994.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11002.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]10995.vB[/ATTACH] A zig... or was that zag? [ATTACH]11001.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11005.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]10989.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11006.vB[/ATTACH] Over head Dalby [ATTACH]11000.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]10998.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11003.vB[/ATTACH] Departing - the Unicom tower ^ the above are compliments of my brother and his camera ^ More of mine coming - soon
dazza 38 Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 I would have loved to have been there.But being self employed, i had a job i just had to take.Next year
Spin Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Yep, compliments to Tomo's brother, thanks for posting, looks great:clap:
Guest Andys@coffs Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Tracey and I flew up from Grafton Saturday morning for a 3:10 flight. Going to the west of the gold coast in G class airspace and then up the islands to the east of Brisbane was simply magnificent. Monto itself was a good flyin, At breakfast we heard that about 150 planes had overnighted, and the bus driver on Saturday night told us that about 300 aircraft had flown in on Saturday. However the one downside was the cold overnight, I awoke to find abount 1/2cm of frost on the elevators of the J230. Being a pain to start in cold meant that the J230 wasnt at all keen to start at 11am for the trip home. We went home via Bundy, 2 reasons, $2.40 per litre for Avgas was 1 reason and the second was that as a Jab owner its almost sacriligous to have not been to bundy. South from Bundy was slow going with a 15-25kt head wind and a bit of scud avoidance was required. All in all, a fantastic time and likely that I'll be back again next time for what will surely become a recuring event, rather that just a one time experiment. Andy
Tomo Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Here are some of mine... starting off with..... [ATTACH]11028.vB[/ATTACH] Slarti... [ATTACH]11008.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11023.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11012.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11009.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11026.vB[/ATTACH] David and Tim in the Sierra [ATTACH]11016.vB[/ATTACH] Gundy's pride and joy - check out the paint work... fantastic! [ATTACH]11031.vB[/ATTACH] Quite a few turning up [ATTACH]11018.vB[/ATTACH] Lovely Spitfire [ATTACH]11022.vB[/ATTACH] Sierra [ATTACH]11024.vB[/ATTACH] Again... [ATTACH]11032.vB[/ATTACH] Superb view [ATTACH]11019.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11015.vB[/ATTACH] Reg's Savvy [ATTACH]11029.vB[/ATTACH] Yenn about to take off [ATTACH]11010.vB[/ATTACH] Yenn's camp [ATTACH]11017.vB[/ATTACH] Gundy's again [ATTACH]11011.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11014.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11020.vB[/ATTACH] My brother scored a ride in a Sportstar [ATTACH]11027.vB[/ATTACH] RG Tecnam [ATTACH]11030.vB[/ATTACH] Sierra view [ATTACH]11013.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11025.vB[/ATTACH] Need I say more? [ATTACH]11021.vB[/ATTACH] Piper Sport Hope you enjoy
dazza 38 Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Tracey and I flew up from Grafton Saturday morning for a 3:10 flight. Going to the west of the gold coast in G class airspace and then up the islands to the east of Brisbane was simply magnificent. Monto itself was a good flyin, At breakfast we heard that about 150 planes had overnighted, and the bus driver on Saturday night told us that about 300 aircraft had flown in on Saturday. However the one downside was the cold overnight, I awoke to find abount 1/2cm of frost on the elevators of the J230. Being a pain to start in cold meant that the J230 wasnt at all keen to start at 11am for the trip home. We went home via Bundy, 2 reasons, $2.40 per litre for Avgas was 1 reason and the second was that as a Jab owner its almost sacriligous to have not been to bundy. South from Bundy was slow going with a 15-25kt head wind and a bit of scud avoidance was required. All in all, a fantastic time and likely that I'll be back again next time for what will surely become a recuring event, rather that just a one time experiment. Andy Hi Andy, im glad, you enjoyed the scenic views around the Gold Coast, and the Islands.Sounds like you flew up Numinbah valley.Did you go inland from murwillumba?Very scenic around here.Im glad you guys enjiyed yourselves.
Bernie Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 miss by that much Hi Tomo didnt know it was you till winsor told me, I was in the Cessna beside your Jab. Next time "A". Bernie
Tomo Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Hey good stuff Bernie, well we did speak briefly!! :thumb_up:
winsor68 Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Hey Bernie... Tomo... Bernie heard me mention that the photos would be great for the forums... He was standing next to me as you taxied the Jabiru out for departure. And here's a photo.... Tomo and his brother departs Monto.
winsor68 Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Trip report? This could be a motorcycling report or a flying report. Ok... Original plan was for the whole family... Mrs and kid, brother-in-law and his Mrs... but as the date loomed closer the women folk had a change of heart after realising that Monto at this time of year would be a little cold... So the brother-in-law and I took our motorcycles for a boys adventure... my GSX750f and Bill on his Triumph Speedmaster. Left about 1030am Friday from Mackay in what we thought would be nice mild weather... Didn't get more than 100kms before I was regretting leaving my warmest jacket and my beanie behind. At every stop when we mentioned we were going to Monto people told us how cold it would be... Stopped in Rockampton and visited the sister-in-law... Headed from Rocky to Dululu via Mount Morgan. Beautiful country to ride through.... unfortunately within an hour of leaving Rocky we were freezing to death. The sun disappeared in a snap just as we arrived in Dululu so stopped at the pub for dinner and set up a rough camp in the park around the corner for a cold night... And I mean COLD!!! Up with the sun Saturday morning and camp packed it was back on the bikes for a quick run into Monto from the north... Unfortunately within 10 minutes of leaving I was riding behind Bill and thinking "My gear lever has snapped off!!! When did that happen?" Fortunately Bill stopped and I realised my hands were frozen... the gear lever was fine I just couldn't feel my fingers... lol After warming our hands on the motors of our bike it was a slow trip to Biloela to keep the wind chill down. The brother-in-law raised my spirits with the prospect of a nice breakfast at Biloela but sadly for a lovely town like it is... no roadhouse. So a quick refuel and a pie and we were back on the road for the last leg. The excitement was building for me and the body was slowly thawing after we topped the last range into Monto so time to put the head down and push the GSX to Vne. This really is a nice ride if anyone has a bike and gets up this way... BUT... Do it in the summer or have plenty of warm gear. I was riding along and thinking ..... "Now I understand why people get heated grips as an option on motorcycles" Being a north Qld rider only I had never understood this. Just the day before we saw a couple on Harley Cruisers with the fairings/stereo/heater/trailer. The women was wearing leather chaps with all the fancy trimming and bro-n-law and I shared a chuckle... Well let me tell you I would have taken this womens chaps and heated Harley at gunpoint by the next morning quite happily...lol Finally arrived in Monto about 9.30... and it was all happening. Aircraft everywhere and more arriving. Had a great weekend but bloody froze...The days were fine but was in the warm(ish) sleeping back by 8.00pm on Saturday night because it was too cold to be anywhere else. That is what you get for travelling by bike and not being able to carry too much gear. Original plan was to depart late Sunday arvo or early Monday morning but due to cold we decided to leave at midday on Sunday and get back to the warmer coast while the day still held some heat. The ride home was brilliant... one of those unforgettable trips that anyone who rides would be able to relate to... The weather was great (not too cold) and the roads were just made for motorcycling... Were having such a great ride we decided to press on and arrived home about 7.30pm last night (sunday) frozen again after the last hour and a half in the dark on the bike but very satisfied with a great weekend. My impressions of the flying? I really thought it was great... the airfield and facilities were great. For such a small community Monto has a brilliant airfield. If only every small town had one of these!!!! The food was great... plentiful and affordable. I had dinner on Saturday sitting with the crew from Raglan Station... they mentioned that at Raglan they had the BIG bonfire because if you kept people warm they would stay up and socialize... this is the only area I feel they could have improved. More open fires... there were only the 2 at the eating area and although they were big and good... another half a dozen of these would have made for a more pleasant atmosphere for me. Will definately be there next year... hopefully will be flying in next time... Winsor68
Tomo Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Fantastic report Winsor :thumb_up: Loved it... great pic's of us too! :big_grin:
Guest milton56 Posted June 14, 2010 Posted June 14, 2010 What a great flyin. I came over from Calliope on Saturday morning with a mate and about half way we noticed very little radio calls from Monto area! We both thought, mmmm there doesn't seem to be alot of traffic about, then about 10 minutes later the radio became alive with aircraft heading to Monto. It was good to see all the Savannahs there, I'm a savvy owner ha ha. We could only stay for the day but it was great and thanks to all who organised the event. The RAAUS girls were doing a great job as usual. I was going to post some pictures but Tomo has covered that. Milton56:clap:
Guest Maj Millard Posted June 14, 2010 Posted June 14, 2010 Great shots Tomo and Windsor and all, Sort of like being there. Nice final shot on 34 Tomo, and good shots of you and bro getting ready for departure, (even if he does look like a drug dealer !!). I particulary enjoyed the shots of the following : Drifters over by the fence, Yenns Starlet, Red Lightwing speed, the amphibs from Brazil, the new Savvy XLs and the new blue Cheetah. And OH that Spitfire...if only !!!.................................................Maj...
winsor68 Posted June 14, 2010 Posted June 14, 2010 Aircraft of particular note for me... The beautiful QuicksilverGT500 - absolutely immaculate condition, The Sonerai 2l- Lovely workmanship, A new Wayne Fisher, and beautifully presented blue and white Karatoo. I met the gentlemen who was the original constructor of Yenn's Corby... Interesting fellow. He was visiting with his former baby... Told me it was the airframe was the best built Corby in the world... lol and that it flew absolutely true...
Guest Andys@coffs Posted June 14, 2010 Posted June 14, 2010 So they say that a picture tells a thousand words... So here's what my Elevator looked like at 7:30am on Sunday morning. [ATTACH]11079.vB[/ATTACH] And here I am about an hour later wondering how I was going to start that bl**dy 3300 behind me [ATTACH]11080.vB[/ATTACH] Fortunately, as the previous poster had suggested, the little drive around portable battery that comes complete with an assistant came to the rescue, however even though the beast was much quicker to turn over than just on internal battery alone (which is very close to end of life) it still took a couple of turns to make it go. As to the route, used as per Dazza' question, not sure of the Valley names, but in effect I flew over Murwullimbah then direct Hecks Field via the 2500 and then 1500ft CTA control steps. From there across to Stradie and then Morton up to Tangalooma, and across to Landsborough and then to Gympie- Monto. On the way back had to swing east towards the coast to go around a SHRA over Murwullimbah and then various directions to Lismore avoiding the rainfalls on the way, After Lismore it cleared back to Grafton where all was going well until touch down where a flock of ducks, didn't, on the roll out and I saw first hand just how dangerous a rotating prop can be. Fortunately for the prop it was just at idle and there doesnt appear to be any damage, the same cannot be said for the 2 halves of the pigeon or the duck that didnt, requiring trips on foot out to clear the carnage for the next plane. As this is a family site photos werent appropriate just south of Hecks field there appeared to be a small plane airport near Southport. Does anyone know what the go with that airport is? Is it RAA friendly and can people tie down there? Its quite close to surfers and if we wanted a weekend away seemed to be very close to everything. Its listed in ERSA as Southport but there is a bit at the bottom that says no public or commercial ops so was wondering if it can be flown into or not? Regards Andy
horsefeathers Posted June 14, 2010 Posted June 14, 2010 Hey Windsor - great foto of my wife and dog in your large photo set, BTW (16247d1276468406-monto-2010-raaus-northern-flyin-100_1894.jpg) First fly-in for me, and the community spirit was wonderful - took us about 4 hours just to get out of the camping grounds to look at the parked aircraft, as everybody was so friendly and chatty. BIG thumbs up to organisers - great time - but perhaps next time, they could remember to turn the heater in the sky on full!!!
HEON Posted June 14, 2010 Posted June 14, 2010 Returned yesterday after attending. Impressions; 1.Results for the first one...very good 2.Local involvement terrific 3.Hats of to the Nursing home food supply outlet (co-located with bar) 4.Grog prices reasionable Improvements needed 1. MORE fires to stand around in the evening 2. Better toilets/showers MAJOR BITCH...AIRCRAFT PARKING After arriving with nearly 5hr flying in a Drifter (thus cool&tied) was greeted very well by the tower who told me to follow a "follow me vehicle". From then on it went down hill rapidly. They did not listen to you; would not let me park to find ones friends before being direction to an overnight park; would not allow a choice of parking even where there were other locations available; changed their mind frequently as to where to park even after what I thought an location was agreed apon; no one was available to co-ordinate and/or make decisions etc etc. Result was I was stuffed around for over an hour because I wanted to be close to my friends who were told they could not keep a spot for me when they arrived ALTHOUGH THE AIRCRAFT NEXT TO A MATE WAS ALLOWED TO KEEP A SPOT FOR HIS FRIEND who had not even taken off from Bundaberg when I had allready arrived there. I was tied, very angry, and even on being directed to the third location which had been agreed to (after waiting outside the area twice) "THEY" tried to change the position AGAIN as I moved to it. By then, being tied, angry, and very frustrated, I very nearly hit another aircraft. This was my error NOT ASSISTED BY BEING MUCKED ABOUT BY SO MANY FOR SO LONG. If I had enough daylight I would have left prior to this to return home as I was so upset. My weekend was effectively spoilt, and my friends effected. I know most are volunteers but they are surely there to help, not hinder and act like the reincarnation of Starlin? I will note there was only one aircraft arriving with me, and no more than five in the next hour.
winsor68 Posted June 14, 2010 Posted June 14, 2010 just south of Hecks field there appeared to be a small plane airport near Southport. Does anyone know what the go with that airport is? Is it RAA friendly and can people tie down there? Its quite close to surfers and if we wanted a weekend away seemed to be very close to everything. Its listed in ERSA as Southport but there is a bit at the bottom that says no public or commercial ops so was wondering if it can be flown into or not? Regards Andy This sounds like Southport Flying Club... very exclusive. Far too expensive for mere mortals... Its where the rich retirees and other Gold Coast success stories keep there private aircraft. I had the privilege of visiting a few times many years ago with a former member who kept a SuperCub on site and the membership fees even back then were something horrendous... I can't say with any authority but did get the definite impression it was very much a private strip for members and their guests.
winsor68 Posted June 14, 2010 Posted June 14, 2010 Returned yesterday after attending.Impressions; 1.Results for the first one...very good 2.Local involvement terrific 3.Hats of to the Nursing home food supply outlet (co-located with bar) 4.Grog prices reasionable Improvements needed 1. MORE fires to stand around in the evening 2. Better toilets/showers MAJOR BITCH...AIRCRAFT PARKING After arriving with nearly 5hr flying in a Drifter (thus cool&tied) was greeted very well by the tower who told me to follow a "follow me vehicle". From then on it went down hill rapidly. They did not listen to you; would not let me park to find ones friends before being direction to an overnight park; would not allow a choice of parking even where there were other locations available; changed their mind frequently as to where to park even after what I thought an location was agreed apon; no one was available to co-ordinate and/or make decisions etc etc. Result was I was stuffed around for over an hour because I wanted to be close to my friends who were told they could not keep a spot for me when they arrived ALTHOUGH THE AIRCRAFT NEXT TO A MATE WAS ALLOWED TO KEEP A SPOT FOR HIS FRIEND who had not even taken off from Bundaberg when I had allready arrived there. I was tied, very angry, and even on being directed to the third location which had been agreed to (after waiting outside the area twice) "THEY" tried to change the position AGAIN as I moved to it. By then, being tied, angry, and very frustrated, I very nearly hit another aircraft. This was my error NOT ASSISTED BY BEING MUCKED ABOUT BY SO MANY FOR SO LONG. If I had enough daylight I would have left prior to this to return home as I was so upset. My weekend was effectively spoilt, and my friends effected. I know most are volunteers but they are surely there to help, not hinder and act like the reincarnation of Starlin? I will note there was only one aircraft arriving with me, and no more than five in the next hour. Thanks for making the effort. If it's any consolation your Fisher912 was one of the nicest machines there IMO. I did notice some parking congestion in the aircraft camping area... perhaps more volunteers next year will help improve this.
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