G,Day from Katoomba

[Aussie Steve]

Gday all, good to see that the site has grown lots since I last visited. Looking forward to getting to know some other pilots.

 

 

[Guest David C]

Good to have you aboard . We have a very lively and friendly club at The Oaks , just over the valley from you . Hope to see you soon ..

 

Dave C

 

 

[dreemhi]

Welcome Aussie Steve, whats the flying like up there in that cool mountain air?

 

David

 

 

[Aussie Steve]

Hey guys ! ( Daves) :) I,m very keen to hop on over to you lot. As soon as I get my Cert & then X country I,ll be there ! I have only to sit my BAK and get into the Training Area (solo) so I,m coming to the end of this extrordinary ride, with the real excitment of X Country to come !

 

I have an online aquaintance over there, his name is Martin. I met him thru the "Patricks Aviation" site. I listen to you guys on the radio whilst I,m doing circuits.

 

And to answer your next question (?) yes that was our Jab that made the forced landing in the Hartley valley a couple of weeks ago. My instructor did a good job to get it down. He did say that its amazing how much slower the plane is with out the engine even idling.So remember that when your practising your "Engine Failures" in reality it will sink much faster than in simultion.

 

Cheers Steve

 

 

[Guest Booker YPMQ]

G'day Aussie Steve,

 

I had the pleasure of taking a C172 to Katoomba recently. A very interesting strip to say the least. With the combination of numerous powerlines and a very undulating surface we had our hands full. All turned out fine though. It can be a bugger to get away from though with the local fog hanging around all day. Anyway, glad to see you're on the forums.

 

 

[dlps73]

Hi Aussie Steve,

 

Seeing as your up that neck of the woods, do you know what this is?

 

We saw it last week and though maybe it was crop circles for spatially challenged people.....

 

 

Cheers........Doug

 

 

[Guest David C]

Very interesting ... Looks like the work of Aliens to me . Either that or its a Bantam only airstrip ... Is that the " chicken mans " Jabiru ??? .

 

Dave C

 

 

[Aussie Steve]

Hey Adam, yes our strip is a bit challenging, but really if you dont concentrate on the scary bits too much you dont even see them (power lines) theyre not really a problem on the main runway 06/24. I,ve been doing my shortfield landings over the wires on 28 no probs. I reckon I could land anywhere now. We just dressed the main this arvo.Still a bit undulating, but anyone who uses a bitumen strip regularly would find our strip rough. If you want bush strip practice,come to YKAT.

 

 

[Aussie Steve]

Sorry Doug I dont reconise the area.Looks like someone wants their own golf course eh. :)

 

 

[dlps73]

OK Aussie Steve - Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to determine whether, as Dave suspects, it's the work of aliens (I think we'll forget the Bantam strip bit - Katoomba's a bit to high for Bantams even the chicken type :) ) or as I suspect it's a cunning plot to grow dope (note the clever use of the word plot which can denote a scheme or an area of ground to grow things on - who said ultralight pilots are dumber than GA pilots - actually my brother in law but he's a muppet that flies Pitts Specials so it doesn't count)......

 

Cheers.........Doug

 

 

[Aussie Steve]

Hey Doug I,m looking forward to seeing your Skyranger. I,m seriously considering one with a mate of mine. We had a good look at a VH rego one at Narromine.(See link below) I also took Tony Holthams demo ship for a fly. Nice;)

 

http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2254&stc=1&d=1181040934

 

http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2255&stc=1&d=1181041267

 

Cheers

 

 

[dlps73]

Aussie Steve - the links aren't working for me but I believe the one you are referring to belongs to Greg Robertson. He's also a member of this board.

 

I saw Tony at Narromine as well but he didn't offer me a ride and I'd bought one of his bloody machines!

 

It's quite interesting, the Skyranger has a huge following in Europe >1000 but very few out here. Shame really as it's got some very nice features.

 

Any rate - you're more than welcome to come and have a sticky beak, even while it's being built.

 

Cheers.......Doug

 

 

[Guest pecram air]

My Guess

 

Very interesting ... Looks like the work of Aliens to me . Either that or its a Bantam only airstrip ... Is that the " chicken mans " Jabiru ??? .Dave C

My guess is that its Shipley Plateau, Turn over the railway at Blackheath and follow the road to the end. Nice spot for tea is the Shipley Gallery. The area has some of the mountains most expensive real estate and the area is made up of small acreages. I think you can see the road to Blackheath in bottom left hand corner.

Regards,

 

Phil C.

 

 

[Aussie Steve]

I think your right Phil. Theres a a very popular Hang Glider launch ramp out there at Mt Blackheath.We have to watch out for them on hot days, the valley there is our training area.

 

Doug I dont know what the prob is with the links, they worked fine last night,but not working for me either.I,ll try again.

 

Where are you building the Ranger? I,d love to have peek. Feel free to send me any detail on private msg.

 

I organised well in advance the test flight with Tony. It was very blowy and my left arm was canning from trying to keep the thing S & L.

 

Aussie

 

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/Aussie_Steve01/GASkyranger.jpg

 

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/Aussie_Steve01/100_1777.jpg

 

 

 

 

[dlps73]

Aussie,

 

Pretty sure that's Greg's beast - top bloke too.

 

Don't know where I'm going to build it. I live in a unit and the garages have dismal lighting. I did advertise in the local paper to rent a garage but had no joy.

 

Worst case scenario I'll rent something from Kennards but they're bloody expensive ($550 a month).

 

Whatever happens I'll post the address and you're more than welcome to drop in. I'll probably take some Long Service Leave, at least a month to get started.

 

If people are interested I might even do a weekly report on the forum.

 

Cheers........Doug

 

 

[Admin]

If people are interested I might even do a weekly report on the forum.

Cheers........Doug

Doug - that is a must ;)

 

 

[dlps73]

Damn! - I thought I had a choice....

 

 

[Aussie Steve]

Hey Doug I think it would be cheaper to put some decent lighting in the garage m8. I guy from Wedderburn (Keith Manwaring) built most of his Ranger in his units garage. See link below.

 

http://www.auf.asn.au/constructors/manwaring.html

 

Let me know when you get started, Id be very interested, thx for the invite. We have a STOL Hornet under construction at Katoomba Airfield, its virtually a scratch build job, all metal. A very daunting build, and has stalled for the last 10 mths. The builders have been distracted with the purchase of a brand new J160 and the purchase of a "VERY EXCITING" G/A vintage plane :;)2: , that I cant say anymore about at this point, but everyone here is going to go ape#$@! over, when they see it.

 

Aussie

 

 

[dlps73]

Aussie - I know Keith from the Oaks and he even tried to secure the garage that he used but some blokes using it to keep his car in - how precious is that!

 

My garage is two floors underground with no power points so it's not an option sadly.

 

And you don't have to tell us about the vintage plane, that might be breaking a confidence, just take a photo and post it!:big_grin:

 

Cheers.......Doug