DARREN & DISPERSE @ NARROMINE

[Guest disperse]

well we got here about 10:30 friday morning and as you can see it's lucky we did as Paul andronicou spotted us and asked over to the hanger for a bit of help with his Extra ... theres a photo of Darren showing Paul where he sits...

 

Later in the day connie flew in, came straight over towards us and asked if we could help while they check out the landing gear... she's right darren I got this one....

 

but seriously, the weather was blowing a gail yesterday. but settled down nicely, for NOW being 6:48 SAT morning.............SWEET

 

 

[Guest disperse]

darren and the extra

 

 

 

[Guest David C]

Darren.... What's happening here !! . I thought you were a committed Bantam and Drifter man . Ask yourself a couple of questions , where are the bracing wires ? and hey is that a Rotax up front ? .... Have a great time up there at Narromine , wish I was there but other commitments put a no go to it this time .

 

Dave C

 

 

[planedriver]

Was trying to work this picture out.

 

Had the Extra just been washed, or, was Darren drooling over such a great bit of machinery?:):):)

 

Alan

 

 

[planedriver]

Mind where you poke that stick, you might create an even bigger oil leak in that lovely old lady. I'm surprised the boys from H.A.R.S.did'nt give you a rag to tie on the end, to clean up the engine cowls. Looks like they missed out on an opportunity there. Hope you both have a great time.

 

Alan

 

 

[Guest brentc]

Say hi to Paul for me!

 

The Extra is a nice machine and Paul is a mate of mine. I'm waiting for him to loan me the keys for it, but they aren't forth coming. It's one heck of a handful the Exta. I recall him 'learning' to fly it and coming back looking worse for wear after which he decided that 3/4 throttle might be appropriate. He also flies his new Vans RV8 for aero's that he and his housemate built. He took me up in the RV a while back and my head only started to settled after about a week.

 

 

[Guest disperse]

should see paul in about half hour for dinner.......will give him a hurry on with the keys for ya brent....and give a rib about the 3/4 throttle

 

today was REALY good but over did the LEG and am know in the tent with a couple of pillows under it...........:black_eye: will post the piccy's when we get home as this is costing $1.60 per mb

 

 

[Matt]

Our turn to add to the trip report and photo collection from the 2007 Narromine Air Pageant.

 

Kaz and I were up bright and early this morning for a planned 8.00 departure for Narromine. Thankfully the wind had dropped from the 25-35 knots we had yesterday and were a much calmer 15-20 knots. The met report indicated a 15 knot headwind, the wind was 45kts at 6500'. Thankfully this didn't materialise and we actually had a bit of tail wind once north of Yass. Planned flight time was 1 hour 49 minutes as a result of the forecast wind, actual flight time ended up as 1 hour 36 minutes and we were on the ground at Narromine just after 9.30.

 

First task (after the standard comfort stop) was to find the two characters who started this thread. We found Disperse hobbling around in front of the club building and were then joined by Darren who'd just been taken for a scenic flight of the area in an R44. We also met a few other forum folks today including Rodney and Mick...can't remember forum usernames...struggle with real ones sometimes!

 

We spent most of the day wandering around looking at the few displays and checking out the few 'interesting' aircraft that were there. I must admit to being somewhat underwhelmed by the event, the number and type of aircraft on display was a bit disappointing for an event organised by Airshows Downunder. I was also very surprised at the few number aircraft that flew into the event, there were only 4 or 5 rows of aircraft in the tie down area. The camping area was pretty full though and the locals seemed to come out in force to support the event.

 

We went for a walk into town to get some lunch (there's only so much 'carnival food' you can eat). I'll give a bit plug to Buxees cafe, they make great food and very nice coffee.

 

The trip home was pretty uneventful...except for the 20 minute delay in departure due to the show running over time. We managed to find another tailwind on the way home of about 10kts until we neared Canberra where the wind was still quite strong and on approach for a right downwind to runway 30 we were clocking 160kts ground speed! Flight time for the trip home, 1.4 hours.

 

Anyhow, attached are some pics from the day, enjoy.

 

Cheers,

 

Matt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Fred Bear]

Report and pics below. What a good weekend! Good to put a face to some of the other names we had not met before. Good to catch up with Matt and Kaz and Rodknee (no idea it was your birthday when you were speaking to me this morning champ so happy birthday), GSA, Hiflyer and many others we have probably forgotten to mention :) Ian, you will find a few more people join up here after this weekend, amongst them an aerobatic pilot ;) Attracted some more interest from potential Mexicans down your way too. It was a pleasure to spend every single moment with the man himself disperse and even better to watch him dancing (solo mind you) to the RAAF band on Saturday night (Khe Sahn does it every time). Where is the video camera when you need it? Hiflyer, sorry I did not get to have a fly in Bendover Skylark this morning. I did in my dreams...seems you were out cold somewhere in a warm bed. I don't blame you. I wish I had brought some other items with me in my little dome tent last night. Twas cold :;)6: Anyway, a good opportunity for us like-minded-chaps to get together and share a story (or many) and enjoy the one thing we have in common...the love of flight.

 

Report:

 

 

Well there it goes, another Airshows Downunder event over and done with. Narromine Airfield Western NSW 28th-30th September 2007. Not quite the turn out that one would have hoped for. This event certainly could not be compared with our NATFLY annual Easter Recreational Aviation pilgrimage but none the less some attendees did impress. From Tiger Moths to balloons and even a broken down Albatros (stuck in Dubbo) that would not start there was something for everyone. I found the problem was that a few of the aerial displays were just way too short. That and bad PA audio and lack of anyone knowing anything on our arrival on Friday made for an interesting show. Pip Borrmans Zivko Edge 540 put on an impressive short display with plenty of smoke for everyone. Pip had some problems with his PA as he normally gives an inflight commentary throughout his display but during the first display it was not working. That issue was sorted with his second short display. Mate Paul Andronicou however did impress with his aerobatic display in his 300HP EXTRA-FLUGZEUGBAU 300S. A truly talented aerobatic pilot! Then we had formation flying of the Tiger Moths, some glider displays and even a Jabiru formation from Murray Bridge in SA. Those fellas did well not to clip wings in the testing hot, windy conditions! There was also what they called a mass parachute drop (with 2 parachutes), the Connie from HARS doing a display (most impressive). She ought to burning 600L per hr per 55L 18 cylinder engine! On Saturday evening there was a display of balloons igniting their burners simultaneously in the night sky. This was quite impressive. Talking to the balloon pilots after their mass consumption of red plonk was also an interesting experience All in all we got to see a variety of machines, enjoy the awesome company of our good friends from all over the nation and enjoy the aroma of what we like to call Eau De Kero! Was good to catch up with some of you and put a face to the name(s). Below are some pics from the weekend. I will have more pics and video on my web site shortly for all of you to enjoy. Keep smiling

 

 

Connie standing proud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pip Borrmans Zivko Edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Andronicous Extra 300S. What an awesome display Paul puts on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul fuels his machine in the sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connie-Sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Albatros-Sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiflyer helps me set up my tent. "It's easy just look at this", he says.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disperse has another 'smoko'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiflyer attracts some attention with his Dova Skylark display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disperse is trying to explain to his missus that he might be home a little late due to the love affair he has with Connie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest David C]

Good stuff Darren ... Thanks for sharing . I wonder if disperse was convincing in trying to explain that "Connie " was an aeroplane and not a sheila ! .. I suppose if we see him with broken leg #2 we'll know the answer !

 

Dave C

 

 

[Guest Fred Bear]

Thanks for the comments all. Here are some more of my favourite pics from the weekend. Eventually they will all make it into the gallery.

 

Connie, again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navy Sea Hawk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiflyers Dova Skylark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Albatros shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest brentc]

I remember 'cruising' along in the L39 Albatross off Wollongong doing a stall at 90 knots and then accelerating to almost 400 knots when Sydney ATC called us up. 'Unidentified aircraft travelling north off Wollongong at 370 knots, please identify yourself!' My 'Co'-Pilot replies with 'We are an L39,' to which the controller replies with, 'oh, ok.' Perhaps they were taking bets on what the blip on the screen was. If you're wondering how I got into the seat - I was in the right place at the right time! however when I read this, I did question my decision - 'The mean time between failure in flight is above 300 flight hours, with a 99.6% probability a one hour sortie will be completed successfully.'

 

 

[planedriver]

Great pics Darren,

 

Thanks for sharing them. Would make a great callender for next year;)

 

 

[Guest Fred Bear]

Brent, next time you get to go for a burn in one,let me know! Would not say no to that :) Lucky bugger! Alan, thanks for the comment. Now there is an idea...calendar..;)

 

 

[Guest Fred Bear]

As promised one of the videos of Paul Andronicou doing his stuff in his Extra 300S at the airshow. More videos to come. I just put this one together quite fast so it's not all that brilliant...enjoy.

 

 

 

 

[Mick]

Hi Guys,

 

I flew the Skylark from Hervey Bay Qld to Dubbo on the Wednesday.

 

Then ducked over to Parkes and back on Thursday to see a couple of mates and take them for a fly. While in Parkes got to have a look at the Brumby that is being built in Cowra. Interesting machine, good to see another Australian manufacturer about.

 

Early Friday made the short trip Dubbo to Narromine and arrived about the same time as the evil westerly wind. Glad I was not any later. Arriving a couple of hours later was a Tiger Moth that did a fantastic job of landing in the 20+ knots.

 

The show was somewhat of a dissapointment, but it was great to meet Darren & Troy and catch up with Matt & Kaz. Also meeting Paul & watching him fly the Extra was a pleasure.

 

Saturday afternoon I was a bit crook so gave the evenings festivities a miss.

 

Monday flew home to Hervey Bay.

 

All up total was around 13 hours flight time, first long trip in the Skylark and really enjoyed it. Nearly 40 hours on the Skylark now, must nearly be time for a new one!!!

 

 

[Guest Fred Bear]

Good stuff Mick ;) Glad you got home ok. Look forward to catching up at another Fly-in/airshow.