Flooding at Murwillumbah airport

[F10]

Horrendous! Did that Tiger Moth survive? The one Cherokee had a lot of long grass under it, so probably derelict in some way, but you gotta wonder why others weren't flown out....as I think this airfield has flooded before? Terrible situation.

[RossK]

1 hour ago, F10 said:

 but you gotta wonder why others weren't flown out...

I think it's because by the time you realise you need to move, it's too late...

[FlyBoy1960]

Half the runway goes underwater very, very quickly and this does not give you enough length get airborne in anything but a true STOL aircraft. The grass itself is really spongy and holds you to the ground. Like the other poster said, by the time you get a couple of inches the runway is flooded so then you can forget it. The hangars are probably 3 m above the normal flood level but on days like we have just seen there is not much choice but to have a floatplane

[F10]

Desperation I guess you could strap four or five 200 litre drums to the side of the fuselage or under a Cherokee’s wings! Might reduce damage to recoverable levels, but then same problem, leaving it till too late?

[Ando]

On 2/3/22 at 2:24 PM, RossK said:

I think it's because by the time you realise you need to move, it's too late...

And mountains and clouds don’t mix

[KRviator]

13 hours ago, F10 said:

Desperation I guess you could strap four or five 200 litre drums to the side of the fuselage or under a Cherokee’s wings! Might reduce damage to recoverable levels, but then same problem, leaving it till too late?

You know - that's not as stupid an idea as it sounds...Each 44 is 400lbs of buoyancy. Keep 4 or 6 of 'em stacked in the corner of the hangar and 2/3 of those strapped together per wing, a yoga mat or bit of sponge rubber between the drum and the skin and you could well limit damage to just the wheel bearings. That's a cheap, and bloody good idea, @F10

Edited March 4, 2022 by KRviator

[onetrack]

An even better idea instead of using steel drums would be using the 200L polyethylene Mauser drums. Or several inflatable PVC exhaust jacks.

You can often find these used (and quite often, virtually unused) for sale on Gumtree, for a much cheaper price than buying new. They're tough, and will shape themselves to the panels they're up against.

[Bruce Tuncks]

As long as there was not so much water that your plane got squashed under the roof huh.

[eightyknots]

On 28/02/2022 at 10:28 AM, SGM said:

Sad. 
In the middle of the photo is the white top of someone's fuselage, a vertical and part of a black prop. 
To the left is a flying boat.  I had a chat to this owner when I visited December, (at that stage he was putting the finishing touches on the restoration and preparing for a first flight - the Tweed River is not too far away)

In the background, on the other side of the North-South runway, are two hanger buildings also well underwater.

Very sad 😔 .

[F10]

Finally....the satisfaction of actually for once seeing little silvery water drops in the fuel tester...!

[440032]

New CASA Airworthiness Bulletins:

AWB 02-066 - Maintenance - Aircraft Immersed in water.

AWB 85-027 Engine Inspection in event of water immersion.

[KRviator]

Question for those at Murwillumbah - VH-CDD a Comanche, looks to have been kept there, at one time or another last year. Anyone know of her up that way, and if she went for a swim? I think this is the one that has just been listed for sale and I'm thinking about making some enquiries about her, but this photo - and Murwillumbah's recent history concerns me...

Image courtesy or AustAirData.com.au and was taken 26/3/21.

Edited June 7, 2022 by KRviator