ParkesFlyer

There are a few foxbats around at bargain prices. Very rugged, very STOL, lots of room in the Cabin and unsurpassed visability. My club has a different aircraft for hire now, but I still hire a foxy occasionally as they are such a breeze to fly. :) PF.

Thanks Tom, I'll inquire and report back. PF.

Can anyone tell me the status of Talbingo Airstrip? Is it still operated by Snowy Hydro? Is permission to land there required/obtainable, or is it closed to recreational flying? -PF.

What a hoot! I've got tears but thankfully only from laughter, I haven't laughed so much in ages, thank-you!

Hey Mardy, Well I won't be doing any bashing, I'm just up for options, and learning from others. I must say as a PC user I'm a little wary of the i-products, I'm also fairly happy with the Google solution but I'm not under any illusions, they all just want world domination! My impression is that the most integrated and most popular software is currently only available for i-pad. PF.

Hey Ian, It sounds like from your experience the Galaxy is very usable with it's fair share of advantages when compared to the i-pad. I'm trying to resist buying an i-pad but if I went with the Android Tablet is there a viable navigation program I can use that will let me use WACs and also see air traffic zones etc? I currently use "Bearing + Distance AU/NZ" (which I'm very happy with for what it is) on my Android smart phone. I'm aware that you sell a product (can't get onto your shop web page at the moment to get the name right, is it Ozi Explorer?) but as I understand it there is still an issue with sourcing charts, is this still the case?

Wow, tiny pictures are tiny! here is a bigger version of the overhead view:

Looks like we are all pretty much alike when it comes to photos, Captain, you took pretty much the same photos as me! I'll add just a few... This was the view as I left on Friday afternoon (in the rush with lots of others before the air display lock-down) The Avenger is a BIG aircraft! I just liked this one This Mustang is a really good scale representation of the "real" thing, seems to go well too, - and has 2 seats! PF.

Ah yes, the wing waggle! Who'd have thought something so simple could be so satisfying!

Do you have a dream flight, one that you’ve been wanting to make for years? Ever since I started my flight training I’ve dreamt of making the 311 nautical mile trip to my home-town near Mildura. I imagined flying over the desolate Hay plain, how would I go? How would I fair navigating all that way with barely any landmarks on which to make a fix? It takes us about eight and a half hours to drive it, yet it might only take three and a half or so in the aircraft. How would I go landing on that big runway with the chance of sharing the airspace with RPT heavy metal? Exciting stuff indeed! My flight training started with a TIF in February 2009 and by the end of July I had eight hours in my log-book and my first solo under my belt, - I was hooked! The dream was well and truly alive and by January 2010 I had my Pilot Certificate. This meant I could drive home and hire an aircraft while I was there, but that idea fell way short of flying all the way, what a homecoming that would be! The 3rd of November 2010 was a red letter day, I’d completed my navs, I WAS FREE! I planned the trip for April 2011 and excitedly prepared my ASIC and carnet cards (BP and Mobil), found a workmate who was keen to get to “Mildew” (to see his girlfriend), I even got onto this forum and got some advice about everything from where to park my ship once I got there to what kind of knot to use to tie it down with (well, you can’t knock a bloke for being keen can you?)! Sadly it was all to come to nought as just days before I was due to leave I got a call from the aero club, - the Foxy was out of service while they awaited parts for a sprag clutch replacement, Nooooooooo! I was crushed, the dream would have to wait. Early in May this year I got another chance. I pawed over my maps and planned the trip again, solo this time, I planned to overfly Griffith, land at Hay for fuel, then off again to turn over Balranald and then track straight for Mildura. With seemingly little sleep the night before I was up early to check the weather on the big day, - not ideal, but it looked doable, - we were “go for launch”. With my Bride fully briefed to hold my SARWATCH, I ventured forth into the burning blue. The cloud was at ~4500’ which I found most inconvenient as it only left me with a choice between 2500’ or 6500’ for a cruise altitude. I chose the latter and enjoyed a smooth flight to Griffith where the clouds quickly started to bunch up and I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and dipped down to take the “low road”. The leg to Hay was a little bumpy near the river, but the town soon came into view and the landing was uneventful. I was crestfallen at the bowser (my first away from home re-fuelling) when I discovered that my carnet cards were not compatible with the set-up there, but thankfully some friendly locals came to my rescue and allowed me to pay cash (and gave me a receipt). Once again on my way I found that the Hay Plain was nothing like I expected. It’s been two years since the hard times of the big drought and recent floods have transformed the plain into a lush green marshland (being very flat, it takes the water a very long time to get away), and with plenty of landmarks, the Murray to my left and the Darling in front of me (as a “cross this and you’ve gone too far” line) the feared navigation challenge turned out to be a snack. I arrived at Mildura with no sign of any heavy metal on the airwaves and an empty circuit. I concluded the flight with a smooth landing and a HUGE GRIN, - I’D DONE IT, A DREAM FULFILLED! My sister was there to greet me with a similar sized smile and the exclamation “it’s so tiny, how did you fly all this way in THAT?” It was a magnificent adventure, perhaps for me it was a rite of passage, the local boy finally does good! Great as it was though, it was topped off with a priceless few hours of taking my family for joy flights around the district, - it couldn’t have been better! My Maps: Lake Cowell copper mine near West Wyalong Nice and smooth up here, but the clouds are closing up! (near Griffith) Pulled up for a spell at Hay The marshland of the Hay plain Balranald with flood waters still receding Man and Machine at Mildura!

Heh, yeah the dish is pretty hard to miss! The Northparkes copper mine just to the west of the dish is worth a look too(not far away, you can see it from the top of the dish), they've got some pretty deep open cuts, but they also do "block caving" (where they dig out a huge cavern a km or so down, under the ore body. They then allow it to cave into the area they've prepared...from the air it looks like a giant ant-lion nest!) :)

Hey Maj, Loved the story, thank you for submitting it! This kind of article really adds value to the forum, keep up the good work! PF

Indeed.

The poor guy was on his first solo, and he crashed the plane and was seriously injured, what a sad and unfortunate outcome. :( PF.

Welcome FM, Nice and close to Parkes too, looks like you're surrounded by Forumites! :) PF.

Wow Tomo, lovely views! How would you go for emergency landing places? PF.

Hey BD, great pictures, love the air-to-air shot with the Hume. Did you stop off anywhere? How many hours did you rack up? PF.

Thanks very much for the report Maj, I'm sure I'm not alone in being interested in what else is out there! I find magazine articles useful, but sometimes not entirely objective... :)

Well it looks like Gympie could be the go then, may have to look at planning a holiday up there. David keep us posted on your progress regardless, it'd be great to have somewhere nice and close to pick up a few endorsements! PF.

Heh, I stand corrected! One last thing though, If you took the motor on your drifter, and put it on the front (somehow) with the top still facing up, wouldn't the prop spin in the opposite direction as viewed from the tail? Wouldn't you be flying in reverse if you didn't change the prop or the rotation of the driveshaft? Ahh, it doesn't matter, as long as it flys right? Might be time for a pre-bed snack...humble pie for me perhaps? PF.

Hey Tex, Clockwise as viewed from the tail? Thanks for that, so you use a regular prop and not a "pusher" one?

Thanks everyone, I just might have to go for a trip up that way... PF.

Hey Frank, Yep, but I'm making the rash assumption that the motor rotates the prop in the same direction as any other Rotax, i.e. from the non-prop end, and looking over the motor (i.e. as you would see the prop from the cockpit of a tractor aircraft), it goes clockwise. From the motor's perspective it's still going the same way (up on the left, down on the right), but it's facing backwards, so from the tail's perspective it's going the other way (down on the left, and up on the right). ...of course, Rotax could solve this by having a special pusher gearbox (to reverse the shaft direction), so you can then use a regular tractor prop! In this case though, I think you'd get a left yaw from the prop wash. Is there a Drifter Driver out there who can tell us which way its done? :) PF.

I've been flying for a few years now, mostly in a FoxBat, but I have a strong urge to try a Drifter! I'd like to give the ol' open cockpit a go, and if I like it I'd like to have a crack at my tail wheel & LP endorsements. I live at Parkes in Central NSW, is there anywhere inland that I could have a test drive? Is there a register of places where Drifters are used for instruction? PF.