Mathew Ker

Puk is safely back on the ground after his epic journey. I enjoyed the best part of an hour flying with the Friar Friday afternoon around the north of Temora. Puk and I both started flying around the same time and whilst kids in uni and high school have curtailed my flying hours, I live vicariously through Puk's video's and the great stories he tells. Well done on a great achievement. Cheers, Mathew

As at 1200hrs, Wednesday 5th June, Puk is tracking to SA border then to Nullabor, ETA 1330hrs. Puk has already converted over to QLD time. I suspect he'll be watching the State of Origin tonight. Actually in SA he might have to catch the score on the internet. Cheers, Mathew

A truly evocative sound. Here in Temora we are blessed for the sounds of old aircraft to be overhead on a regular basis. On ANZAC Day we had one of the Spitfires perform a flypast at both our Springdale (9:00am) and Temora (11:00am) services. I've cut and past today's flying programme: May 4th, 2013 Aircraft Showcase - Bomber/Attack: Boomerang, Wirraway, Spitfire, Meteor,Hudson Sitting at my study window, I can see and hear the aircraft perform their routines. More often than not I wander to the front verandah to hear their sounds in all their glory. Mathew

Greg's been a terrific ambassador for the Skyranger aircraft and recreational aviation in general. I have enjoyed many phone calls with Greg and have enjoyed his company on several occasions that he has passed through Temora, both connected with Natfly and on other occasions. I've always found Greg to be quick to support and encourage and slow to criticise people who are having a go. It's blokes like Greg (and Ian) who make the flying community a better group to hang with. Cheers, Mathew PS. Check out a great mate's (Friar Puk) YouTube Skyranger clips. Puk was a camera man in a previous life so his editing is terrific.

+1 Very sad news. Mathew

But reading the report, if it is correct and the planes steering had failed (and it certainly looked a little faulty in the video ) you would have to give the pilots for putting the plane done in anything other than a crash. Amazing footage. Cheers, Mathew

Congratulations on a great achievement Evan. Cheers, Mathew

Darky, You are welcome to borrow my Mother-In-Law. She makes excellent ballast and isn't called "The Dragon Lady" for no reason. Should things turn sour you could pitch her out and with her wings she would fly . No - really I do love my Mother-In-Law. really, trulyyyy (voice trailing off into the distance and gorgeous and long-suffering wife drags me away for some personal retraining!!)

As BlackRod has pointed out, the showgrounds are a good alternative, very close to both town and airfield. The local council is putting on more shuttle buses this year and given the route to and from town would pass the showgrounds, I'm sure this would be a useful option. The town is really looking forward to hosting this event again and people will do what we can to make your stay here enjoyable, memorable - no bull. :black_eye: Cheers, Mathew

I'll add my congratulations. A job well done and good inspiration to others looking to learn and/or improve their skills. Cheers, Mathew

I received an email from Brumby Aircraft Australia with some very brief details regarding the new Brumby 610 High Wing aircraft. Initial details include 110kts cruise behind a 100hp Rotax 912. I had the opportunity to speak to Paul at the factory towards the end of last year and my understanding is that it will be a little lighter than the original Brumby, and not quite as quick. The Lycoming 0-233 engine should be an option and this would be a very exciting package. I will be lining up to see one at Natfly. (I have no commercial relationship with Brumby Australia - I would just like the money to buy one! ) Cheers, Mathew

Maj, Do you know how the guys at Innisfail got on, especially Ron Watson. Ron has a Jabiru UL/D which I learnt to fly in, as have many others. Great little aircraft that seems to have found the sweet spot of having the right engine (2.2 Jab) and wing combination (long wings - narrow fuselage). Cheers, Mathew

Living in Temora, the only carrier I would consider is Telstra. Not because I'm a great lover of Telstra or their plans, they are simply the only carrier that provides reasonable coverage in this area. Even this is pretty patchy once you are any distance out of town. (Pretty good coverage at 3,500' though!). Cheers, Mathew

American Wings Maj, We had some American riggers who were on a brief exchange to Australia and that's how the opportunity arose. A couple of things I remember of these jumps are that we had to complete three jumps using the American rigs and we had to jump from the C141 "Starlifter". The Australian parachutes are a "T10B-D" whereas the American are a "T10B" (no D). This means they are exactly the some 'round' canopy with the only difference being the Australian ones have a small patch of lightly padded canvas under the chest strap and two groin straps. There is also a small canvas strip that runs across between the groin straps, forming a small 'seat'. These changes make the Australian parachutes 'Deluxe' - hence the D. They may not seem terribly significant but they do make everything a lot easier to get properly positioned in the first place. Once you have exited the aircraft, it is too late to tuck any of the block 'n tackle away if it is in the wrong place! The other thing of significance is the ride in the C141. It is a huge aircraft. I seem to recall it is about the same size as the C130 Hercules, just about three times longer. Prior to one of the jumps at the Londonderry Drop Zone (Western Sydney and I hear no longer used for parachuting), we spent about 45-60 minutes Tactical (Tac Flying) around the Blue Mountains. Fantastic fun to be flying at what seemed to be ridiculously low heights around the mountains. No lunches were lost but it would have been interesting if it were at night! For those not aware, most military jumps from the larger aircraft like the C130 are from the side parachute doors. We were trained to take a 'driving step' out from the side doors so we wouldn't "count rivets" down the side of the aircraft. The C141 side doors are equipped with wind deflectors that help reduce the impact of jumping into a 140kt windstream. The idea is that a small pocket of still air allows you to step into this space, drop away from the aircraft so you don't "count rivets". Of course some of my peers were over trained, couldn't help themselves and still managed a driving step out of the starlifter and into 140kts. They reported it as being the quickest left turn they ever did. :black_eye: I did my training at the Parachute Training School, at HMAS Albatross. Many of the older riggers enjoyed sharing stories of their time at PTS Williamtown. Cheers, Mathew

I completed 33 military jumps in the '89-'90 whilst in the Army. I was lucky that most of my jumps were what we called "Hollywood" jumps in that they were during the day and without a pack, webbing and rifle. I managed to pickup my American parachute wings while posted to RAAF Base Richmond. Parachuting is great fun and really lets you know you're alive. Would I do it today? No - I've ticked it off the bucket list and am enjoying other things. Cheers, Mathew