Super Petrel LS

HI bluearsefly Yes please join us. Warwick Airfield QLD. We have had two years of bad weather but the weather gods this year seem to think we have been well behaved! Event 8am to 2pm... food displays, classic cars, bikes, model planes... something for everyone. Cheers

You are invited... Join the Queensland Recreational Aircraft Assoc (QRAA) team at Warwick QLD for breakfast, lunch or just a chat on Saturday 8th September 8am to 2pm when we showcase of airfield, club and aircraft. Other clubs from around the region will be in attendance also - warbirds, classic cars, RC aircraft clubs etc

The Queensland Recreational Aircraft Assoc (QRAA) has finalised plans for its 10 day Northern Queensland Tour. See details at www.qraa.info Dates 18th to 26th August 2012 The tour this year visits - Great Keppel Island, Charters Towers, Mareeba, Cooktown, Chillagoe, Normanton, Karumba, Burketown, Adels Grove, Mount Isa, Boulia, Windora, Charleville, Roma. GA & Recreational Aircraft Pilots welcome. For full details and accommodation recommendations (and contact numbers) register you interest at the QRAA website.

Can anyone advise me on what movie this clip is cut from? Its a great clip!!! Side note... can anyone find faults in any of the flying activities/techniques undertaken during the production of this clip! You may have to look very hard!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3hL4seZpJo

Pud, my wife keeps reminding me I am supposed to be retired! I warn everyone about retirement.... you end up busier than when you were working full time and you thought you worked hard then!!

25 years as a Property Developer in Australia and SE Asia (owner operator), professional speaker for 8 years (entrepreneurship topics). Now a farmer (cattle, 1000 acres on the Darling Downs) professional non-executive director on company boards (Chairman of 4 companies at the moment) and CFI/L2 and QRAA Club President at Warwick Airfield. Also have the Australian distributorship for the Super Petrel LS.

The Recreational Flying forum is a major 'meeting place' of our flying community here is Australia. Ian has put in so much time and effort to make it to the success story it is today. Kelvin

Amphibious Aircraft Review Article Another Detailed Analysis From the Cockpit I must confess – I love amphibious aircraft. What I really like is the sheer utility of these machines. You can take off from land, fly through the air land on the water and then taxi up on the shore. Absolutely fantastic! As I started the pre-flight inspection of the EDRA, Brazilian Super Petrel LS I noticed a few new and innovative features. The most appealing aspect is that this aircraft is a bi-plane with a wing area of 15m2. It actually is very practical from a water and short field take off perspective and looks great also. The Rotax motor is housed in a streamline cowl above and behind the cockpit and the main fuselage is composite and portion of the wings fabric covered to reduce weight. As I continued my walk around the aircraft I noticed significant changes to this aircraft compared to the successful previous EDRA Super Petrel 100 model that achieved sales of over 200 aircraft worldwide. Changes include the airfoil which has been slightly altered, all support cables have been removed and the body shape is now far more aerodynamic and visually appealing. The unique EDRA hull shape has been slightly modified also to enhance on-water operations without the need for a water rudder. The retractable undercarriage housing also fits nicely and looks far more streamline. The body shape has improved buoyancy, creating more clearance between the wing and water and reduced drag. Excessive drag both aerodynamical and hydrodynamic is a major concern for aircraft engineers. Amphibious aircraft are quite a challenge to design. Numerous factors including the aeroplanes flying and floating characteristics, need to be designed very carefully, as many of these components are mutually incompatible. Design features that make a plane aerodynamical do not necessarily make for good seaworthiness. Successful designs take into account factors such as spray suppression, buoyancy, lift, thrust, weight and drag, all need to be factored in as does stability and control – whether flying, floating or rolling. Knowing ERDA’s successful track record of developing a very successful floating hull previously I was confident the company would be aware of the importance of factors such as the design of the hull, the deadrise angle of the bow and the location of the step. Other new features included the refined hinges for the removable doors, their locking mechanism and cabin ventilation enhancements. A slight reduction in all up weight and change in the aerodynamics has improved the cruise speed and handling characteristics of the aircraft according to EDRA. A $6000 optional Kevlar hull reduces the all up weight even more greatly improving performance again. All Super Petrels are powered by the 100hp Rotax ULS which has proven to be a reliable workhorse. The Rotax is very neatly fitted on a pylon behind the pilot and sits within a remarkable good looking cowling designed to keep the power plant cool and well ventilated. As is common with all aircraft fitted with pylon-mounted engines, access is not easy but on this model it’s a lot easier than other amphibious aircraft I have inspected. Access to the oil dipstick and coolant reservoir is very accessible. What has really impressed me is the workmanship. The Super Petrel LS is beautifully made. Corrosion can be a problem however with the composite hull, wing components and stainless steel and aviation grade aluminium struts and wheel fittings corrosion is not a problem if the aircraft is cleaned and well maintained as recommended. The undercarriage is hydraulically actuated with the nose wheel retracting upwards and the main wheels retracting vertically into the hull. The nose wheel retracts fully into the hull and is covered by a pair of doors. The nose wheel compartment is watertight and keeps all water out. The undercarriage looks particularly robust with shock absorbers designed specifically for the Super Petrel LS. The bi-plane wings are a sophisticated aerofoil designed by EDRA engineers. The 90 litres of fuel carried is located in the leading edges of the lower wings. The tail section empennage tapers subtly before flaring elegantly into the stylish swept-back fin. This is quite large as is the rudder. The tail plane is located directly behind the propeller thrust line aiding water and flight related control inputs. Due to the hull design and tail plane location behind the prop no water rudder is needed. An electronically-actuated tab on the trailing edge of the elevator provides pitch trim. Accessibility to and from the cockpit is excellent. The sill is reasonably low and the large swinging doors aid accessibility and visibility during flight. The doors are easily removable. As for stowage, a large baggage bay immediately behind the seats is accessible during flight. It is located practically right over the centre of gravity an excellent safety feature as it means you are unlikely to go outside the CG envelope. There is also a small stowage compartment in the nose, accessible by a hatch, for mooring lines and anchor. Settling onto the comfortable leather bucket seat I was immediately impressed by the uncluttered look of the panel. The Super Petrel LS comes with a comprehensive range of instrument configurations – analogue, digital and analogue combo or all digital. The aircraft we are in has two 7” Skyviews with a Garmin central mounted VHF radio, GPS and transponder stack. Throttles are mounted on the sidewalls, dual controls are central and the centre console has the undercarriage selector and fuel tank selector conveniently within reach. The controls fell nicely to hand and all controls and switches are easy to see and reach. The stick-top contains buttons for trim, radio and autopilot (if fitted). Overall I thought a logically laid-out, well-ordered cockpit. Time to go flying. The engine started promptly with the choke mounted above the pilot’s right shoulder. As we moved off down the taxiway I quickly noticed that the hydraulically-actuated disc brakes are heal activated and after a few jabs got the sensitivity right. Once we got to a fast walking pace the rudder kept us on the centreline with no need for brake input. The maximum take off weight of the Super Petrel LS is 600kg and we were right on the all up weight as we lifted off. The acceleration was impressive and we climbed out easily at 1000ft/minute. At 500’ AGL we retracted the undercarriage. Being a bi-plane there are no flaps to retract. The undercarriage system is worthy of comment. Firstly the undercarriage retraction handle, located between the seats is easily accessible and clicks into place when moved forward or back. Lights on the dashboard indicate when the undercarriage is either up or down. The undercarriage is sturdy with independent suspension. Shock absorbers make for smooth touchdowns on the tarmac. Corrosion proof materials are used. There are three ways to determine if the undercarriage is either up or down – the undercarriage activation leaver in the cabin is marked ‘land’ or ‘water’, there are warning lights on the dashboard and there is a mirror on the outer stabilizing floats so the pilot can see the undercarriage position. A well-known side effect of having the engine mounted on a pylon is that it confers a high thrust line. This sometimes has the inevitable consequences of producing significant changes in pitch whenever the throttle is adjusted. On the Super Petrel LS the pitching moments are virtually non existent. Very impressive. I judged the Super Petrel’s handling to be responsive and fine generally. It has authoritative ailerons, an effective elevator and a powerful rudder. Breakthrough forces were low and control harmony good. The rate of roll is perfectly acceptable while visiability in the turn is excellent. An examination of the stick-free stability revealed the Super Petrel to be positive longitudinally, as a ten-knot displacement from a trimmed speed of 80kt produced a low amplitude long wavelength phugoid that damped itself out after a few oscillations. Directional stability was positive and I judged the lateral stability to be neutral. I always like to sample the slow-speed characteristics before landing to get the feel of how the aircraft will behave near the stall. On some occasions, an examination of the stall characteristics can be, shall we say interesting. However the Super Petrel continued to behave very benignly. The handling continued to be docile, and the ailerons remained effective up to the stall. The actual stall speed was difficult to judge with our onboard weight but I guess was around 33 knots. The pre-stall buffet was adequate and the EFIS contains an AoA indicator, which can be piped into the headset as an audio warning. Recovey was quick and easy, with minimal height loss. Time now to examine the high-speed side of the speed envelope. Setting the throttle to 75% produced an IAS of 88kts at 3500ft, for a TAS of 92kts. This was about 5 knots below the book speed, but in fairness I should point out that the engine was fitted with a ‘climb’ prop in order to get the Super Petrel off the water quicker. I’m sure that the ground-adjustable prop would provide those missing 5 knots. However in my opinion the number for range and endurance are far more relevant than speed when testing utility-type aircraft. Indeed, I always place particular emphasis on the aircraft’s operational radius, as many outback destinations simply won’t have fuel available. Consequently, it is essential that any aerial SUV has the ability to go somewhere and back again on internal fuel only. At 75% the Rotax burns about 18lit/hr, which gives just under five hours of flying with 45 minutes of reserve. As we approached Leslie Dam just south of Warwick Queensland I could see that it had tributaries that ran north-south and southeast-northwest each around 3km long. As far as I could judge there was no wind, so I elected to land from the south. A check of the water for any semi-submerged obstructions, then I turned downwind and flew a regular circuit, with a base leg to double check the wind before turning final. With such a hugh ‘runway’ available, I elected not to try to land at a particular point, but to simply descend gently onto the water. A quick check in the float mirror that the undercarriage was up, and no flaps to worry about and I settled the Super petrel onto the approach. The sides of the dam made it easy to judge the flare, so I left some power on and let it alight gently onto the water. Unless you’ve experienced the joys of aquatic aviation, it’s impossible to appreciate the unique sensation of touching down on water, but take it from me – it’s just great. My tactic of leaving on power paid off, and I was rewarded with a very smooth touchdown. As we planed smoothly along the dam I drew the last of the power off, eased the stick fully aft, and we fell backwards off the step with a foaming splash. The Super Petrel has a uniquely designed hull that alleviates the need for a water rudder. Prop wash over the control surfaces at the rear, coupled with the fin type strips build into the hull make manoeuvring on the dam surface very easy. We taxied up a boat ramp on the eastern shoreline and shutdown. We entertained the spectators and answered numerous questions before we got back in and taxied it out for a water take-off. Again, taxiing straight into the water is a unique sensation, as one second you’re rolling and the next you’re floating. It’s a great feeling, which is enhanced by the knowledge that within minutes you’ll be flying. The Super Petrel on takeoff behaved as most amphibious aircraft do on takeoff. Having retracted the undercarriage and lined up the aircraft into the wind I slowly added power while holding back the stick. The nose pitched up and stabilised in a high drag nose up condition. This is referred to as the ‘hump’ and is the stage of take-off where maximum aerodynamic and hydrodynamic drag coincide. Obviously at this point the acceleration is significantly reduced, which makes it imperative to get the aircraft over the hump and onto the ‘step’ as quickly as possible. Once on the step it will start planning smoothly as the nose is only pitching up to around 4° and the drag greatly reduced. As expected once I was on the hump I gently released the backpressure and then pushed forward on the stick to get the aircraft up and on the step. Within a second or two I eased off again on the forward pressure and let the elevator find its trimmed position. With this procedure no porpoising occurs. Porpoising can be an extremely dangerous situation. Porpoising takes the form of a rhythmic ‘pitch and heave’ and can happen very quickly. The only remedy is to pull the power. Trying to chase it in pitch you invariably end up ‘out of phase’ with potentially catastrophic consequences. We quickly gained speed and with a quick pitch-up of the nose the Super Petrel became unstuck from the surface of the water and we climbed away. We returned to the airfield and I did remember to lower the landing gear and we touched down and taxied back to the hanger. I must say I was very impressed with the aircrafts performance both on the water and on land. It’s a very responsive and manoeuvrable aircraft during flight and has excellent cockpit visibility. The operational radius is sensible, the cruise speed acceptable and the useful load very useful. This is a vehicle equally at home on the ground, in the air and on the water. The Super Petrel LS is distributed in Australia by ‘Super Petrel Australia’ based at Warwick Queensland. A full range of parts are carried, servicing and support offered and Dealers around the country assist with all aspects of the sale and training if required. For further details www.superpetrelaustralia.net DETAILS Price $125,700* (fly away) Dimensions Length 6.35, Height 2.33 Wing Span 8.9 Empty Weight 350kg Useful Load 250kg Fuel Capacity 90 litres Endurance 5 hours Cruise Speed 85-95kts Climb Rate 1000ft/min Glide Ratio 10:1 Take Off (ground/water) 80/120m Landing (ground/water) 120/100m Stall Speed 33kts

Check out this recent article on the SP LS http://www.aopa.com.au/magazine/2012/02/articles/Test-flying-the-new-Super-Petrel/

OK Mark no problem, lets talk then

Hi Mark Demonstrators are moved on about every 4-6 months. There are people interetded in them but I will definately contact you when they are available. An older version SP 100 is coming available as the owner is trading up to the newer model. Would an SP 100 (kit built) be of interest? Cheers Kelvin

The Super Petrel LS is available in Australia for AUD$125,000 fly away. Details - www.superpetrelaustralia.net

The Australian Distributor is Vision in Action Pty Ltd, based at Warwick Queensland. For details visit the Australian website www.superpetrelaustralia.net For additional information go to www.superpetrelforum.info The Super Petrel LS is supported by a full range of parts, service and repairs if need all here in Australia. Price (fly away) AUD$125,000 (analogue instruments).

Ian, the Queensland Recreational Aircraft Assoc. (QRAA) based at Warwick QLD on the beautiful Darling Downs is willing to assist and get involved if help is needed. We can be contacted at [email protected] Cheers Kelvin Hutchinson

Before I purchased my first aircraft I certainly did the rounds and inspected as many aircraft as I could. There are certainly some beautiful RA aircraft on the market. To me it comes down to personal taste and what you want to use it for. My personal spec requirements were endurance, instruments, resale, comfort, safety, value for money and that it looks like an aeroplane (there are a few I saw that don't to me). I decided on the Jabiru J160C. On the issue of Jabiru glitches my conclusion was that most (not all) problems can be managed by adhering strictly to the recommended maintenance programs, oils, and rpm's and in most cases there should be little or no problems. I just couldn't justify paying $120,000+ for an equivalent spec aircraft when for $75,000 I could do everything I wanted to do. Once again it comes down to personal choice and ones bank balance. As a side... my Jabiru (and other Jabs also) at the club I'm involved in has the least downtime when it comes to mechanical and electrical problems and costs the least to maintain and service, and any parts I order arrive the next day. See you all I hope at the Bundaberg Air Show in July Cheers visioninaction (Kelvin)

Hi Roger Lake Eyre/Central Aust is an awesome experience isn't it. We really do live in the 'lucky country' with so many contrasts and beautiful landscapes. Hope you do get time to do a writeup on your Central Aust trip. Would love to hear about it. Cheers visioninaction (Kelvin)

No I haven't flown the speed but it performed very well, was economical and endurance was good. Not a bad looking plane also. The cockpit is very flash and comfortable! Cheers Kelvin

We have lots of pictures... you know about death by powerpoint!! I will put a few more up soon. Cheers Kelvin

Great tips guys. Thanks Cheers Kelvin

Hi Brett I hope the updated image link works? Picasa Web Albums - aussieflyingtours - Lake Eyre Tri... Cheers Kelvin

As Recreational Pilots and not being able to fly into controlled air space what airstrips in close proximity of Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or Adelaide have other RA Pilots found that offer the most convenience when it comes to links with public transport, proximity to city, aircraft parking/tie down and most important permission (if it’s a private strip). For example is Wollongong Airport with a train station straight across the road the best place to target, say for Sydney visits? Visioninaction (Kelvin) QRAA Warwick QLD

See images here - http://picasaweb.google.com/aussieflyingtours/LakeEyreTripJune2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCNv9u737-7zEYg# Its winter, Lake Eyre is approximately half full, there’s an aircraft sitting in the hanger at Warwick Queensland and a mate calls to say “lets go”, I mean to say, what else would you be doing! As most pilots will know the flying is the easy bit. Preparation is what takes time and effort. Being my first long haul ‘Tour’ so to speak I probably over prepared but when you are going to be flying a two seat Jabiru J160-C at 100knots over the majority of Australia’s most inhospitable deserts, over a large inland lake landing on all forms of airstrips and tackling numerous weather systems over the 6 days, excitement and anticipation was tempered periodically with mild nervous tension. My aircraft only had the basic instruments and equipment so I was going to have to decide on what upgrades I personally would like to make. Where does one stop and start! My first purchase was a Garman 296 GPS and associated software. I also ordered the fittings that would allow the device to sit on the instrument panel facing me during flight. The only downside to this investment is that weather updates are not included as it is in the USA and European versions of the software. It took me a day to install and test the GPS. My next investment was a Flight Planning software program that would be compatible with the GPS unit. There are lots of great programs to choose from so I sought advice from other more experienced pilots on what they use and focused my questions on ease of use. I settled on AirNav VFR. I am very happy with my choice and planning the trip and uploading the flight plan and hundreds of additional waypoints, just in case, was a breeze. Having all the latest charts available with my flight plan overlayed so I can print out A4 sized sectional charts to clip onto my kneeboard is so convenient. Also having airstrip layouts, downloadable weather and ERSA details included in the text side of the plan was also invaluable. My next investment was a whole $4.00 but is probably the most used item in my aircraft today. ‘Pkt Weather’ is an iPhone App which allows you to have any of the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) weather and wind radars onscreen live while you fly. These radar’s also have wind direction, temperature and rain information on the same screen. I have made a mount on my dashboard for my iPhone and plug it into a power source. I also have at least eight other very useful aviation related Apps that I use regularly. The iPhone is a great pilots resource! My next investment was an EPIRB. All my fellow club members advised that it is an essential item if touring outback Australia. The hardest task was finding a suitable location to mount it in my aircraft. I have attached it using strong Velcro. My only gripe, if you can call it that of my much loved Jabiru is the compass… so actually I’m the problem not my aircraft! My 51 year old eyes are not what they used to be and being an essential and much looked at piece of equipment I had been threatening for a while to find a suitable solution. I found and installed in my instrument panel a large digital readout compass. The readout number are 20mm tall. I know it’s included in the GPS but on the screen I use, the heading is too small to see. Then there was the extra innertube, engine oil, a few spare nuts and bolts, screws etc, updated and additional charts, the latest ERSA and National Airfield Directory, water and a selection of snacks for along the way. I also purchased two tiny space blankets that fold out to cover an average person in the event of an emergency. A few extra tools have also been included in my toolbox. I also had to make sure that I had the appropriate fuel cards. I have never encountered a bigger dogs breakfast than the Australian aviation fuel payment system. Every town or city airport has a differed system, nothing is uniform. Roughly half of all airports insist on a company fuel card. Different companies operate at each airport so you must carry all company fuel cards! Some operators only take Visa or Mastercard and you must have a PIN number, or sorry no fuel. Other outback airports we discovered only take cash! I hear you say.. get a life we have all had to go through the process… so I embarked on the journey of trying to find who the major dealers were so I could apply. You think that would be easy! Nope! I got transferred more times than I do when I ring Telstra… and that’s saying something! Long story short I now have my three essential cards – BP, Mobil and Shell and have PIN numbers on my credit cards and with fuel at $2.50 at some outback airports a new safe installed in the Jabiru to hold the cash. A few days before take off I contacted by local LAME and organised a full service of my aircraft. We both took a good look at everything and anything that needed to be looked at and then I looked again. We were comfortable that all was in good order. A few days out from the start of the trip I started to closely monitor weather patterns. Fine weather was predicted but strong headwinds were to be expected. Fuel calculations and locations where we would refuel were reconsidered. I rang all the airports to ensure that what the ERSA advised, fuel wise, was correct and it was. I also inquired about the condition of the strips where there was red sand or gravel specified and all seemed to be OK. Now that we had settled on our route, flight levels and refuelling points we could finalise the ‘mark-up’ of our onboard charts. Bearings, flight levels, radio frequencies (more than you can imagine), CTAF and airstrip details were all carefully plotted on the kneeboard charts. My AirNav software program was checked again and printed material copied. A final version of the flight plan was reloaded onto the GPS and checked. Two sleeps to go. One day out we decided to recheck instruments and have a fly to ensure all was OK. We also loaded up our gear, checked the oil for the 10th time and filled the fuel tanks. Peter and I agreed that we would get away around 7.00am to try to beat the strong westerly winds that had been around the last few days. That night over dinner my wife raised a good point.. “wouldn’t it have been cheaper to charter a 737 for a few hours for us both to see Lake Eyre”… she was right! As we took off from Warwick, Queensland and headed for Bourke we finally had time to contemplate why we, like many other pilots and grey nomads felt Lake Eyre must be explored, despite the remoteness and distances involved. Adventure, the fact that water of any significance being in the lake is rare and our love of flying certainly sums it up. Our research had uncovered that the Lake Eyre drainage basin covers one-sixth of all Australia. It was first sighted by Edward Eyre in 1894. With an area of 1,130,000 square kilometres it is one of the largest internal drainage systems in the world. The basin covers most of Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory and approx twenty percent of New South Wales. The volume of water required to fill Lake Eyre is almost beyond comprehension which is why it has been only full since 1885 six times – 1886, 1889, 1916, 1950, 1955 and 1974. Lake Eyre when full is 6 metres deep. Most floods have achieved 3-4 metres of depth. This year the average depth has been approximately 1.5 metres. When planning our trip we had decided that a trip to Lake Eyre by air must include the exploration of as many of the creeks and rivers that flow into the basin from Queensland as possible. Our first night was spent at Comeroo Camel Station a 90,000 acre cattle, camel and sheep station, 45minutes by air North West of Bourke. Comeroo is a strategic part of what used to be Tinnenburra Station a 2,653,000 acre component of a major agricultural empire owned by James Tyson on the 1880’s. Bruce and Chris Sharpe have a B&B there for aviators and other outback adventurers. The natural hot artesian spar, food, old cattle yards from Tyson’s days, wildlife and environment was enjoyed immensely. Travelling north west to Thargomindah for fuel we navigated over very remote country with very few places to land if needed. The odd remote station airstrip provided some comfort. We took off and flew 40 minutes to the west and that afternoon we set down at Noccundra Hotel located literally in the middle of nowhere. A hotel and an airstrip situated in a desert is all that exists so seeing the sights was over in 2-3 minutes yet it was probably one of the most exhilarating places to visit. The atmosphere was very nostalgic, the desert surrounding the hotel desolate and the hospitality and food exceptional. Early the next morning we set out for Durham Downs Station located on the western side of Cooper Creek and once we had the homestead in sight we then headed north to Windorah for fuel. Cooper Creek was spectacular. On average most ‘creeks’ that flow south in that area are many kilometres wide some up to 50km and are a mass of lagoons, channels and swamps which is why it is known as the Channel Country. The wildlife, birds and colour variations were in abundance. After lunch in Windorah we headed west to explore the Diamantina River region and once intersected we tracked south to Birdsville. I taxied and parked next to a Cessna that had lost its wheel when it collided with a pelican during the flight to Birdsville. Whilst flying low in this area can add to the appeal, the possibility of a bird strike is very real and we learnt later that it happens quite regularly. Birdsville was a lot smaller than I had imagined. We spent the night at the famous Birdsville Hotel. The hotel was full of aviators telling stories and making plans for the next day. Avgas in Birdsville was $2.50per litre, but what the heck! As we took off from Birdsville I could not help but notice the red, barren and imposing sand dunes lining the runway more than 8 metres high. A taste of things to come! We tracked due west to ‘Big Red’ a small mountain of a sand dune supposedly the ultimate quest of all 4WD hoons in Australia. We then turned south down Eyre Creek until we intersected with the Diamantina River again at Goyder Lagoon. The river at that point becomes the Warburton River and flows downhill, very slowly, to lake Eyre. The environment from Birdsville was virtually all sand dunes, no trees, no notable wildlife or cattle and the odd plume of steam from natural hot water vents along the creeks. It was absolutely stunning and surprisingly not intimidating despite the fact there were very few places to land safely in the event of an emergency. As we came to the Warburton Grove at the top of Lake Eyre the expanse of the Lake and the water flowing into it hits you with all its magnitude and sense of reality. Green to blue water and white salt and red sand for as far as the eye can see. We headed for Brooks Island situated just north of Jackboot Bay, famous for its wildlife, only to find that the birdlife had dissipated due to the ever increasing salinity of the water. The number of aircraft in and around the Lake Eyre and Maree Man areas all calling locations and altitudes changes on 126.7 was mind boggling but all very professional. After spending 45 minutes exploring the area we turned due west for William Creek. William Creek is virtually a nostalgic and very busy Hotel, an airstrip, a caravan park and two houses, oh and 5 billion flies that someone forgot to advise that is was winter and you guessed it, we all forgot the Aerogard. Over the years I have encountered ‘hard water’ in outback Australia but I can assure you, you will never experience water that feels, smells and irritates you as much as this drop. Soap lather is just not possible! The next morning due to the cold air my aircraft decided it was just too cold to start. The battery became dead flat and I soon discovered that jumper leads were non-existent at William Creek. A few old cables found behind a nearby house and a borrowed motor vehicle eventually got me going and we set out for Broken Hill. Thirty minutes out from William Creek we flew over the Marree Man, a geoglyph discovered by a passing pilot on 26 June 1998. It depicts an indigenous man, with a throwing stick. It lies on a plateau at Finnis Springs 58 km west of Marree in South Australia. The Marree Man is 4.0 km tall with a circumference of 28 km. It is the largest known geoglyph in the world. 3,500AMSL is the best height to take it all in. As we proceeded to Broken Hill we passed over the Birdsville and Strzelecki Tracks and a landscape that resembled what you can imagine Mars to look like. Curved and jagged red rock, no roads, trees and not a dam, lake, river or pond in sight. Desolate, inhospitable and remarkably beautiful. We pushed on for the Flinders Ranges. The Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over 430 km from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The landform and flora varied dramatically and mountain peeks dominated the skyline. We flew over the northern ranges with the Arkaroola wilderness sanctuary and the Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park in full view. Real tiger country! Broken Hill eventually came into view and from the air did not seem to have changed very much from when I lived there for 12 month in 1981. We fuelled up and set the compass for Hillston where we stayed for the night. On our final day we refuelled at Narromine and with wet weather forecast and moving in fast we decided to make a dash for Warwick. After flying around a number of small rain showers, guided by the BOM live radar on my iPhone, detouring around possible rotors at the Warrumbungles due to the squally winds from the south east we eventually made it home tired but feeling a great sense of achievement. Over the six days away we flew 2,275 nautical miles, I clocked 27.6 hours in the cockpit and averaged 18litres per hour in my 85hp Jabiru 2200. My mate logged 26.8 hours and his turbo charged 115hp Rotex 914 averaged 20litres per hour. Avgas prices ranged from $1.65 to $2.50 and my Credit Card was the must used card to purchase Avgas. Believe it or not I had full strength Telstra signal above 2000 feet in all places except the Lake Eyre region allowing live weather radar on my iPhone for the majority of the tour. Recommendation... Get out there!! Visioninaction (Kelvin)