Were across to WA....yahooo...

March 30th today , last flight we were stuck in Yalata at a small dirt runway, in an aboriginal settlement . morning was good for flight and at first light I was off again , today was the day long and tiring but managed to do my best flight total to date 450km . I took 3 fillups but basically flew for about 9 hrs with small breaks for sugar to keep my going , some of it was rough but nice to have the wind at my back or so some of the time . The next 4 days are a seris of flights 210 km 280km 250 km , it seems to never have the wind favor us or change after about 2 hr of flying to slow our progress down. The mid day thermal are brutal we are lucky to have a cloud cover which is allowing me to fly mid day. The nullabour cliffs were cool to see but I had to do battle with a direct north wind at about 30 km hrs , which ment if I get to close I get pushed back into the ocean .. not a nice way to finish ! At times had to get low as the upper winds increaded and it got real bumpy up high that is over 1000ft , so surfing along at around 200 ft full bar and keeping the wing over me at th same time. Entering WA was a treat ... an accoplishment were here ! As I passed the road house I noticed a large building and saw it was for fruit quarantine ! Shit we had so much nice fruit and vegtables which were confiscated for pest coming into WA. So here we are at the campsite with only meat pastaand rice left , bastards...I mean this is done in the middle of th desert with no where to stop to buy new food ! and we dont know how many days it is going to take us to cross ! To make a long story short we end uptaking another few days and yesterday endedup in Norsman the finish of the Nullabour !Yeah were were all happy , we wear out of food and water and had'nt showered for 4-5 days. the lat 2 dys of flying were tough as the clouds had disappeared and it was tough rough flying and very hard on the mind and body , especially the shoulders and rotater cuffs. I am mainly quiet in the evenings in recover mode ! They do not know what i'm going through unless your the one doing it you cant feel it . Today and yesterday were wating games and watching the weather the past 4 day we have been without cell or computor sevice to check winds which I find is good and bad. good we get more work done to the motors and campermuch needed repairs to both , Now we have 2 motors running again which we have not had since the beginning of the trip !! With our spare parts the boys got together and did the job, I watched and cooked... kitchen bitch !! They know better than me which parts work now and which ones are finished and what we need to finish this off. Yesterday flew 120 km into Norsman , tried an afternoon flight a few times and just about hit the trees shit ! the next flight I only had 10 km foward speed ,not enought to clear the tree's and get us the 169 km we need to th next town . Stayed in Norsman at the campground showere, food ,shopping and laundry , Today winds are better and get off at 3pm and get my butt kicked for the 1st hr , probably the most violet air yet , clof front had just passed , flyng in the lee of some mtns and cross wind mixed with thermals ... not fun ! Evening was better tail cross wind , lighter later in the flight. 140 km and were into Coolgarie ? Just enough fuel and time to land before last light , and a good set up for tomorrows ever changing winds ! good night !

Nullarbor here we come !

Up early at dawn , pack up and go out to the motor , belt was slipping it would not start . Perfect morning , ended up putting on the starter which was not on this motor from the prevoious day , too much dew and we did not have the moter covered. Put on the starter still having problems witht he new starter ! Finally it kicked over and time to get suited up , problems with the in line fuel fileter and the motor running out of fuel . Got up and away ,nice air flew past Ceduna at 90km away in 1.5hrs ,just past the city it was getting mixed up , drop altitude and surf along the tree tops again. Flew on.. lost ground crew for supplies and landed after 4 hrs and 196km side of the road truck stop . Flew thru some semi rough air for about 2 hrs but nice foward ground speed. Decided to fuel up and set off asap waitied about 45 minutes for the ground crew toshow up . 2 lousy launches on the hwy and set up over in the feild , wind was light a variable . Launched and flew to Yalata 78 km away in thermic conditions , could see a sea breeze coming in and it was mixed air not to nice ! Road house was closed and flew into town and landed at the airport , aborginal settlement had a nice visit from some of the locals , they wanted some gasoline !who knows what for ?? Wind was to strong for and afternoon flight. Cook supper read ,fix motor and stuff ! Total today was 280km , hope for better tomorrow and to get to Border town . Weather is holding for the next few days with the high pressure. Let's go to west Australia...!!

March 23rd ....

We ended the last flight after 20 km and that's where we camped on a pullout on the side of the hwy . Not a nice place but no here else to go. The day was spent reading and exploring the area , hiking . The 24th is supposed to be nice with a high pressure system setting up. Light winds ...up early ,set up on the hwy. and we were off , I could see Fog in the distance !! Managed to fly about 10 km and we hit fog. I tried to climb up and over but I could not see the ground ,not good if I have to land quickly . It actually got very thick , lots of moisture and it was hard to see . I asked the guys to go ahead and look for towers and powerlines as I had to stay low to see the hwy and doing 40km /hr would give me seconds to avoid anything . This went on for about 1 hrs and then it got windy had to land to warm up an dry out , I was soaked and shivering ..warmed up 1/2 hr later back in the air . More fog passing the town of Kyancuna, waiting for the bend in the road for a better tailwind, up to now it was a south cross wind and slow progress. Nice farming area , real large farms and looks like wheat or similar staying low for the past 2 hrs . I could see showers starting to the south and low level wave starting had to keep flying and get ahead of it , the road was curving in my favor now and running at 65km/hr. Landed for some gas after 3hrs and when we went back we to start could not get the engine going again . Swap engines over took about 1 hr ... tick toc, tick toc ....as usual wasting valuable flying weather and wind . Launched again and flew for about another hr landing near Poochera in crazy thermals and wind . Ended up going into town for beer at the pub , I get to have Coke !! Launched again about 5pm in strong wind but tail wind , landed near 7pm past Wirrula , Looks like the sea breeze kicked in and i had 0 ground stopped me dead and real nasty air. Total for the day 250km , slow start,fog,rain, wind and heat...all in 8 hrs . Food and sleep ...

Thursday the 22nd March

We woke up early with the prospect of getting some distance, consulted Predict Wind on the internet which is usually very reliable we found . Left the ground at around 7:15landed at 7:18 my Gps was not working and I need a working road map to get into PT Augusta. Launched again and flew towards Wilmington met some south winds and had to climp over a pass near Orrorrow, but was quite smooth , was wairing for my ground crew to catch up wanted to find aout about ground winds before the big pass ahead of me . I was qute nervous climbing over the pass as the winds were supposedto be increasing from the south especially on the other side. it was a smooth as sillk flight over and a real treat to do it. Green rolling hills and a nice glide over the back with smooth air .Pt Augusta here we come , the wind was picking up , followed around the city , north of the airport and onwards to land near Iron knob about 160 km away. Yes throught the crux and happy to get away from the windy area , I think ! Had to go back to Pt Augusta as the ground crew did not stop for supplies and we are entering the area of no services ! Got food , propane , gas and Macdonalds ! Flew another small flight in the afternoon , we know the wind is picking up and we hit it , down after 20km , trying to make Kimba this evening would be nice , Predict wind says lots of wind tomorrow !

Past Pt Augusta finally !!

Whew , it takes alot of patience to fly in OZ . It's always blowing ! For the past 3 day we have only put in about on 120 km . Usually a quick early morning or very late evening flight . Managed to get into the town of Burra about 40km away from where we stopped last post. Nice evening flight into the hills surrounded my wind turbines , ok so that gives you a clue as to what were are up against . Would have liked to go flown further but , it was too dark ! Camped out on the side of the hwy , next day was all wnd , took and late afternoon flight and landed after 5 km , way too wind almost parked on the spot ! Waited for another hr in the paddock and launched again late evening , flew in some strong winds for about 40km and landed . Had some spectators come and see us with their kids , they heard about us in the Cobar news a week earlier , cool ! Did not get out that next morning again too windy , went to town and did the usual in Terowie famous by a visit from General Douglas McArther March 20/1942 we were their the same day at that time 70 yrs later ... both good men just passing by ! we ended up flying past trowie later in the day abd landing about 30 km away from where we started , again so much wind .... launching at about 6:30pm landing by 7:30. Next day was the same, wind switched direction 180 during the night and it started to rain and blow hard , cold front low clouds had to get up at 2am to secure everything , cover and move my tent and stake it down ! March 21, was spent in Peterborough in the morning coffee and brekky... went out and put in a nice late evening flight to Orroroo windy but at my back. Nice flight ... set up camp , sleep !

North into SA .... and PT Augusta ?

We did not get out of Edenhope on the Friday, low clouds about 400ft and some rain , waited most of the day and could see clearing coming , to stay or go ?? We were invited by the locals to come to supper at the golf club, excellent meal and good company , thanks !! Supper was paid for and as we left they gave us a meat hamper for the trip hmmmmm... that will be nice ! Up early on sat. morning , still dark as usual lots of locals out to see us off in the morning , fueled up ready to head north , hand prop the engine , the starter is finished, it starts well and easy , a few quick low passes for the local crowd and norht at 64km /hr . Flew up thru Bordertown SA and now north , morning flight 140km . Quick meat pie and coffee and warm up a bit ... it was so cold this morning about 11c - 2c for 1000ft up and wind chill . So more like 4c for me flying , did not bring warm enough cloths ! Topped up on gas and flew another 60 km and landed when I was getting my butt kicked around again , but good progress ! Spent sat afternoon at the bakery eating andd doing some internet waiting for the wind to slow down , as usual ! Evening flight at about 6pm flew untill dark or about 15 minutes after sunset , nice flight quite calm and pleasent ! Another 75km , nice camp area in between 2 roads , I like camping and finding new places to stop from the air , my ground crew could not catch me , ground speed of about 85 -90 km/ hr and I can cut corners !! Today is the 18th ..... ahhh could feel the wind all night on the tent , but not gusty smooth laminar air , told the guys well be flying asap and wanted them under me as they usually aren't in the morning, and I'm not good with that !! Told them I wanted them to be packed up and ready to leave when I did... it worked well and they were on my ass .. untill the town and they had to get gas . Flew along at between 50km/hr and 113km/ hr depending on wich direction the roads went , quick 11o km flight then the shit happened again , thermals and bumpy and more wind . Made it to 145km and landed ... here we sit waiting for the wind to die once again on the side or the road ! Life in the outback ! It's all GOOD... I'm happy ! cheers

Today ...and Edenhope !

Well it seems we have a frontal system approching in few days, its march 13th right now . We are down to our last starter , we are praying it will hold out ... it is staring to make noise , not good ! Flew an easy 88km this morning , decided to land and ask a farmer which road to take, they all had a good laugh they were loading hay on the back of a truck and wanted to see my take off again . A few minutes later I was off , wind was continueing to pick up and i'd lost my ground crew. I flew about another 15 km and put down thinking my crew might be lost or something had happened . They found me about 45 minutes later after getting misplaced going thru the city .
Loaded up the motor and went to Macdonald's for breakfast... free WIFI , but it sucks its so slow not worth the effort. Cleaned the starter and found some better ear plugs. My ears are starting to ring from to much noise and flying too much . Was given a pair free at the hearing clinic thanks !!
Evening went out to fly again, motor would not start ! Starter is pooped ! put a new plug in , clipped back the ignition wires at the plug side and Mark did a hand prop , worked well , everyone was happy . Now we dont have to worry about a starter anymore , just loosing fingers !!
Had a nice 80km flight into Eden hope situated on a small lake . caravan part right on the lake with a big grassy beach , put on a bit of a show for the locals and landed near dark to applause ...
Spending the next few days here as the front has come in .. need to scatch up on sleep and rest and charging instruments ,running and swimming in the pool.
Ended up with an ear ache from the water after swimming , ohhhh sore , goggled it . Oil in the ear and some tylanol.. fixed it up !

Nice little town, locals are great and they dropped off some donations for the Royal Flying Doctor for us to pass on . Hope to be in the air again tomorrow the 16th , and run north towards PT. Augusta in SA . cheers

Moving forward .. sort of quickly !

Last post was about a week ago , sitting in a town called Cobar , nice little place in the middle of NSW. worked on the motors trying to get one working propery and maybe even two again , Went for a run ,was ready to fly bu 3pm , took off , in rough conditions , went to power up no power ... no power , tried to turn around , no way to clear the power lines , ditched in a field with goat bones all around me , Graveyard for dead goats !!
Changed carbs out , waited untill 5pm and took off again wind head to cross foward speed about 24 km hr with bar on full . 3 hrs battle took me about 60km and a nice landing spot fot eh evening , not too bad everybit helps . much patience requiredfrom my ground team whom are all following in the truck and travelling very slowly as well . The next few day are a blur .. take off early , land early due to wind and turbulance cross head wind . full bar required most of the time . Legs and arms getting very tired as well as my mind .

210km , 220 km , 300km, 220km day done in the past 4 days push, push , we are behind on Km and days of flying from the storms of last week. Our daily km is now 120km down from 200 not enough.
Reached the town of broken hill , nice evening comming into a big mining town, landed out near the airport abd had a nice pizza night in town !
Big day running south from here toward Mildura 300km or so , landing just short of Mildura .
Big group discussion this night , things needed to be sorted out , all's good again I hope. Left Mildura early, taking off and flying thru the vineyards and south of Mildura to avoid controlled airspace and the city .
Flew about 60km untill I saw nothing but tree's landed , due to not have a charged radio and not knowing about how far the forest (national park) streched , turns out it was only 24km. Took off again about 2:30pm , not much wind but rough thermals and headwind when I started south ,up and own like a yoyo , managed another 60km in 2 hrs . Got my butt kicked in a dust devil as it felt like I was entering an area of convergence .. landed quickly . Waited it out for 2 hrs , took off and flew another 80km in sweet evening air, ahhh I need more of this . Great camping area no mosquito's , good supper and rest , 220km for the day !

Nevertire again....!

Well at least were making some Km now , the groups mood in better we did about 100km today . Good sleep, the nights are colder now , mosquitoes are not getting better !! Take off before sunrise , turn north and head towards Nyngan 63 km . Cold in the air but smooth at last cruise at about 1000ft, hide hands behind flight deck .
No gloves , lost them somewhere with my sunglasses ! Must be getting older, losing everything at least I have no keys to loose !! hahahah if you know me !!
Make a nice turn in town and head west again follow the highways toward broken hill . its getting bumpy again wind is shifting to the south and throwing me around hang in their . Don't know where the ground crew is ... lots of tree's decision time ... stay with it ! Thinking about possible landing areas railways tracks , side of the road , hmmm keep going suck it up ! Find my ground crew at about 150 km aweet pull up on the highway ... wind turns tail again smooth flying 71km hr.
See the town of Cobar ahead , yes 175km later on the ground in a nice dirt field. Good landing ... Happy I did not ditch early. Into town for a cuppa 10 am flying for 3 hrs .. stessfull and good to be putting in some km's again.
Finally catching up on the blog ! let hope for a good afternoon and less stress... more smooth evening flying needed!! cheers

Gilgandra decision time !!

Always nice to finish the morning battle and have a cuppa and some food in the local bakery. Nice place this town .. great bakery. He are all a bit glum , not nany KM'a being put on and were starting to run out of days. Were hoping to do about 200km a day but were getting behind , some of us have to get back to work soon. Group meeting at the table , bring out the map ! Look at our options !!
Cannot go south too many roads closed , and floods still to come , that is the way we want to go , decide going north, still some raods closed. Strong X wind expected from the SE . hmmmmm... looking at th forcasts , lets go west, out of this area !
It is decided to backtrack our route and go back to Warren and Nevertire and the triangle of doom !! The afernoon is quite windy but some tail wind sweet I think... wait untill 5pm and launch .. nice tail wind for about the first 30km then it decides to go south and X wind .. shit ! Bumpy, bumpy and at Warren.. watching the floods again, the road turns south into the wind . Slow going as I watch the Sun set and crawl along the ground at 20km hr with bar on... bloody country is it ever not windy !!
End up were we started and few days earlier..... land , eat, sleep .

Nevertire east past Warren ....

A day of sitting in the rain , incredible storm , flooding all around us . Many towns south are being flooded and evacuated . Waga waga is moving 10.000 people out and lots of personal damage ! The roads south are all mainly closed , the roads north are closed , we are deciding to go north east. Based on the weather map and predict wind. We set of early back to Nevertire area , launch and get in the air ,a bit late but were off , Fly past Warren, its bumpy .. south wind and colder afer the rain . Push on.. watch all the rivers overflowing the banks and fields full of water , 45 km after take off i'm back on the ground too much x wind and gusty , nice to be back on the ground !
We drive about 20 km to the nearest pub thinking they may have a cafe or cell tower ... nope just a pub , Local roads are all flooding and closed . We spend the day hoping for the wind to calm down, but by 7pm we pull the pin and are drinking beer ! The pub owner gives us a place to sleep for the night , I prefer my tent , the others mainly Budd snores loadly !! Cannot handle snoring ! Next morning wake up to the garbage man at 5:30 am ahh great way to wake up ... get on the road and back to the take off , find a launch site on a dirt road very slippery !! Off we go agian !! Make it to just short of Gilgandra , very windy about 25km hr , and no real forward speed with full bar... damn wind !!! It always seems to be X or headwind ! .... oh well life in the outback !

Nevertire !

This is the town we sit in, spent the day in an empty parking area woohooo exciting !
Found out the coil was gone on th motor but we have no puller to take it off ... so we swaped the motor out . We are 12 km short of The town of Nevertire, in the triangle of doom as we call it ! we decide to head into warren a larger town about 19 km east and set up in a caravan park .
Next day another attempt to get out of here drive back 30 km and as I take off and climb before the power lines. I feel the belt slip when I apply power ,, shit ... gusty x wind/tail conditions and I have no power. I am trying to stay low to keep in the winf gradient near the ground and have to hop over power lines , everytime I apply power I dont know if I'm going to climb or the belt is going to slip, milk it... milk it.. jat as i get to nevertire I am about to cross some major lines .. apply power no go belt just slips and I'm sinking fast . Power off, turn into wind sort of , avoid trees, watch for power lines, shit coming up quick , landed safe but a bit fast, whew that was some adrenaline !!
Walk threw water back to road cursing f&*&(*king motor , but as you would know things happen sometimes for a reason . Within 5 minutes of landing the wind changes 180 deg and a cloud forms. Good to be on the ground !! We head back into the town of Warren. Now the weather it is setting in good , we spend 3 days in the Caravan park in pouring rain , good thing for the new tent ! Washing cloths, eating and some running and reading . Interesting trailer park people !!