High Wing

After serving me faithfully for the last year the time has come for me
to get a more practical work horse that I can use for my instrument
training and commercial operations. Even though I prefer low wing
aircraft high wings seem to have the advantage for the kind of work I am
going to be doing. I have had a huge amount of interest in MTW and I
have found my new wings already. If all goes to plan I will be flying
over east to deliver MTW to it's new owner and at the same time collect
my new Cessna 172 and fly that back to WA.

I'm back in Perth of course. Almost completed my multi engine rating and
looking forward to completing my instrument rating soon.

Amsterdam

My mum is finally in her new home!

I had 10 days left in europe before I return to Oz and so I went for a drive from the UK through France and Belgium to Holland staying in Amsterdam for a night before heading off through Germany to visit family in Switzerland. Back in the UK again now and only a couple of days left in Europe.

Leeds Castle

I have yet to fly over one of these in Oz!

Crossing the Thames

The QV1 bridge is visible and you can just see London off in the distance.

UK VFR

I hired a Warrior from the Southend Flying Club and flew west over Essex
to Thurrock and took some photos of the farm where i grew up. Then I
headed over the river Thames past the QV1 bridge and over the top of
Leeds castle on my way to Headcorn in Kent. I landed there and took my
sister and her daughter for a quick scenic flight over their house and
some local villages before heading back to Southend.
I found the Warrior to be way more floaty on landing than the Cherokee,
it has longer wings with tapered tips. Headcorn is the roughest strip I
have landed on, it was also my first grass strip, I am very used to
gravel but the undulations were a new experience.

UK GA

I'm in the UK for a few months to spend time with family and help my Mum move house. I dropped in at Southend Airport and got checked out in a Cherokee. It was a bit older than mine, but flew nicely. It means that now I can hire an aircraft from them any time and keep current and have some fun. I am planning to hire a warrior next week and fly over to Kent to take my sister and her daughter for a scenic.
I just found out that I cannot fly in Europe on my Aussie licence so I am looking into converting it to a UK JAA licence that will work.

I made it!

cott

I had a loneley hours flying at cott this afternoon before gav turned up. It started out sw and just got better and better.

Beverly West

IMG_0804.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Near an Aptly named Bald Hill. Never trust Green Hills though.

Pumphreys Bridge

IMG_0800.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

I guess the Cricket Pitch and Tennis courts stand out.

Euralla Homestead

IMG_0797.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

A couple of miles south of Pumphreys Bridge.

Radio Mast 11 Miles SE of Darkan

IMG_0796.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

In the little green triangle by the road. Hard to spot in the photo.

Bindaree Homestead

IMG_0791.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

It would be so much easier if they wrote the names of places in big letters on the lawn. Dead reckoning led me to believe that this was it.

Tallanalla

IMG_0783.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Exactly why a crossroad junction rates a name I have no idea, but this was what I found when I got to where it was supposed to be.

North Pinjarra

IMG_0782.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

North Pinjarra Drags?

IMG_0779.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Today i went on a solo nav in MTW to brush up on my skills as I needed to remind myself that I do really know how to navigate after making some really stupid mistakes lately. The first waypoint was the North Pinjarra Airstrip, the trap is the old bitumen strip that is a mile or so west of the red gravel strip. It is on the wrong side of the powerlines.

Rottnest

Copy of SANY6630.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Orbit of the City

Copy of SANY6626.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Sunny

Copy of SANY6614.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Has just returned from South America.

Off to Rottnest

Copy of SANY6612.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Over the weekend I took my friend and hang gliding buddy Sunny for a quick scenic flight over the city and on to Rottnest for ish and Chips and a Coffee.

Surely not a smile!

_DSC0075.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Surfin

_DSC0071.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Karl Surfs the Wave..

Wave Rock from the Air

_DSC0040.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Wave Rock

IMG_0756.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

I wanted one last low level navigation exercise before my flight test today and so I took Karl out to wave rock yesterday. All went well. Fingers crossed.

Cott

We had a marginal day at Cott this week. The wind was off to North but
there were some good periods. I managed a fun fly and safe top landing,
It was my first fly there for a few months and I was playing it safe.
Jason was high above all on his topless as usual and Shaun turned up
late and proved that light winds that are off to the North and the drag
from the bushes was not going to stop him having fun.
I'm gearing up for my final commercial flight test, hopefully in the
next couple of weeks. Almost there now.

Close to home

IMG_0729.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

About 80Nm from Jandakot the cloud came back, there was some lightening and thunder off in the distance. Cloud base dropped to 3500ft before the hills and then kept dropping as I got closer to the coast. By the time I got to mount dale I was at 3000ft and the cloud was just above me. I was flying with my map in my hand and keeping an exact track of my position, I know the area well and knew that mount dale was the highest point and so felt comfortable as I had at least 1000ft of terrain clearance. As I headed towards canning dam the cloud base lowered further and I ended up at 2300ft to remain out of cloud as I crossed over the last of the escarpment. The whole time I was prepared to do a 180 and either request airways clearance to go over it or divert somewhere else if required, but my luck held and I made it from one blue hole to another until finally it was time to descend at six south for a return to Jandakot. Inbound to Jandakot it was getting dark because of the cloud and I was worried that there was going to be low cloud and rain at the airfield, but other than having to dodge a few scattered clouds at around 1500ft on the way in I was lucky. I got a left base onto 24 and landed a few minutes before the heavens opened up and all the runway lights came on.

It was an amazing trip, I have learnt so much and my confidence in my abilities is much improved. I got to hone my navigation and airspace skills, put real operational planning into action. Learn to take forecasts with a pinch of salt, but also to know my limitations and operate within them for safe and relaxed flying. I am really glad that I did my night rating as that really does test your ability to navigate accurately and gives a whole new understanding of terrain elevations and the use of navigational instruments to give a much clearer, bigger picture resulting in amazing situational awareness.

I have a visit to the ophthalmologist on Monday as the final part of my class one medical. Then on Tuesday i start my final testing which should culminate in my commercial flight test in the next couple of weeks. I am almost at the end of a long but very rewarding road.

Scattered Cloud

IMG_0718.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

About 100Nm from Kalgoorlie the cloud broke up and the showers vanished. Blue skies for a pleasant flight across the wheat belt. The winds were all over the place with my ground speed varying from 80knots to 105knots and the ASI jumping all over the place. I kept low as I had the best average speed.

See and Avoid

IMG_0705.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

I passed a few clouds like this one that I gave a wide berth. The rain clouds were easy to spot and avoid. Even when there was one on one side I had clear air in front and often blue skies on the other side.

Leaving Kalgoorlie

IMG_0703.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

There was a mixture of broken and scattered cloud with obvious storm cells in places marked by black clouds and heavy rain showers. I knew I had plenty of fuel and heaps of alternates available if at any point I had to turn back or divert so I kept out of the rain and flew from one blue patch to another. Often i was passing rain and lightening a few miles off to one side of another, but I always had a clear path in front.

Super Pit

IMG_0700.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

I flew past the Super Pit on the way in and wasted no time getting onto the ground as it was black and ominous looking to the west. Shortly after landing a heavy rain shower and some thunder signalled a storm cloud overhead. I refueled and waited an hour on the ground for it to pass.

Approaching Kalgoorlie

IMG_0691.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

About 100Nm from Kalgoorlie the cloud started to appear, relatively low with a base around 4500ft, but high enough for me as I was still taking advantage of the lighter winds down low. Evidence of mining started to appear everywhere.

Leaving Warburton

IMG_0676.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

On the ground at Warburton there was a light south easterly, as I climbed out to my planned altitude tracking west for Leonora I watched my ground speed decay. I found that if I stayed low I could keep my ground speed above 100knots. This meant Kalgoorlie was now in range. I flew to Kalgoorlie never getting above 2000ft AGL and often around 1000ft to take advantage of the reduced headwinds.

BBQ

IMG_0670.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

On descent into Warburton

IMG_0667.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

A very isolated place.

Clear Skies

IMG_0659.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Half way to Warburton the skies cleared and it was blue above with camel filled desert below.

The Olgas from above

IMG_0647.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

My track to Warburton took me just to the right of the Olgas.

Yalura from above

IMG_0643.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

This is the tourist resort near the rock operated by voyages..

Leaving Yalura

IMG_0644.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

My first glimpse of a reddish rock, by the time I left the cloud was breaking up nicely and I was able to cruise at 6500ft

Blue Holes!

A blue hole just opened up, I'll only get as far as Warburton today, but
it is a start. Leaving now!

Met update

I just spoke to the met office. The band of overcast cloud extends about
80Nm west of here at around 2200ft before it starts to become broken.
At the moment it is CAVOK at Warburton, but then there is the likelihood
of thunderstorms and rain on the way to Leonora. Ground level is up to
4000ft west of here and below the cloud level, the cloud is about 3000ft
thick and it would be clear if I could get above it. Whilst I really
want to get out of here and I am tempted to try a skud run to the west
to the edge of the cloud, all my training tells me it would be very
dangerous and illegal if I get myself into cloud. If I had my instrument
rating and an IMC rated aircraft I could just climb above the cloud, but
I don't and so I not going anywhere today. The met office describe the
cloud as a very unusual localised phenomenon that they have not seen
here for 5 years. They are optimistic that it is thinning and should
break up tomorrow, they are aware that this has been there expectation
for the last few days, but the cloud is not playing by the usual rules.
To the west there are thunderstorms and another trough coming this way,
if I can get out of here tomorrow I may well end up getting stuck in
Warburton or Leonora for a couple of days, but anywhere would be a
welcome change at the moment. There is only so much to see and do here
and I have done it all now and I want to leave.

Aaargh

Overcast at 1800ft again this morning and the forecast calls for the
cloud to break up at 6.30pm. Nooooo! I'm heading down to the airport
anyway, I know the cloud breaks up west of here, if I see a blue hole
this morning I'll take it. 20 knot crosswinds today too.

A glimmer of hope

The tops of the Olgas are still shrouded in cloud, but on the horizon
far to the North West there is a thin bright light that seems to
indicate a break in the overcast conditions. It is hopefully the
scattered cloud arriving late for its lunchtime appointment. Conditions
look good for a flight to Warburton in the morning. From Warburton cloud
is forecast to be overcast above 7000ft which is OK with me, there are
isolated thunderstorms in the area, but I have enough fuel to go around
them and if I need to I am prepared to land at one of the strips along
the way to wait it out. If I can leave here by 10am I should be at
Warburton by 1pm, allowing an hour for refuelling I should be in Leonora
by 5pm, about an hour before last light. It looks like Leonora will be
my next overnight stop and my last before returning to Jandakot. I just
booked a 200 litre drum of Avgas an Leonora for $563 (ouch) I think I
will need about 140 litres when I get there so I will have a small store
there if I ever head back that way. Fingers crossed when the sun comes
up in the morning there is mostly blue sky.

Avgas Worries

I am hoping to get out of here tomorrow, if the overcast low cloud
breaks I will have a chance to go somewhere. Warburton is in easy range
no matter that the winds are doing, but after that the nearest fuel is
Kalgoorlie, and that is only in range for me with no wind or a tail
wind. With the current headwinds I would be arriving with less than
30mins of fuel in the tanks, not an option. Forrest would be in range
heading south, but they have no Avgas at the moment and are waiting for
a delivery. The same goes for Leonora, Linster and Laverton, since BP
pulled out there is no longer Avgas on tap anywhere. Leonora have
emergency drums available at $542 each, but that is akin to highway
robbery. I might have to revert to my original plan of heading towards
coober pedy and then along the south coast.

The weather looks better along the south coast today, but still marginal
towards Kalgoorlie. Decisions, Decisions.

It just occured to me that by going via coober pedy I am adding about an
extra 5hrs flying time to my trip and an extra nights accommodation, I
would expect that fuel is going to average around $2 a litre crossing
the Nullarbour and that I am going to pay $90 for a nights accommodation
in a motel somewhere. So it's around $500 to go that way. Ok, now that I
think about it the drum of Avgas does not look so bad. I can cut the
corner back to Perth via Wyalkatchem to save more time.

Weather update

The forecast calls for the low cloud to break up after lunch here, but
it now has the low cloud and thunderstorms west of here. Another night
here I think.

Olgas

olgasdistpana.jpg, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Of all the walking I did today, I enjoyed the 7.4km walk around the Olgas the most, it was interesting enough to be classified as difficult in the tourist guides and hence has the lowest density of tourists. At some points I was almost 100M away from the nearest tourist. If you look carefully you can just see the highest peak shrouded in cloud when I took this photo. The forecast is terrible, more low cloud at 800ft at the moment and light drizzle with visibility down to 3km. At the moment from Warburton on it looks good for the run to Kalgoorlie, but I can't get out of here. The wind is swinging north and is already west on the other side of Kalgoorlie, once I have a significant headwind I will be unable to make the leg from Warburton to Kalgoorlie, so tomorrow will probably be my last chance to go that way, if I can't get out of here tomorrow I may have to go with my original plan of south and then west.

The Rock

ayerspana1.jpg, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

This morning it was freezing and in the drizzle and low cloud the tops of Ayers Rock and the Olgas was shrouded in cloud. It was obvious I was not going anywhere. By late morning cloudbase started to life and so I spent the day walking around Uluru and the Olgas, I think I walked about 20kms today. They are certainly some pretty rocks. Whilst i can appreciate their majesty and beauty I felt more of a connection with the canyons I explored around exmouth, mainly because I was completely alone, and here you are permanently surrounded by tourists from all over the world. Perhaps the most confronting are the Japanese who choose to go everywhere wearing medical face masks.

Trapped at Ayers Rock

Cloud base is still 500ft and its still raining. It will raise to 2000ft
later but that is not enough. I'm here another night.

AYERS ROCK (YAYE)
TAF YAYE 302220Z 3100/3112
10010KT 4000 DRIZZLE BKN005
FM310200 09010KT 9999 BKN020
RMK
T 10 14 16 16 Q 1023 1023 1022 1021
TAF AMD YAYE 301939Z 3019/3112
10010KT 4000 BKN005
FM310200 09010KT 9999 BKN020
RMK
T 08 08 12 15 Q 1022 1023 1023 1022
METAR YAYE 302300Z AUTO 09007KT 9999NDV // OVC006 09/08 Q1024
RMK RF00.0/000.0

Yulara

Its 7'C here and there is light drizzle. Cloudbase is 1000ft. It's
freezing! My room has an air conditioner, but I would rather a heater at
the moment! The whole place here is owned by one company all the hotels
and associated services too. There are only 2 types of people, tourists
and employees. The forecast is looking pretty lousy. The forecast cloud
is below my minimum safe altitude for the run to Warburton and there are
still thunderstorms and showers in the area. Kalgoorlie is looking
better, but has scattered cloud at 2500ft at the moment, so not great.
The area forecasts and TAFs will be updated in about 8hrs and I will be
able to make a go/no go decision then. If cloud base lifts a few
thousand feet I would be comfortable leaving later tomorrow and flying
part of the Warburton to Kalgoorlie leg at night, but only if Kalgoorlie
is 100% perfect as far as the current weather and forecast is concerned.
If I can't get out of here tomorrow it looks like Tuesday might be my
next chance, and then another cold front might trap me in Kalgoorlie for
a few days. I've really been spoilt by the weather over summer and
whilst I would like to be on my way, I do appreciate the value of
finally being able to apply in practice all the theoretical
meteorological skills I have learned. I used the planes carby heat in
anger for the first time today, the first time ever I have been aware I
was in prime icing conditions and it would be prudent to avoid any ice
build up. The area forecast has the freezing level at 6000ft around here
so I'd like to either be above it or below it and well clear of cloud on
the way home. Fingers crossed the next forecast is a better one,
otherwise I'll have to resign myself to being a cold tourist for a few
more days.

The Rock

IMG_0473.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

This is my best shot of the Rock so far. If I manage to get out in the morning I will track via the Rock and see if I can get a better photo on the way to Warburton, if I am stuck here another day then I will try again tomorrow. If it looks like the weather might improve in the afternoon when its too take to head for Kalgoorlie then I'll take a shuttle out to the rock and have look around on foot. As always Flickr has many more photos from the last couple of days.

Weather...

IMG_0468.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Believe the TAF and the Area forecast was the lesson for today!
Despite the forecast of broken cloud at 2000 and thunderstorms in the area it looked OK from the ground. I spoke to the tower and they said it looked pretty clear. After take off on climb to 4000 and tracking for the rock I was suddenly surrounded by low cloud and rain and had to circle in between showers at 3000ft for 20 mins. A Qantas Boeing executed a missed approach whilst I was holding about 10 miles to the south of the airport due to low visibility. The showers passed but I could see more rain and low cloud inbound from the east so I took my chance to return to the airfield for a landing after the the Boeing and just before conditions deteriorated again. I was never IMC, but it was close and it was a valuable lesson and more great experience! At the moment it is not looking good for the flight to Kalgoorlie tomorrow with broken cloud at 4000, but it may improve over night and there is still a chance I'll be leaving in the morning.

Ayers Rock

Today it is damp and freezing cold and windy, but cloud base is quite
high and there is some blue sky. I am about to head off to the airport
to fly myself around the Rock. I have been recalculating my leg home
based on the strong easterlies we have for the next couple of days and I
am thinking about changing my route to be home via Warburton and then
Kalgoorlie. Warburton to Kalgoorlie will be my longest run yet at almost
400NM but with an easterly behind me I should be able to get there with
my reserves intact. The forecast is looking better for tomorrow with no
cloud below 5000ft and the thunderstorms moving away to the east, if the
forecast is accurate and the winds and clouds look good tomorrow morning
I will be in Kalgoorlie tomorrow night.

On the ground at Ayers Rock

IMG_0467.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

I was delighted to be here, it was great decision making and a good outcome. I am pleased with the way I planned and executed the last leg. The last 2 days have been the most interesting of the trip so far!
In shot is just one of the 3 torches I carry with me, they help to make electrical failures at night a non event, rather than a disaster!
I'm hoping the weather breaks tomorrow afternoon so I can do my scenic flight of the Rock and the Canyons. We have embedded thunderstorms on the TAF until 9am tomorrow at the moment.

Rain

IMG_0448.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

On the way to Ayers rock I had to dodge rain showers, I never left VMC though, but it probably added about 35mins to the trip time due to the course deviations and the variable winds along the way. I had 5Hrs of fuel in the tanks and had my no return point in mind and would have turned back to Alice if conditions had deteriorated.

Close to Alice

IMG_0433.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

On the way on the terrain started to rise...

Desert

IMG_0422.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

On the way to alice, blue skies above, sand dunes below.

Approaching Boulia

IMG_0394.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Rivers

IMG_0372.JPG, originally uploaded by hangflyer.

Much of Australia looks the same from above, that is what makes the features stand out so much. Here rivers caused presumably by the big wet further north in QLD cause veins of life to run through an otherwise arid landscape.