NSW

I Picked up the plane this afternoon at Camden airport after flying up with Qantas. I only managed to get away at around 4pm and started to head towards Dubbo.. The light started to fade as I neared Bathurst so the day was called. The higher than expected headwind also made the divert a little easier to call. There is nothing as cold as Bathurst

Flying around Camden was one of the hardest environments I have yet to tackle. There were at least 20 VFR aircraft in the area and the prior pilot had forgotten to cancel his SARtime. There is nothing like having four other pilots all telling you to contact Sydney Radar 'urgently' just as you are turning crosswind on the climb out.

Otherwise the flight over Katoomba and the gorges was spectacular. The temptation to cross a bit of tiger country to have a closer look at some of the valleys and cliff's was very high.

Rockhamton Downs and High oil temp

Just for the record.. Rockhampton downs 'airport'

Blasted Jabs... They just don't like hot weather. Rockhampton downs was in the high 30's today and blowing a 20kn wind. The trip out there from Tennant Creek took almost 1 1/2 hours this morning and just 30 mins back this afternoon.

The trip may have been faster but the oil temp was getting a little to high for my liking. Pressure Altitude managed to hit 8700' when I was just 2800' above see level. New record for myself.

Tomorrows weather is meant to be very similar so I will need to leave at the crack of dawn to make it to Mt Isa before the day gets hot.

The Simpson

I made it in one piece without getting lost. It took 3 and a half hours to get across the Simpson and Istill managed to find the only strip in 100NM. :) Multiple GPS based navigation is the best invention as land marks were few and very far between. The respect for the older pilots grows by the day.

The weather was fairly good with a constant 9 knot tailwind gently pushing me towards Numery Station after a rough patch as I left Boulia. A few thermals gave me a free lift now and then (read: Kidneys, ouch my Kidneys). I was surprised at how far the flooding had got with nearly every sand dune having a green strip between them.

I left Numery station yesterday, had a quick pitstop at Delmore downs to discuss a Hornet (ultralight) project with the owner and then headed to Tennant creek as a stop over to Rockhampton downs.

I will head across to Mt Isa on Saturday and then back south to Monkira on Sunday if all goes to plan and should be home in time for the weekend after.

Weather

Queensland Sunny one day, pouring the next.

I ended up spending an extra couple of nights in Emerald (Qld) due to the weather closing in over all of Queensland. Clouds were down to 1500' and having some 2000-3000' plus hills west of emerald I decided to stay put and get to fly another day.

I left Emerald this morning hoping to make it to Bedurie but I was forced to make a detour to the north due to a large storm cell just west of Monkira Station. Most unsealed roads west of Longreach have been closed due to the rain and it would have been impossible to drive across to Alice Springs without heading north to Mt Isa and across to Tennant Creek and heading south again. This wet season seems to be draging out a fair while.

I am now going to Head to Numery station along the Plenty Highway and head south from Harts Range. Further rain is expected tomorrow morning but it should only take about 4 hours to make it to Numery.

Preaching to the converted

The field days at Birrong (Springsure) and Potters flat (Yuilba) went well. The Birrong field day had 54 attendees and I slightly ran over question time by well over an hour. Questions were flying thick and fast and the interest was huge. It is almost sicking to hear our customers plug our product so strongly.

Richard Goldens feild day was a case of preaching to the converted. Of the 26 attendees, 9 were direct customers with some strong interest coming from the other attendees. One of the attendees (Charles Mason) who admits to enjoying throwing a few clurly questions completely surprised the attendees with his postive questions and comments about our product. He admits to enjoy finding week spots in peoples products but could not praise our service or product strongly enough in front of everyone.

The airstrip on Tuesday was a little hairy coming to land with a 24kn cross wind and a very rough grass surface. It just proves how tough the little jabs are, The owner of the airstrip stated that he would not dare to fly his cessena in the gusty conditions that were present but the Jab impressed him with how it handled. :)

I will be spending the next few days working east of Emerald (Qld) and aim to be heading west over the Simpson on Saturday or Sunday depending on the weather.

Melbourne - Rockhampton - Simpson Desert

Next set of Jobs around the country...

I'm heading to a couple of small installations near Emerald and Rockhampton and then have the challenge of crossing the simpson desert over to Alice Springs. This will be my biggest challenge yet as a pilot but things should go well with the correct planning. I have almost 700 kilometers of sand dunes and flooded channels (yep - one in a 40 year flood) without a single road to use as a bearing. Good thing the sand dunes run north south but they all look the same on the map. :)

I have a couple of Field day presentations to perform later in the week but will be spending a few days talking to some new and not-so new clients.

It took just on 5 1/2 hours to make it from Tooradin to Gunnedah via Narromine. Planes running fairly well but the 50 hours service and a new set of spark plugs due in Emerald (QLD) will make things a touch better.

The Valleys around Marysville and the upper Yarra Valley look like they are still smoldering from the fire in early Feburary. Absolutely Spectacular scene at 11 o'clock this morning.

Moa Island

Worlds most expensive freight..

We finally managed to get to Banks Peak just on 9:30 this morning. We had a half hour Helicopter ride to the lower clearing and then a 300' climb to the peak while the helicopter lifted the gear into the site. It's Absolutely impossible to get equipment in and out of the site any other way as there are no roads and the climb was muddy after some fairly heavy rain overnight.

Everything went smoothly and we got about half the sensors installed with the rest to be installed early next week when some parts arrive from Cairns. This place has it's own schedule and it's very slow.

I am heading back to Melbourne tomorrow for a few days before I head to the back of Broken Hill in the Jabiru later in the week. I have a total of about 5 days at home in the next month and a half with May looking like my next break. Public holidays for everyone but me. Some how I am going to spend my third Easter in a row at Monkira..

Bets are open on where I am going to be on the Queens Birthday holiday in June.

I'm Back!

After a well earned summer break in Victoria I'm back into it.

I am currently sitting on Thursday Island about to install a small system to monitor a remote radio system in the middle of the Torres straight.

This place is amazing. The trees are bright green, the water blue, tropical rain forest around every corner and a smile from everyone walking down the street but they could be just laughing at my plated goatee.

I will heading to Moa Island on Thursday or Friday by Helicopter to actually perform the installation and tomorrow will be spent creating a mock up of the monitoring system so the guys know what they are doing.

I'm in Heaven here but you cant swim, The Jardine river mouth is only a few kilometers away and the harbour here at TI is full of BIG salty's. Those Red and Whites eyes reflecting the Pubs lighting is a real worry.

The Pub looks feral but the drinks are VERY cold and the local seafood is great. King prawns on the steak with dinner are a winner. I was expecting to pay a fortune as per a normal remote area but was very surprised.

Definitely a great out of the way Holiday spot.