Slipstream - Darling Downs Aero Club

Slipstream
THE DARLING DOWNS AERO CLUB NEWSLETTER
November/December 2015
Mutze St
Toowoomba Airport
Ph: 07 4634 2777
Farewell Graham ‘Grumbles’ Hadley
Graham had been involved
with aviation dating back to
the Second World War,
where he was a crew member on Catalina flying
boats. He was a pilot for
decades with his passion for
aviation keeping him flying
even during the year he
turned 90!
Graham had a career in
real estate and a great
It was with a heavy heart head for business as evithat we recently received denced in his time as Aero
the news of the passing of Club treasurer.
a much loved Darling
Downs Aero Club lifetime Many of our members
member,
G r a h a m would know him for his tire‘Grumbles’ Hadley.
less commitment at our vari-
ous Club competitions, particularly flour bombing (he
was chief bomb maker)
and balloon bursting (he
was in charge of releasing
the balloons).
Others might know him for
his quick wit at the Touch
and Go Bar on a Friday
night. Regardless of where
you first met him one thing
i s c e r t a in , G ra h a m
‘Grumbles’ Hadley will be
greatly missed by all Club
members.
Graham ‘Grumbles’ Hadley 1922-2015.
Flour bombing competition
There was a great turnout
for the September flour
bombing competition. However, there was some debate about the validity of
the results, with a suspicious
clean sweep from the
board members.
In first place was Rob Hannemann (DDAC Vice President), in second place was
Peter Lindsay (DDAC Secretary) and third place was
claimed by Jack Thompson (DDAC President).
Special mention goes to
both Ben Blades and
Cassie McGuire who were
greatly handicapped with
gusty crosswind from a
passing thunderstorm. Perhaps we need to introduce
a difficulty rating?
In the lead up to the Australian Light Aircraft Championships (ALACs) hosted
by DDAC between 11-17
April 2016, the remaining
Club competitions will be
practise for the ALAC
events. These will include
spot landing, forced landings and streamer cutting.
For the spot landing competition, the runway is
marked with boxes 10m
apart. There is a bunting
fence held up across the
runway and as the name
suggests, the aim of the
spot landing competition is
to land on the ‘spot’ on the
runway, which is worth 50
points.
Points are awarded not
only for the accuracy of
landing, but also for the
landing technique itself and
general flying during the
circuit, so be sure to say
your lookouts and checks
out loud!
This competition requires a
number of ground crew to
hold the bunting fence and
judge the touchdown box.
So
bring along your
friends and family to join in
the fun!
Recent Achievements:
FIRST SOLO
 KYLIE SYME
 JOSEPH CASALEGNO
 ANDREW SPEED
PPL
 MICHAEL THEUERKAUF
2015 PILOTS’ DINNER
AWARD RECIPIENTS
STUDENT PILOT OF THE YEAR
TOM SEERY
DDAC PILOT OF THE YEAR
MARK GUTH
HIGHEST AGGREGATE COMP SCORE
SHARON ROBSON
PETER LLOYD COMPETITION
SHANE BRIGDEN
STUDENT ACADEMIC
BRETT GORDON-BRANDER
GUIDO ZUCCOLI ENCOURAGEMENT
COURTNEY RIECK
Inside this issue:
FAREWELL GRAHAM HADLEY 1
FLOUR BOMBING
1
AIR SAFARI TRIP REPORT:
4 AMERICANS, 3 ENGLISH,
2 CANADIANS, 2 BELGIANS
2-5
AND AN AUSSIE FLY THE
OUTBACK.
‘TAILWHEEL’ - NEWS,
UPCOMING EVENTS, QUIZ,
CLASSIFIEDS
6
Slipstream
Outback and Reef Air Safari - a three week adventure
Air Safaris International conducted another successful air
safari from DDAC, with 12
people in fout aircraft enjoying a three week flying trip
along the Fraser and Whitsunday coasts, north to the
Gulf country, and to the outback.
Above: Pilots lining up for joy
flights from the beach on
Fraser Island.
Below: The Great Barrier
Reef and Whitehaven Beach.
Travelling in the group were
four Americans (Ron, Linda,
Dave and Kristen), three English (Mike, Richard and
Joyce), two Belgians (Joeri
and Katleen), two Canadians
(Clare and Laura from Air
Safaris International), and
one token Aussie (lead pilot
Marilyn).
Flying is ideal for this type of
trip, as the group enjoyed
spectacular views unseen by
those driving below, and the
vast distances were covered
in a reasonable time frame,
allowing much more time to
look around at each location.
We did encounter two men
doing a similar trip by car –
we met them at Undara,
Adels Grove, Alice Springs
and they too were heading
to Ayers Rock, but hearing of
their shredded tyres and
lengthy travel times we were
grateful to be in the air.
Above: Undara toaster.
Below: Undara breakfast bar.
We eased into the first day
with a short flight around
Fraser Island and landing at
Hervey Bay, before boarding a ferry to Fraser. The
group joined a 4WD bus tour
over sandy tracks rougher
than any turbulence encountered on the trip. The foreign
pilots marvelled at the Airvans offering joy flights from
the beach, and most couldn’t
resist paying for a joy flight
just so they could experience
a beach take off and landing.
We waded along crystal
clear cool creeks and walked
through ancient rainforests,
the fine drizzle only adding
to the atmosphere. The trees
Page 2
were enormous, with one
taking eight people holding
hands to encircle the base.
From Fraser Island we flew
along the coast to Gladstone
for fuel and lunch under the
wing, then on to Hamilton
Island, flying around isolated
showers and watching the
colour of the ocean change
from deep blue to turquoise.
Refuelling at Hamilton Island
proved frustrating, with the
avgas tanker taking well
over an hour to refuel four
aircraft. We stayed at the
Reef View Hotel, which had
magnificent views and was
frequented by very demanding sulphur crested cockatoos.
The next day we boarded a
Great Barrier Reef cruise to
a pontoon for diving and
snorkelling.
Although the
coral was abundant, sadly it
was badly bleached and the
bright colours for which the
reef is famous had faded to
a ghostly white. The current
was strong initially and the
poorer swimmers of the
group found the snorkelling
challenging until the tide
turned.
From Hamilton Island we flew
over the sparkling sands of
Whitehaven Beach, over
Hayman Island and Bowen,
along the coast through
Townsville airspace and
inland to Ingham. Drivers
along the road north of
Townsville would have seen
very little, however our
group saw beaches and
mountains, pineapples and
lush green sugar cane.
The group arrived in Ingham
relaxed. The worst of the
weather had been passed,
the airspace had been conquered, the scenery had
been magnificent and the
pilots were more familiar
with their aircraft. With only
a short flight to Undara re-
maining, after refuelling
there was plenty of time to
relax in the shade of a hangar and devour the substantial packed lunch provided
by the hotel in Hamilton Island.
The group returned to the
tarmac to depart for
Undara, with the post lunch
afterglow shattered by the
realisation that the group’s
Cessna 205 was sitting remarkably tail high. There was
no oleo showing and there
was oil seeping down the
nosewheel tyre.
Fortunately we were parked
outside a maintenance facility and the engineer had the
required parts in stock – or
so he thought. The people at
Ingham were wonderful, driving members of the group
into town for a look around
while we waited for the repair to be completed, perhaps it would take an hour or
so and there was still plenty
of time to reach Undara before last light.
All was well until the engineer called us over to say the
aircraft wasn’t going anywhere, additional parts were
required and it may not even
be possible to find them in
Australia. We now had just
a C172, a C182, a C182RG,
12 people and baggage for
12 (for three weeks). We
offloaded baggage and
planned to ferry passengers
to Undara then return for a
second run, however time
was running short and we
chartered a Partenavia to
ensure all people and bags
were delivered to Undara.
Undara International Airport
was the first bush strip for
many of the group, with anthills and bushes growing
along its length, and mobs of
kangaroos grazing nearby.
November/December 2015
Members of the group asked
if we had finally reached the
outback and we had to say
we were still in a relatively
populated area of Australia.
Surrounded by bushland, the
Undara Experience has accommodation either in historic
railway carriages, or air conditioned cabins. Those in the
group from cooler climates
opted for the cabins, those
wanting a more unique experience stayed in the trains.
Friendly wildlife was everywhere, including Eastern Grey
kangaroos keeping cool under the sprinklers, pretty
faced wallabies, black cockatoos, lorikeets and tawny
frogmouths.
It was the first time the group
had experienced country
Australia and they loved the
friendly people and the
changing language. There
were plenty of ‘fair dinkums’
around the campfire when
Bram Collins from Undara
brought out his guitar and
sang bush ballads.
Most of the group toured the
famous Undara lava tubes
the next morning, amazing
caves left by the slow flowing
lava.
We had planned to depart
that afternoon, meaning
Clare and Marilyn had work
to do. Operating with zero
to limited phone and internet
coverage, we had to find and
ship parts for the not so common C205, or find an alternative six seater aircraft to
be ferried to Ingham ASAP,
with absolutely no notice.
It soon became apparent we
would not be leaving Undara
that day, so arrangements
were made to stay another
night.
The group seemed
quite happy about that, with
everyone loving their time at
Undara. Breakfast was at a
bush camp nearby, cooking
toast over a campfire and
drinking billy tea.
Near the breakfast camp
was a tree with a termite
nest at the base, which
seemed the best location to
find any phone coverage,
so much of the organising
was done out in the bush.
C205 parts had been
found, and a number of
possible replacement aircraft had been located in
Toowoomba, however the
poor weather there meant a
replacement aircraft may
be more of a gamble than
repairing the C205.
We received word that the
parts had arrived, so
Marilyn and Joeri flew to
Ingham to wait for the
C205 to be repaired, before refuelling and returning
to Undara. It was a massive
relief, and a joy for Joeri,
who felt that he had previously missed out on the
Undara bush strip landing.
We stayed another night at
Undara, and couldn’t think
of a better place to be. It
allowed time for a sunset
animal watching tour, with
champagne on a rocky hill
looking out over the extinct
volcanos on the horizon, and
observing the microbat
frenzy from the world’s
longest lava tube at night.
Everyone was getting to
know each other better and
there was obvious relief that
we now had four aircraft.
Bram from Undara was in
great form around the
campfire (assisted slightly
by the occasional apple
juice) with the John Williamson and Johnny Cash songs
from the first night now predominantly Kevin Bloody
Wilson and who cares
about the language.
We departed Undara in
good spirits but unfortu-
nately we had run out of time to
visit Cobbold Gorge, instead
flying direct to Normanton for
fuel. We flew along the Gulf of
Carpentaria to Burketown but
the visibility was poor. It was
stinking hot when we landed on
the gravel strip at Adels Grove.
We headed straight to Lawn Hill
Gorge and hired canoes to
paddle between the steep red
cliffs and look for freshwater
crocodiles. Opposite the jetty at
our destination was a small but
powerful waterfall. The group
swam across the Gorge to a
small rock pool around the base
of the waterfall, water churned
to a natural spa, and slipped
around behind the torrential
flow of water against mossy
warm rocks.
After the heat of the Undara
railway carriages, members of
the group rejected the option of
the tent accommodation Adels
Grove and chose air conditioned
cabins. Only the Canadians and
the token Aussie chose to open
the sides of their tents and wake
to the sound of the small waterfall outside.
Top: Undara Central.
Above: Gulf country.
Below: WGL at Adels Grove.
From Adels Grove we flew over
the dry cattle country of the
Barkly Tableland, landing on the
gravel strip of the Barkly Roadhouse for fuel. The group loved
the long taxi down to the
bowser and the generous lunch.
Departing the Barkly Roadhouse
we encountered several raging
bushfires and an absolute forest
of dust devils reaching thousands of feet high.
There
seemed to be dozens of them as
far as the eye could see, and
we carefully threaded our way
around. It was hot, dusty and
bumpy, with reduced visibility in
the smoke haze. We all chose
to cruise high over the Devils
Marbles, sacrificing a better
view for the cooler, smoother air
at altitude.
Page 3
Above: Waterfall at Lawn Hill
Gorge, Adels Grove.
Below: JCU parked at the
Barkly Roadhouse, NT.
Slipstream
Air Safari continued.
Approaching Alice Springs the
visibility improved and the air
traffic controllers were incredibly helpful to the group.
We tied down securely and
hired two cars to ferry the
group around.
At Alice Springs we saw the
old telegraph station, a raptor
bird display at the Desert
Park, visited the RFDS, walked
around the malls and visited
the impressive aviation museum at the site of the original
town airport.
Top: Katleen learns morse
code at Alice Springs.
Above: Clare ignoring the
‘No swimming’ sign at Alice
Springs.
A video screened in a DC3 in
the hangar explained the
history of aviation in the region, including the fact that
aircraft replaced camels to
make the area more accessible.
This museum is also the location of the wreckage of The
Kookaburra, the 1920s Westland Widgeon aircraft lost on
the search for Charles Kingsford Smith during the Coffee
Royal affair. It was a reminder to the group that the
survival packs carried on our
flights were essential for flight
in such remote areas.
The night before departure
there was a huge storm and
on the way to the airport we
actually saw some water flowing in the mighty Todd River!
It was a warning sign though,
and at the airport we found
all of the aircraft had moved
slightly and one of the tie
down ropes had snapped.
Due to weather we modified
our departure route to make a
run for Ayers Rock to beat the
storms and the forecast 25
knot crosswind if our arrival at
Ayers Rock was delayed. The
colours changed to classic
Aussie outback red dotted
with green vegetation, dunes
marked on WAC charts
started to appear, and a
sealed road was now a novelty.
Above: Ayers Rock from the
ground and from the air.
For anyone planning a flight
to Ayers Rock, be aware that
Page 4
they take security very seriFrom Ayers Rock we tracked
ously. It is important to ento Coober Pedy and the counsure all passengers are estry changed again to dracorted by an ASIC holder.
matic green channels that
looked like trees. We marWe hired a couple of cars
velled that from above, the
and organised tours for the
landscape looked like an
group at the Ayers Rock
Aboriginal dot painting, yet
Town Centre. That night we
how did the Aboriginal peohad sunset on the dunes lookple gain that aerial perspecing over Ayers Rock and the
tive?
Olgas, and a dinner under
the stars.
Approaching Coober Pedy
the landscape was more luThe next day the two cars nar, with mines dotting the
took groups of walkers and approach to the airport.
non walkers to the Olgas and
the Rock.
The walkers
reached the second lookout
on the Olgas valley of the
winds, over rough rocky terrain in searing heat, but the
view was incredible, with that
Aussie blue sky and red rock.
At Coober Pedy we checked
into the Desert Cave motel,
with most of the group choosing underground rooms. The
rooms are cool and quiet, but
the absolute pitch darkness is
Cooees could be heard for eerie.
miles.
Coober Pedy is an opal mining town full of characters,
such as Greek immigrant
Jimmy who took the group on
a bus tour around the town
and beyond. He showed us
t he o ld mo vie pro ps
(especially those from the Vin
Diesel movie Pitch Black),
took us to his opal mine sites,
and to an old house carved
out of the rock, now a tourist
attraction and opal shop.
Jimmy took us to the dingo
fence and was particularly
On the morning of departure
we flew the Ayers Rock sce- proud of the local golf course.
nic route, past the Rock and
the Olgas. As spectacular as
it is, the route requires accurate flying and we had our
four aircraft plus two others.
The pilots didn’t see as much
of the scenery as the passengers for that reason.
We visited Ayers Rock but
the climb was closed due to
heat, as well as being discouraged now to respect the
traditional owners. The old
walking track around the
Rock has been replaced by a
fenced path keeping people
away from the Rock wall. It
is hard to find a balance
between conservation and
tourism, however that simple
string line did seem somehow
to keep the spirit of the Rock
at a distance.
November/December 2015
Departing Coober Pedy we
watched the colours change
again to become the vivid
orange and white of the
Painted Hills. Once again we
marvelled at the beauty that
can only truly be appreciated
from the air.
some water in the lake, with
a mix of colours from blue to
white to pink, meeting the
endless horizon and blue sky.
This was the only time in the
trip when we lost Ozrunways,
which did send some members of the group into a slight
panic until they were reminded that they still had
charts, watches and compasses.
Lake Eyre was followed by
the rugged beauty and parallel dunes of the Simpson
Desert on the way to Birdsville.
This day included our most
remote flight over the Simpson Desert, so we dropped
into William Creek to top up
with fuel on the way.
We tied down outside the
iconic Birdsville pub and
checked into the motel, before a tour of the town and
then out to Big Red sand
dune for sunset.
Fortunately Trevor Wright
was there at the time. Trevor
owns every house in William
Creek, and the pub, and the
15 aircraft which he operates
as Wrightsair. The aircraft
were absolutely immaculate.
It was spectacular. No one
had been to Big Red recently
and the sand was undisturbed by tracks. It was a
time for the inner artist to
emerge, with the group taking some lovely photos.
At William Creek we used the
main runway and parked on
the apron. The cross strip
does cross the main road, and
it is still possible to taxi up the
road and park outside the
pub.
It was starting to get sad. At
the start we were a group of
strangers on an adventure.
Now we were a tight knit
group with shared experiences, loving the outback and
knowing the trip was soon to
end.
There were several
comments of wanting to turn
around and do it all again,
or just heading south when
we reached Charleville.
Trevor enthralled the group
with his outback tales. The
flying farmers (Richard and
Mike) were particularly interested in the cattle production
at Anna Creek. Clare signed
the wall of the pub on behalf
of the group.
The population of William
Creek at the time was 7, so
our group flying in had well
and truly more than doubled
the population during lunch!
From William Creek we
tracked over Lake Eyre and
on to Birdsville over the Simpson Desert.
It was surreal.
We departed Birdsville and
flew over the changing landscape of the channel country,
stopping at Windorah for
fuel.
It was now almost disturbing
to see a road. For days we
had seen endless horizons,
now the roads and properties began to appear, then
sealed roads and the major
shock of seeing a car.
some grass, and a town with
sealed roads. To our group,
even the Europeans, Charleville
felt as densely populated as
China.
After checking in to our accommodation with strangely green
lawns, we boarded a bus to
the airport to learn about the
history of the Nordin bomb
sight, tested at the US base at
Charleville during WWII. Back
to the hotel for dinner before a
star gazing tour, looking at
distant galaxies through a
telescope while seeing a number of shooting stars overhead.
From Charleville the terrain
was more familiar, with a comfort stop at Roma before
heading home over the now
vivid patchwork quilt of the
Darling Downs, to be welcomed by blossoming jacarandas in Toowoomba. Sadly, the
trip was over.
It is challenging to describe the
colours, the freedom and the
space as we flew over areas
no one on the ground could
ever see. We have such a
magnificent country from the
air.
When planning your next holiday, remember that a trip like
this is certainly possible in a
Cessna 172 and there are a
range of accommodation options available.
It just requires planning – why
not get a group together to
cost share? WGL and JCU
already know the way.
If you prefer to leave the planning to the experts, Air Safaris
International offers a range of
fully planned and catered air
safaris in Australia, Canada
and France. For information
see the website: http://
www.airsafarisint.com/
Approaching Charleville we
actually saw real trees and
There was
Page 5
Above: Beautiful Lake Eyre.
Below: The dunes of the
Simpson Desert.
Below: The Big Red sand
dune and the Birdsville Hotel.
Organization
SLIPSTREAM
UPCOMING EVENTS
NOVEMBER 2015
29
November Comp
DECEMBER 2015
TBA
Christmas party
APRIL 2016 (ALACs)
11
RFACA executive
meeting and
welcome BBQ.
12-13 RFACA Conference
14
ALAC Practise day
15-16 ALACs
17
Visitors depart
ALACs
Check the DDAC
Facebook page for the
latest information!
TAILWHEEL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our members!
DDAC will be closed from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day, reopening on 2 January.
Aircraft private hire is still available during this time by prior arrangement. Instructors
may also be available during this time if firm bookings are made before the Christmas
period.
 Heard on the airwaves:
A cheeky King Air pilot was heard remarking to a (not so) speedy Tomahawk during
their final approach in blustery conditions, “I see the cars are overtaking you!”
 Answers to September/October Quiz
1A, 2B, 3C, 4C, 5C, 6B
We received no correct entries so no prize was awarded! We would like to encourage all members to submit entries for the quiz. There is no time limit and a prize will
be awarded to the first correct entry.
Visit us at
www.ddac.com.au
CLASSIFIEDS
Do you have anything you would like to advertise? Send details
to [email protected] so we can publish your ads here!
Quiz
1. A blockage of the pitot
tube during climb will
cause the instruments to
read:
Did you know?
Even if you strapped on
giant wings, you could
never fly because the human heart can't pump
blood quick enough to satisfy the enormous strain of
flapping. When flying, a
sparrow's heart pumps
more than 450 times each
minute!
A. VSI reads 0, ASI
over-reads, Altimeter reads altitude it
becomes blocked at.
B. VSI no change, ASI
over-reads, Altimeter no change.
C. VSI under-reads, ASI
under-reads, Altimeter reads 0.
2. In a headwind, a heavy
C172 compared to a
light C172 will:
A. Have a greater
glide range.
B. Have a reduced
glide range.
C. Have the same glide
range.
3. Required radio calls
when conducting a
straight-in approach
are:
A. 10nm inbound with
intentions, 5nm final,
1 nm final.
B. 10nm inbound with
intentions, 3 nm final.
C. 10nm inbound with
intentions, “I’m coming in, get out of my
way… please!”
4. A failure of which of the
following instruments
would prevent a private
day VFR flight:
A. Artificial Horizon.
B. Vertical Speed Indicator.
C. Compass.
5. What colours, in descending order, are the
stripes on VH-WGL’s
door?
A. Navy blue, light
blue, maroon.
B. Silver, navy blue,
light blue, maroon.
C. Navy blue, light
blue, silver, maroon.
6. How many stripes are on
the runway 29 threshold?
A.
B.
C.
12
10
8
The first correct entry
emailed to
[email protected]
will receive a prize!
(Answers will be published in the next newsletter).