Well spring has arrived and I hope you are dusting off the cobwebs and getting back into some aviating now that the better weather is upon us.
In the last couple of weeks Dominie and I did something unique that I had intended to do for years.
We were invited to go sailing with some friends in the Whitsundays. Having accepted the offer we thought, instead of going commercial, why not fly up there in the RV7A?
After some investigation and planning I found the most convenient way to go was via Broken Hill and Charleville then land at Shute Harbour airport.
This was about 1060nm trip each way, breaking it up with an overnight in Charleville northbound and Broken Hill southbound. This gave a reasonable 5-6 hours of flying the first day and 2-3 hours the second day. Shute Harbour is a lovely little GA airport nestled in a narrow valley about 3 miles from Airlie Beach. The terrain up to 1500’ all around precludes normal circuits so an offset straight in approach is needed on both runways. It reminded me of my Caribou flying days in PNG!
The airport gets quite busy with scenic flight operators flying fixed wing, rotary and amphibious operations. In addition to that, there are regular parachute drops back onto the airfield.
A scenic flight of the whole area is worthwhile as the colour of the sea and the beaches are stunning.
Back in Adelaide the club hosted a workshop visit to Parafield, organised by Henry Schultz.
A dozen or so people saw the Helicycle single seat gas turbine helicopter. It seemed a very small flying machine! There was also a SIAI Marchetti S211 Jet, a Lancair 4P and even a DHC Chipmunk resident in the hangar.
Ted King even scored a ride in the Lancair 4P. I would be interested to hear how it compared with his own aircraft.
At next weeks meeting the speaker is our own David Hansen. He will be speaking about the Vickers Vimy flown by Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith from England to Australia in 1919.
The dinner booking for monthly meetings has now gone online. Details in the October newsletter. This will provide a consolidated list in one place for Steve Biele and will prevent double bookings and lost bookings or cancellations as has happened in the past.
Chris Dearden will present a guide on using the meal booking system at next weeks meeting. If you are having trouble with ordering a meal for the October meeting then please contact Chris Dearden or Steve Biele.
The club Christmas dinner and Award night is scheduled for Friday 17th November. Tickets are just $50 each for a 3 course meal and welcome drink. Next week’s meeting will be the last opportunity to pay in person so please bring cash, cheque or credit card and see Greg Tabe for tickets. After that you will still be able to book and pay by direct credit to the club account if you prefer.
Don’t forget the flying events on the October calendar: 7-8th October- Jamestown, 13-15th October- AAAA AGM Clare Valley, and of course Airventure Australia, Narromine on 19-21st October.
Also, on Sunday 29th October the is an open day at the South Australian Aviation museum, Pt Adelaide. Our club will have a stand there promoting Sport Aviation. Please contact me if you can help out for an hour or two. You will get free entry into the museum as well as helping your club.
Blue skies,
Steve
Pilots with short joysticks or low manifold pressure, please taxi a little closer.”
Seen in a men’s toilet at an outback Queensland airport
