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All this talk about Biggenden made me think of some of the trips I have enjoyed, so here is my story re one of those trips.Aussie Paul. [
]Broken Hill trip by G-186 gyroplane. I had received a number of calls regarding my RAF 2000 GTX SE gyroplane from people at Swan Hill, Mildura and Ross Symes from Broken Hill who needed a BFR, so I thought, why not do a round trip in my gyro.This was about 2 weeks after Easter and the weather was still reasonable.Out with a spare set of batteries for the GPS, the maps, ersa and start planning. I set off on Wednesday the 3rd of May, with a 5 kt westerly blowing, for Swan Hill. It was a beautiful morning, gs 65kts, John Denver on the cd player and a feeling of peace and enjoyable solitude. Arrived Swan Hill on time and on track. I love this form of navigating "dead reckoning backed up by GPS" or is it the other way round?!!!!!! Out with my trusty BP fuel card, self serve with fuel, check for water and on the way to Mildura.I had been this way a few times and always seem to get caught over some "tiger" country for longer than I believe I should. This time I decided to track to a large radio antenna at Kulwin about 10 nm wnw of Manangatang and then to Mildura. I arrived at Kulwin and changed heading for Mildura. Not long after, while cruising at 1500', all I can see is low bush for miles. Well, guess what I have got it wrong again. Oh well I guess the Subaru engine does not know that if it stops I will have to get the cheque book out. I was wishing that I had the cd player playing Willie Nelsons "Over the road again" or is that "On the road again". Any way after 30 mins I was over non cheque book country again and on the way to Mildura. It is amazing how we get a little nervous over scrub and yet around Red Cliffs to Mildura is all orchards and houses and yet I felt more comfortable. The outcome of engine failure would be the same, I just would not have to walk as far. After the 15 nm call I had a look at the ersa and the wind and decided to join downwind for runway 18. The wind by now was a stiff southerly and a lot of cloud was building from the west. I rang Tim McClure at Broken Hill, and he said that although the weather had been drizzly it was now improving. While I was being refueled a Warrior came in and landed after trying to get to Broken Hill. Heck that is where I want to go. The pilot said that the cloud was down to 700' agl. I used Visa to pay for the Mobil fuel (I will have to get a Mobil card as well) and off I went, thinking that I would go to Wentworth and have a look from there. Arriving at Wentworth I could see 20 nm and the cloud was at 700' with showers of rain to the East, not perfect but okay for a slower aircraft that can be put down at a moments notice. I elected to follow the road because after all the rain that they had received the country side was indeed wet. With the tail wind the GPS was showing 80 kts, and I was able to avoid the showers without too many diversions until I was within 20 nm of B/Hill. Looking at the WAC I confirmed that the ground would start to rise shortly and started to think of options. I could still see south, but the weather was coming from the n/west. At this point there was not a lot of dead reckoning happening, I just followed the GPS for the last 2nm and landed at the Hill. I gave my vacating the runway call, and received a call from a metroliner, enquiring about the weather. I told him cloud base 600' and vis now 3000 meters to the east. He tried a couple of times then had to give it away. I taxied up beside the old aero club building and switched off. By this time the rain was bucketing down, so I made a few phone calls, waiting for the rain to stop, which it did about 15 mins later.Ross came and picked me up and we went back to his workshop to catch up with each other. I taught Ross to fly gyros before we had 2 seat trainers back in about 1983. Ross was a carpenter in Penshurst at that time. He later went to B/Hill to build gyroplanes for a living, which he is still doing today. The next day was still very windy, but the rain had gone, so we thought that we had better go out, and get his BFR done. Ross had not been in a RAF before and he could not believe how well it handled the windy conditions. Thursday night being pool night I got sucked into going drinking with them. There are a few people in B/Hill that I have met over the years of flying gyroplanes, so it was nice to catch up with them all.I departed B/hill on Friday lunch time heading into a 15kt headwind for Mildura. The wx was 5 octa at 1500' with a couple of showers about 20nm out of Wentworth. I got one good picture with the digital camera of a complete rainbow at this point. I stopped at Wentworth for a 1/2 hour to stretch my legs and to assess the fuel situation. Had enough fuel so off to Mildura, where about 20 mins after I arrived there was a hail storm, but by this time I was packed and heading into town.We only have one lady gyro pilot in Australia, and that is Barbara Brown from Mildura. Barbara is a mustering gyro pilot, but had hurt her back and had not flown for over a year. Barbara picked me up on Saturday morning and then we went for a lovely fly on a beautiful Mildura day. Another BFR done. Barbara is about to go back mustering in NSW. I had arranged trial flights for a couple of interested people, and after I had done those it was time to head for Swan Hill, to take some more people flying, and to do some training with a student of mine. Well this time I did better at finding a non cheque book route, spending only a couple of mins over where I could not land. Those large wheat paddocks stretch for miles, and you can get down low safely to avoid the head wind.During Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday I took I think 12 different people flying as well as a couple of hours training with Gary Murphy, whose family put me up for the couple of nights that I was there. We finished as the sun disappeared. Well Monday morning was beautiful with a light frost, and after giving Gary a lesson, before he went to teach students engineering, I fuelled up and headed for Ballarat. After about an hour the cereal paddocks disappeared and a few rolling hills loomed on the horizon. Time to turn the CD off and prepare for arrival. Gave my 5nm call and set myself up for a downwind leg for 36. As I was unloading G-186 my wife Eril arrived to pick me up, she had heard my 5nm call on the VHF set at home. What a great little trip. After 8 years of training around Ballarat at 35 kts with 50 mins endurance, it has been nice over the last couple of years to go and do what I was trained 34 years ago to do. Cross country flying.From a fellow flyer, Paul.[]Image Insert:
27.08 KBResting at Wentworth.Image Insert:
18.42
]Broken Hill trip by G-186 gyroplane. I had received a number of calls regarding my RAF 2000 GTX SE gyroplane from people at Swan Hill, Mildura and Ross Symes from Broken Hill who needed a BFR, so I thought, why not do a round trip in my gyro.This was about 2 weeks after Easter and the weather was still reasonable.Out with a spare set of batteries for the GPS, the maps, ersa and start planning. I set off on Wednesday the 3rd of May, with a 5 kt westerly blowing, for Swan Hill. It was a beautiful morning, gs 65kts, John Denver on the cd player and a feeling of peace and enjoyable solitude. Arrived Swan Hill on time and on track. I love this form of navigating "dead reckoning backed up by GPS" or is it the other way round?!!!!!! Out with my trusty BP fuel card, self serve with fuel, check for water and on the way to Mildura.I had been this way a few times and always seem to get caught over some "tiger" country for longer than I believe I should. This time I decided to track to a large radio antenna at Kulwin about 10 nm wnw of Manangatang and then to Mildura. I arrived at Kulwin and changed heading for Mildura. Not long after, while cruising at 1500', all I can see is low bush for miles. Well, guess what I have got it wrong again. Oh well I guess the Subaru engine does not know that if it stops I will have to get the cheque book out. I was wishing that I had the cd player playing Willie Nelsons "Over the road again" or is that "On the road again". Any way after 30 mins I was over non cheque book country again and on the way to Mildura. It is amazing how we get a little nervous over scrub and yet around Red Cliffs to Mildura is all orchards and houses and yet I felt more comfortable. The outcome of engine failure would be the same, I just would not have to walk as far. After the 15 nm call I had a look at the ersa and the wind and decided to join downwind for runway 18. The wind by now was a stiff southerly and a lot of cloud was building from the west. I rang Tim McClure at Broken Hill, and he said that although the weather had been drizzly it was now improving. While I was being refueled a Warrior came in and landed after trying to get to Broken Hill. Heck that is where I want to go. The pilot said that the cloud was down to 700' agl. I used Visa to pay for the Mobil fuel (I will have to get a Mobil card as well) and off I went, thinking that I would go to Wentworth and have a look from there. Arriving at Wentworth I could see 20 nm and the cloud was at 700' with showers of rain to the East, not perfect but okay for a slower aircraft that can be put down at a moments notice. I elected to follow the road because after all the rain that they had received the country side was indeed wet. With the tail wind the GPS was showing 80 kts, and I was able to avoid the showers without too many diversions until I was within 20 nm of B/Hill. Looking at the WAC I confirmed that the ground would start to rise shortly and started to think of options. I could still see south, but the weather was coming from the n/west. At this point there was not a lot of dead reckoning happening, I just followed the GPS for the last 2nm and landed at the Hill. I gave my vacating the runway call, and received a call from a metroliner, enquiring about the weather. I told him cloud base 600' and vis now 3000 meters to the east. He tried a couple of times then had to give it away. I taxied up beside the old aero club building and switched off. By this time the rain was bucketing down, so I made a few phone calls, waiting for the rain to stop, which it did about 15 mins later.Ross came and picked me up and we went back to his workshop to catch up with each other. I taught Ross to fly gyros before we had 2 seat trainers back in about 1983. Ross was a carpenter in Penshurst at that time. He later went to B/Hill to build gyroplanes for a living, which he is still doing today. The next day was still very windy, but the rain had gone, so we thought that we had better go out, and get his BFR done. Ross had not been in a RAF before and he could not believe how well it handled the windy conditions. Thursday night being pool night I got sucked into going drinking with them. There are a few people in B/Hill that I have met over the years of flying gyroplanes, so it was nice to catch up with them all.I departed B/hill on Friday lunch time heading into a 15kt headwind for Mildura. The wx was 5 octa at 1500' with a couple of showers about 20nm out of Wentworth. I got one good picture with the digital camera of a complete rainbow at this point. I stopped at Wentworth for a 1/2 hour to stretch my legs and to assess the fuel situation. Had enough fuel so off to Mildura, where about 20 mins after I arrived there was a hail storm, but by this time I was packed and heading into town.We only have one lady gyro pilot in Australia, and that is Barbara Brown from Mildura. Barbara is a mustering gyro pilot, but had hurt her back and had not flown for over a year. Barbara picked me up on Saturday morning and then we went for a lovely fly on a beautiful Mildura day. Another BFR done. Barbara is about to go back mustering in NSW. I had arranged trial flights for a couple of interested people, and after I had done those it was time to head for Swan Hill, to take some more people flying, and to do some training with a student of mine. Well this time I did better at finding a non cheque book route, spending only a couple of mins over where I could not land. Those large wheat paddocks stretch for miles, and you can get down low safely to avoid the head wind.During Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday I took I think 12 different people flying as well as a couple of hours training with Gary Murphy, whose family put me up for the couple of nights that I was there. We finished as the sun disappeared. Well Monday morning was beautiful with a light frost, and after giving Gary a lesson, before he went to teach students engineering, I fuelled up and headed for Ballarat. After about an hour the cereal paddocks disappeared and a few rolling hills loomed on the horizon. Time to turn the CD off and prepare for arrival. Gave my 5nm call and set myself up for a downwind leg for 36. As I was unloading G-186 my wife Eril arrived to pick me up, she had heard my 5nm call on the VHF set at home. What a great little trip. After 8 years of training around Ballarat at 35 kts with 50 mins endurance, it has been nice over the last couple of years to go and do what I was trained 34 years ago to do. Cross country flying.From a fellow flyer, Paul.[]Image Insert: 27.08 KBResting at Wentworth.Image Insert: 18.42