leg 01 YPDN-YARG
let's get started,...seems to be a busy rally as the starting area is full with participants, spectators and a sound like in heaven ( even an aviators heaven)
tower is busy and his view spectacular....
we are ready to go,...firing up engine 2 and
pullback....
taxi to rwy 29 approved..
here we go, bye bye friends,...see you!!!!
what a difference in time,...we love the ancient era of aviation
compare,....a pic for our rally album
run up completed, cleared for takeoff
looking back with a wink and a smile....
loudspeakers on and push the link....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIwqw_2J6H8
not to fair weather, but our emotions are high and we anticipate a wonderful time...
after crossing northern territory with muddy waters we approach Wadeye a town in Australia's Northern Territory.
It was formerly known (and is still often referred to) as Port Keats.
Wadeye is the 6th most populous town, and the largest Indigenous community in the Northern Territory.
that's what Wiki' tells us...
turning to short final rw 16
wonderful view from cockpit...all systems go...
close above the roofs
and yet a little high for the airstrip
but we push our bird hard onto the gravel
and pull it up again
turn against our destination...
crossing Joseph Bonaparte Gulf
Ernie left his working place to check the engines from back in the fuselage...
he told me having a strange feeling after the hard touch and go....
from my sight,...nothing to worry....
but we trail a trail of smoke behind engine 2
not much, but visible from the back...
entering a different landscape,...muddy waters behind us,..now copper red dusty wilderness
we are concerned, although all our clocks work fine...
Kununurra would be a good possibility for a stop over,...but the rally would end before it started
after contacting the tower of YPKU and talking to the well known guys from former testflights we decide to
keep flying, as they cannot observe any unusual through their binoculars...
keep it up and keep going with a small smoke trail...
Lake Argyle to the left...and the right eye on the clocks,...
after a while I can see a slight difference in cylinder head temp and oil pressure on engine 2
but for God's sake Argyle is just within range and the engines run smoothly
on long final...
flaring out....
as we were in a "little hurry" the target time is little to short,..but we will improve
The Argyle Diamond Mine was a diamond mine located in the East Kimberley region in the remote north of Western Australia. Argyle was at times the largest diamond producer in the world by volume (14 million carats in 2018), although the proportion of gem-quality diamonds was low. It was the only known significant source of pink and red diamonds (producing over 90% of the world's supply), and additionally provided a large proportion of other naturally coloured diamonds, including champagne, cognac and rare blue diamonds.
Mining operations ceased in November 2020, after 37 years of operations and producing more than 865 million carats of rough diamonds. Mine operator Rio Tinto planning to decommission the mine and rehabilitate the site at least through 2025.thats why the airfield is already dismantled
some tourists love this....
still some crew,..as a freight plane loads some important leftovers from the mine...
we are just lucky to have arrived safely
parking position for tonight and check the engine tomorrow! Cheers for two beers!!!
Thom
