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Post by jazzthom on Apr 24, 2023 10:33:34 GMT
well, here my
leg8 YESP- YABA
after a nice brunch, we are ready to go,... friendly people all around,... via ATC we hear: two other aircrafts in front of us so... we are Nr: three...... lined up without being in a hurry we prepare and wait patiently.... Maule Nr 2 is taxying for departure,... ....and taking off,...ATC: DC3 LBN ready for departure, holding point rwy 11 and at last,..taking off turning south,...and ...west leaving the Great Australian Bight on the left,...covered more or less by clouds.... we leave the landscape at the shoreline of Lake Quallillup..... and Shelly Beach Red Island down on the left... many wonderful beaches on the right,...13 Miles Beach,...Plumpudding Beach,...who invented this name?!?!? lol Shoal Cape camp ground.... the rest packed into white puffy wadding.... Mason Bay with reef spots in front.... we are gliding along Jerdacuttup Lake Nature Reserve at 4500ft, with 140 kts, heading 250 to Albany, outside temp 0° C, and still 52 minutes to go... Doubtful Islands,....Tooregullup Beach with Fitzgerald River entering the sea another National Park and Peppermint Beach all ready for surfers, sailors and divers.... Bremer Bay Reef Beach Dunes....what a wonderful coast!!!! Australia is a real paradise.... at Two Peoples Bay we "enter" again the Continental landscape we cross the King River and reach.... Albany Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, 418 kilometres (260 mi) southeast of Perth, the state capital. a little in a hurry we approach directly to Rwy 32 steep turn to .... final rwy 32 taxying to apron welcome committee and parking position....well done Thom....
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 23, 2023 20:43:47 GMT
well done Cees! wonderful screenies!
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 23, 2023 9:42:38 GMT
Hi Luuk!
You do a great job! !!! Interesing story line, perfect screenshots, well done flight timing and of course the fotorealistic pictures! Thanks for your empathy to Urs, as I miss him every day! I just try to keep up his memory and create some history in his way of story telling,...as good as possible... and I tell you, right now I can imagine how much time he invested in all the wonderful scenery, his stories his humor his investigations and his knowledge! It all seemed to be just "natural story telling".....
R.I.P.
....btw, I will fly the next leg asap and follow your path!
See you ! Thom
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 21, 2023 22:07:21 GMT
Hey Luuk and all of you: I#m back from my camper tour with my friend, so let's continue the rally! leg7 YSCR-YESP
ready to go, my bird is checked through and my friend Norbert just packed all his stuff and we travel on, each on his trip,... taking off towards south! this country has more holes than a swiss chees,...(Urs would laugh out loud...) some of them filled with water,..others with pure gold... the map says: Marvel Loch,...but cannot find a description,...who cares.... the engines run smoothly and I zip my tea in my "clockpit" ( old habit overtaken from Urs...) lakes and ponds from various sizes and directions... who the hell knows all their names... Luuk??? maybe Urs would have known, as he travelled a lot through Australia.... on one map there was the name "Fitzroy River" mentioned, "Murray River" too.... but no proof of this... not just an easy sight seeing here...lol following Banker-Mount Day Rd....sorry for the missing description.... this must be Frank Hamm National park... somewhere overthere,... anyway the Hyden-Norsman Rd. is identified and at the bend there are the so called "Breakaways" hooray we found one certain point.... www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g495061-d15246058-Reviews-The_Breakaways-Hyden_Western_Australia.htmlI think the scenic landscape is a must see if you are down there.... please don't ask about these waters haaaa,..... but here we see "Peak Charles" and "PeakElanora" famous camp sites.... Lake Tay on the right,...if you believe or not... North Cascade Crossing, the road leading to Peak Elanore and Peak Charles.... Lort River Crossing almoust crossed the continent from north to south,... cultivated land after outback and Woodland Discovery Trail.... setup for landing at Esperance Esperance is a town in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately 720 kilometres (450 mi) east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The urban population of Esperance was 12,145 at June 2018. Its major industries are tourism, agriculture, and fishing. the airport is outside of town a little north from the sea, the Great Australian Bight on final,....secure for landing all my clocks are set perfectly... another "one wheel" touch down....seems to be a stepdance, this rally....lol timing not bad,..NOT bad!!! just 0.02 shot over.... seems to be a cosy little airfield.... BBQ, drinks and friends,...what more could you wish... open the door and let's have fun!!!
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 20, 2023 13:00:17 GMT
well done, my friend!!!! so it seems, you are ahead by now; but I'll soon follow, as my roundtrip in Southern Cross has ended and it's time to say farewell to my friend in his camper and startup the rally again...... see you soon!
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 20, 2023 12:55:21 GMT
Hi roghanson! Welcome with MSFS!!! would be great if you could load up some screenshots,to see if its really that great; as my setup is an overloaded FSX on an ancient XP machine...... so maybe it's time to swap??!?!?! maybe....
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 11, 2023 8:25:43 GMT
hey Luuk,...your settings ar magnificent,...I only have FSX on an old XP machine.... leg6 YLEO-YSCR
ready for taxi... and take off,..bye bye was not to busy over here... my working place for the next hours,...all systems go.... following the Goldfields Hwy.... Lake Ballard to the right.... Lake Marmion in front... Lake Goongarrie to the right.... a lot of water over here (sometimes to much....) Goongarrie National Park This park lies on the edge of vast mulga woodlands, features a number of granite outcrops and includes part of Lake Marmion... Goongarrie has a golden past. It was the first important gold find after Coolgardie. During the 1890s, Goongarrie was known as Ninety Mile. It boasted hotels, bed and breakfasts, a Cobb & Co coach stop, and railway. Now, three remaining historic railway cottages are part of the Golden Quest Heritage Trail. approaching Kalgoorlie / Boulder with the "Super Pit" on the left.... on downwind Rwy 29 turning to base... and perfect view to the mining area the Super Pit, was Australia's largest open cut gold mine until 2016 when it was surpassed by the Newmont Boddington gold mine also in Western Australia. The Super Pit is located off the Goldfields Highway on the south-east edge of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The pit is oblong in plan view and is approximately 3.5 kilometres long, 1.5 kilometres wide and over 600 metres deep. on final my PC creates a magic golf course cannot believe, as the map shows Old Bolder Cemetery....lol another one wheel touch... and go... view back onto this TOWN.... following the Great Eastern Hwy and the running parallel pipeline many (for me ) unknown and unnamed natural parks flew bye and we just crossed the Goldfields Woodlands This park lies within the Great Western Woodlands. This is the largest remaining area of intact Mediterranean climate woodland left on earth. A highlight of the park is its attractive spring wildflower displays. who knows if there will ba a possibility to see this with my own eyes,...I doubt... to bad Urs is no longer here ,...he would have known many interesting stories.... as he was already here.... maybe he sits on the moon watching us Southern Cross in front....non visible.... as its "only" a grass strip, its nearly invisible.... at last.... flaring out and touch down in.. perfect timing!!!!!! we made EXACTLY our target time on parking position for the next week as I meet a good old friend in his trailer who is sightseeing Australia... very comfortable trailer and a lot of beer... lol the sun is sinking in the west,..it's time for a cowboy to dream... ( a song from movie Rio Grande with Dean Martin....:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uuAjwvtxEM ) Ernie prefers the solo cockpit as we are singing and laughing in the trailer... that's okay.... see you soon!!!!
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 10, 2023 13:58:01 GMT
wonderful pictures! photorealistic!! THUMB UP !
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 8, 2023 15:34:45 GMT
leg5 YMEK-YLEOrefuelling and pull back.... a ritual at the beginning of every leg its just survival training to have enough fuel and food and drinking provision on board ...nobody likes to be stuck in the outback without help and lack of support.... ready for departure,..throttle forward take off and farewell to this friendly area! it's incredible how friendly and helpful all the people are here in these secluded, simple, but perfectly maintained arfields just the usual view at the vast outback, crossing Murchison Downs Road, leading to south east into "nowhere-land-crossing" after a while....Lake Darlot Lake Darlot is an ephemeral lake in the centre of Western Australia, lying approximately 50 km (31 mi) east-north-east of Leinster, and 125 km (78 mi) north of Leonora in the Goldfields-Esperance region. Its surface elevation is 434 metres above mean sea-level ( cruising above vast land.... we have enough time to look up Wikipedia...lol ) otherwise there is nothing worth to talk about... Ernie, my Copilot is well trained and from good behaviour,... but I miss Urs, his cup of tea and his original stories.... some good memories from the past rallyes... approaching Laverton and crossing Great Central Road.... on final for... touch and ..... .....go another small mining area with little population...just like another anthill... passing Murrin Murrin The Murrin Murrin Mine is a major nickel-cobalt mining operation being conducted in the North Eastern Goldfields, approximately 45 km east of Leonora, Western Australia....so, another airfield nearby....we don't have the time for a stopover. but anyway, .... honestly....who wants to see all the nickel...cobalt industry? our day's target in sight...Leonora what can I tell you??? a mining town...lol but: did you know they have a horse racecourse over here... Leonora Racing Club is one of Western Australia’s oldest race clubs having held its first race day in May 1900. Located 4kms from the town of Leonora, this North Goldfield’s race club holds two race meetings each season, the Golden Gift in June and the Leonora Cup in October. The low, golden afternoon sun, rounding out a great day at the Leonora races over the Golden Gift weekend. (ABC Goldfields: Nathan Morris) for more info click the link: www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2015/06/03/4248023.htmon final...... let's concentrate on landing... Ernie!!! well done,..pretty good timing... small but well preserved we asked for a resevation in a pleasant overnight stay....and there's just the outgoing phonecall...(thumb up!) parking position... let's call a cab... take a beer... or two... didn't know.... there are flights to and from here, operated by Quantas ?!?!?! well, passengers proof it and where's the beer???
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 5, 2023 15:12:42 GMT
leg4 YTEF-YMEK
We are in a little hurry, as to reach Southern Cross to meet some friends there,..so the rally goes on with refuelling pull back ready to start up the engines V1,..rotate airborn facing the same flat copper red sandy world just perfectly cruising through the air this must be Pickering Creek,..if our maps don't lie we reach Ophthalmia Dam near Newman... The Dam is a spectacular oasis, formed when a branch of the Fortescue River was dammed in 1981. Only 20 minutes from town, Ophthalmia Dam was constructed to recharge the underlying aquifer that supplies Newman’s water supply. The dam is filled by the Fortescue River and Warrawanda Creek during the wet season. long final to Newman and on the left the trail to a nearby Enduro Park (most interesting for me and my KTM ESC 525) more INFO here: www.facebook.com/groups/newmanmx/to bad we cannot stay here for a dusty ride...
so,..just
another touch and go... who's DC3 might that be?? we'll never know rather busy here,... our cruise leads across Collier Range National Park: The Collier Range area lies between the upper reaches of the Ashburton and Gascoyne rivers. The landscape varies from low hills to high ridges, often bounded by cliffs. In the far west of the park near Coobarra Creek there are sand dunes. The vegetation is dominated by mulga and spinifex. Eucalyptus grow along the creek lines. Access is via neighbouring station tracks. Permission from station managers is required for access. the GPS indicates above Kumarina Kumarina is a "town" located in Western Australia along the Great Northern Highway between the towns of Meekatharra and Newman. It contains a roadhouse and a caravan park, as well as a small wildlife sanctuary, tavern, motel and restaurant. At the 2016 census, Kumarina and the surrounding area had a population of 54 54....that's why we only can guess, why we cannot see anything down there...LOL only a nameless road pattern and a heart shaped waterhole...at Great Northern Hwy YMEK!!! Meekatharra is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Meekatharra is a Yamatji word meaning "place of little water". You can bet, that's true.... At the 2016 census, Meekatharra had a population of 708, with 34.0% being of Aboriginal descent. another "one foot touch down" abandoned Quantas airliner... nobody here to welcome?!?! just a wonderful fresh breeze through the parked aircraft for our over night's stay and a visit to the local bars...not to find water anyway... cheers with the beers!
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 3, 2023 16:14:31 GMT
leg3 YCIN-YTEF
well, these military areas are more restricted than open,....so you can imagine, we only had two possibilities: first stay overnight in our aircraft ....or second, to join the firendly crew from the MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) from the Twin Otter who landed just before us: they had a reservation in Derby and a booked transfer.... they had brought a teacher tom Derby District High School and a stay overnight at Desert Rose Bed & Breakfast,...you know what we choose... so in the morning they gave us a ride back to the airport... from right to left: Ernie in Jeans, the Captain of the Twin Otter, and me... a last farewell and... after an easy taxi procedure we are cleared for take off... as Curtin is an RAAF base we do not have many details on our flight deck, just the glimpse back onto the military aircrafts below ( don't tell around...) airborne again,..."Come fly with me"..... www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOzEeJZ92X8this leg just offers little variety,...so the radio is turned on and let's listen to Australian Jazz broadcast... incredible cockpit view without any human signs.... this must be Lake Hayward, if we navigate correctly... and then more or less the same impressions... on the right and to the left.... navigation tells us we are pretty close to Telfer,...but the hell where is it??? after descending and aiming stictly to our designated goal, we can imagine a small settlement in front of another mining area... good to have modern navigation support.... another small airfield just containing the absolute minimal structure... safe touch down, and... arrival in secure environement not to busy here.... just perfect protection, as the Telfer Mine is a gold, copper and silver mine located at Telfer on the land of the Martu people, in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia. It is owned by Newcrest Mining, the largest gold producer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange authorities seem to be friendly ( as they know about GAAR 23 ) parking over night and this time sleeping "in town" Telfer Galah Bar: just somewhere in the middle of this microspot ... lol CHEERS !!!!
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 3, 2023 8:57:17 GMT
great fotorealistic screenies!!!
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 2, 2023 16:41:07 GMT
love your screenies, guys!!! roggeberg's pics are breathtaking realistic! wow!!! leg2 YARG-YCIN
Good Morning Argyle
after a short night with thinking, brainstorming and weighting the possibilities, we just came to one conclusion: opening the cowling to see where the devil's sitting on the left engine... soon friendly people from the Mining Comp. were organized, as they had to maintain their planes as well,...so it came as it had to come: an oil pipe sealing was leaking ( maybe due to positive landing??? no,..that was just nothing for this bird,...just a bad coincidence...) anyway, the mechanics gave all their skills....a sworn community of helping hands starting, testing, everything seems well done leaving in good mood behind another rally participant taking off towards further adventurs OMG....this mine is/was huge.... hard to believe this was man's work,...but who else could have done all this...?!?! good to know, that all this will be renatured one day.... leaving Northern Territory and entering Kimberley in Western Australia,... after a smooth uneventful cruise across vasteland and the foothills of Wunaamin Conservation Park we reach the headwaters of River Fitzroy Wunaamin Conservation Park is the new name for part of the former King Leopold Ranges Conservation Park. The renaming acknowledges the Aboriginal name of the area.Wunaamin Conservation Park is the new name for part of the former King Leopold Ranges Conservation Park. The renaming acknowledges the Aboriginal name of the area. Better not to have a technical...... and fly above Danggu Geikie Gorge National Park..... Danggu Geikie Gorge was carved by the Fitzroy River through an ancient limestone barrier reef. It's mind blowing to think that around 250 million years ago much of the Kimberley region was an ancient sea. Fitzroy Crossing in sight... Fitzroy River, in northern Western Australia. It rises in the Durack Range in east Kimberley and traces a 325-mile (525-kilometre) course that flows southwest through the rugged King Leopold Ranges and the Geikie Gorge (where many freshwater crocodiles are found) and turns northwest through rugged country and plains, emptying into the Indian Ocean at King Sound. A tidal rise of 25 feet (8 m) is common at its mouth, which is 6 miles (10 km) wide. Its chief tributaries are the Hann and Margaret rivers and Christmas Creek. The Fitzroy traverses cattle and sheep country, and rice is grown on floodplains along its lower course. A dam at Camballin controls water for irrigation. There is little navigation because of sandbars and snags. Fitzroy Crossing, a settlement on the upper river, is in an area of large, permanent waterholes that sustain wildlife. Just above it is the former mentioned Geikie Gorge National Park. The river was explored in 1838 by Lieut. John Lort Stokes of the HMS “Beagle,” who named it in honour of Capt. Robert Fitzroy, a former commander of the ship. would be nice to have a stop over,.... but we only touch cautious with one wheel and the rally must go on....lol Ernie ( my Copilot ) is very satisfied about the soft touch...LOL westwards across vaste plane land.... only sign of human appearance: the Great Northern Hwy. after endless seeming "nothing in nowhere land" we contact Curtin tower... RAAF Base Curtin is located on the north coast of Western Australia, southeast of Derby and 170 kilometres east of Broome. It was established in the 1950s to provide support for land, air and sea operations aimed at securing Australia’s northern approaches. The base was officially opened in 1988, named in honour of former Prime Minister John Curtin who served from 1941-1945. Curtin is one of the Royal Australian Air Force’s three ‘bare bases’, meaning it can be used for training exercises and operations and has a small General Aviation area after strictly advise in landing pattern we are "allowed" to land on RWY 11,...btw the controler had a nice female voice (thumb up) flaring out in anticipation of the unevitable landing beer... not to big a decision, this place will only have poor choices.... relief after engine 2 histories..... we taxi to the fuel station.... and have a stopover for this night! see you guys!
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Post by jazzthom on Apr 1, 2023 10:59:29 GMT
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
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Post by jazzthom on Mar 30, 2023 15:08:43 GMT
Hello to all of you! It's time again for this years rally! Everybody is in full anticipation what's to come and GAAR's authorities made it possible to preserve a special spot near the gates of Darwin Int airport for this years starting area. You can see quite a few old birds waiting, being cared for, and of course many friends hanging around, talking and laughing near the so well appreciated BBQ area which is dedicated to Urs, my dear pal. Stories from the last years rallyes are shared and new members are welcome. Let's have fun! jazzthom
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