We worked out the only way to refuel fixed wings and helicopters together at the same bowser.
Fly in the helicopters and land nose in with enough room for a fixed wing between. Roll in the fixed wings and do them one at a time and do the helicopters as the swap over is happening.
A few quiet ales after a hard day in the office. Broken Hill pub.
Menindee Lakes
Desert country near Broken Hill
Silverton. A tiny old mining town near Broken Hill. Who needs an airstrip?
A typical one pub town.
In the middle of nowhere on the way to Broken hill is a pub called the Quondong Hotel. It is so obvious it is named on the WAC.
Well we couldn't resist the temptation to pop in. So the most exciting thing that has ever happened at the Quondong pub was when two red and white R44s landed on the cricket pitch and four thirsty pilots fell out, to be met by a crowd of locals in an old ute.
We were ferried in style to the pub, had a cool refreshing lemonade and then flew off again into the wild blue yonder.
True story!
The Big Kahuna takes Eddie's sister for a circuit around Riverton S.A.
Parafield Airport. Adelaide
Note the cloud. This was the flavour of the weather for the rest of the trip. If it wasn't rain it was dust storms and thirty knot winds
A bunch of very suspect characters. No doubt discussing Secret Men's Business. Barossa Valley
If you are going to go you might as well go to somewhere good!
But even when you're on holidays the phones never stop ringing!.
Fighter Museum Williamtown Airbase
Even when we are on the ground we still can't wait to get back into the pilot's seat!
And If that isn't exciting enough there's always the coffee.
Great Keppel Island after some very ordinary weather.
Next day saw us get as far as Mackay and the weather turned really bad. In the end I got a commercial flight home, Garrick stayed the night and picked his way home over several days. One fixed wing got home IFR, one helicopter picked a way along the coast with a few stops on the beaches and one plane was left behind to be retrieved a week or so later.
A rather anticlimatic way to wind up an otherwise great trip.
A selection of photos from our Adelaide Trip (April 2000)
