An Australian Outback adventure

[rosslr]

Hi all. Been a while since I've posted anything of interest. So thought I'd share our latest adventure. 8 days. Approx. 2000nm. 27hrs. Av fuel burn of 17.5 lt/hr. I thought I would make a new post each day for the next 8 days. Hope it inspires others who are still building!

cheers

ross

First a map to show where went went.
12998
There were 3 aircraft - our Kitfox SS7, Friends Col and Anna in their Super Cub and friends Tony and his mate Jason in Tony's old C180. We left from Col's farm and had a good tailwind for the first leg.
12991
It wasn't long until Tony and Jason passed us while we slowed down and flew along with Col and Anna.
12995
We headed for the Opal mining town of White Cliffs the first night and it didn't take long to get out of the nice faring country and into the outback! We stopped off at Ivanhoe for a pee stop. A pretty brisk crosswind and about 20 Kangaroos met us there.
12992
12994
A couple of happy Kitfox flyers!
12993
Finally on the ground at White cliffs after a pretty spirited cross wind landing - 20 knots 30 degrees off the nose! But it was a good first day!!
12996
12997
We visited the underground hotel and enjoyed an evening at the White Cliffs pub with the locals.

[Mcgaero]

What a great trip Ross, I hope you leave a little pice of Aus un-explored for when I eventually take to the air...
I recognise that Cub and 180!
Its a testament to the Kitfox (and of course your build) the places you've taken it already! I better keep building...! :rolleyes:

[David47]

I just ratcheted up my build speed a bit to Mach 1. Salivating at the thought that one day .......

[mscotter]

Underground hotel? Do elaborate please. Never heard of such a thing.

[rosslr]

I look forward to us having all three Kitfox together shortly Ben and Dave!
Re the underground hotel see: http://undergroundmotel.com.au/project/humble-beginnings/

cheers

[rosslr]

Our plan for this trip was to put in 2 solid flying days to get us to Birdsville - the start of the Simpson desert where we wanted to centre our adventure. Day one and day two where very close to the same mileage - about 360nm.
Day 2 saw a great sunrise and again a forecast for a nice, if not strong, tailwind. It was good to see the three aircraft tied down well.
13009Our take off was spirited into a 20kt breeze 45' off the nose. We decided to head for the Dig Tree - an historical site in Australia regarding a ill fated exploration journey by Burke and Wills - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_and_Wills_expedition
13010
For other ozzies panning to visit the Dig Tree, be aware that it is hard to spot from the air and can easily be confused with another strip about 3 miles to the NE. It is a nice sandy strip but be careful after rain.
13011
There is a local guy employed as a ranger to help visitors get the most from their visit - well worth the stop!
13010
Leaving the Dig Tree we headed straight to Birdsville which involved flying over the Strezleki desert - there was no doubt we were now very outback Australia!
13005
Birdsville is famous for its annual outback race meeting - an iconic event in Australia when the population of the town increases from around 70 to 7000!
Birdsville is VERY remote and half the attraction is the trip to get there - by plane or by 4WD.
This is the Birdsville race track....
13006
Approaching Birdsville - you can see the main sealed strip which allows for large aircraft to arrive for the races.
13007
However, we dont like landing on sealed runways with our Airstreak 26" so we always find a bit of dirt besides the main runway.
13008
The rest of the evening was centred on enjoying the experience that is the experience of the Famous Birdsville Pub!
13012
We enjoyed the sunset on the benches outside the pub.
13013
While we watched the sunset an indigenous guy arrived and parked out front - He went inside and his dog took up his posiiton that he ( apparently) does every night!
13014

cheers

[DesertFox4]

Beautiful country Ross. Great adventures made possible by your choice of aircraft and talented building skills. You've also officially put to rest the notion that this aircraft may not be suitable for cross country flights. Next time a pilot comes up to the airshow booth and asks if this can do cross country flights, I'm showing your trip photos.:)

On a side note. My nephew moved to Melbourne two years ago. He met a beautiful girl there and fell in love with her, the city and your incredible country and people. They will be returning to the States along with her parents and an uncle to be married in Las Vegas, NV next week. Then on a short honeymoon to one of his favorite American cities Seattle, Washington to show her the sites of our spectacular North West. Then to Phoenix for a few days and back to Australia to start their new life. I now have a really strong pull besides your Kitfox adventures to go down under for a visit.

[David47]

So when does the book and vid come out Ross ??!!. Spectacular. We live in a great country. Can't wait to get to the Birdsville races .....

And Steve, if you come to Aus, you'll also be welcomed by the Aus Kitfox family.

[efwd]

Those trips you take are really impressive. People ask me all the time, "how far can you fly in that plane"? I always tell them how much fuel it has and how fast it is so we extrapolate the distance. Can you tell us how long your longest leg has been while on these trips you take? Just Curious.
Eddie

[kmach]

Just awesome.

[chrisag]

What a great trip Ross . Once again , very envious. Just have to get myself organised to do it too one day soon. Cheers.. JC

[rosslr]

Thanks for following Guys!
As David says Steve- look forward to welcoming you one day!
Eddie - We only like to fly a max of 3-4 hours a day. Our plan is to leave in the morning fairly early and have the whole afternoon for playing around and exploring the destination. And we always plan a cuppa/ bladder stop about every 1.5 hours. The max. I will plan for is 400 nm on a tank. That ussually leaves a comfortable reserve. So most commonly on these trips we plan for between 200 and 400nm. That said, last year we did the Tanamai desert where fuel was not available so we carried a spare 20 t and landed mid trip to tip the 20lt in.
Hey Jim, good to here from you! only thinking about coming over for another Wilsons prom trip with our Super Cub Buddy when we get a nice patch of weather.

I will do the Day 3 post now.

cheers

[rosslr]

Heading west from Birdsville the are over 1100 sand dunes running N-S that are part of the Simpson Desert. our plan was to spend a bit of time in the middle. I don't want to be too specific about this as it may not be entirely legal but you will get the idea
There are a couple of 4WD tracks that cross the desert. Mostly crossing in a straight line E-W but occasionally they run N-S. We following one of the tacks - there are 3-4 vehicles that are crossing the track at any time and it is fun to see an occasional vehicle.
13042
Occasionally you see a nice image and actually have the camera ready!
13043
Col and Anna in their Super Cub were flying in company most of the time.
13050
The track across the Simpson
13051
Between the sand dunes the track crosses clay/salt pans - easy going for 4WD when dry but a trap when wet - same would go for air planes I imagine!
We came across this vehicle and made friends with them!
13044
the rest of the photos are pretty self explanatory - happy to supply more details to those wanting to do the trip themselves.
13045
13046
13047
13049
13052
13053
A fantastic day's flying and a great camp1

CHEERS

[efwd]

Hey Ross, if that is an HD image of your plane in the sunset, would you be willing to email it to me? It would look great on canvas. My home is decorated in aviation stuff. And, as I have said I appreciate sunsets.
eddie.forward@yahoo.com

[David47]

Ross, we need you to have an operation to have an RS-232 port installed somewhere on your person so we can plug in and download all this experience and info you've gained on these great Australian adventures .... and nice touch with the Wolfe Blass Yellow Label too ..... !!

Also, that picture with the vehicle looks like a salt pan (?). How'd you determine whether it was hard enough for a landing - the guys in the car, wheel touches, ?.

[rosslr]

Photo forwarded Eddie.

Hey Dave, I have all the spots ready marked for you! As for the saltpan - more a clay pan there with a light salt crust - yes, you must be really careful - assessed suitable by a combo of noting no recent rain, the car tracks crossing, then two touch and goes and subsequent inspection. Any landing right up against the edge.

cheers

[rosslr]

Day 4 was to finish the desert crossing and spend the night at Mt Dare Hotel on the western side of the Simpson. Lovely flying weather so we kept low and followed the track enjoying the spectacular scenery. We had identified a few spots as possible landing areas from google earth so decided to 'ground truth' them in case of a need to land in an emergency.
13076
13077
We planned to stop at the hot springs at Dalhousie - remarkable feature on the edge of the desert fed by the hot water from the Great Artesian Basin. The landscape changes remarkably on leaving the desert.
13078
13079
13080
Tony and Jason in the 180 arrived first and landed only to call us and say the ranger had harassed them for landing and threatened a $220 fine - apparently the strip is closed but their were no crosses on the strip nor entry in the ERSA!! Bureaucracy! Nonetheless, we decided to fly on to Mt Dare, our stop for the night.
Mt Dare is a great stop and Graham Scott, the owner, is a keen aviator and welcomes aircraft. He went out of his way to fill a 44 gal drum and pump fuel in to planes - nothing is too much trouble. We spent a great night with good company at Mt Dare - the sunset was fantastic too! I took Grahams 2 staff ( english backpackers) for a scenic flight to get photos to send home and Col took Graham for a low level flight! Highly recommended stop for those heading that way. Hopefully, SA Parks will open up the Dalhousie strip soon too!
13071

13072

13073

13074

13075
13072
13073
13074
13075

[rosslr]

Sorry about the repeated photos below!

r

[Rooster]

Wow!
Ross, what fantastic memories you are racking up!
I like the picture of the spent Cabernet cartridge next to the planes.:)

Nothing nicer than enjoying that beer in the warm evening after a good flying trip with friends...

Keep them coming, and so you know, I am green with envy. Weather is getting cold fast here, and the lack of a starter still grounds the Foxy Feet.

Reid

[rosslr]

Today we left Mt Dare Station and headed sth to Lake Eyre. This is very remote pastoral country and we found a nice water hole to stop at and boil the billy. The ground was fairly rough but clear of obstacles.
13094
Then we headed to the top of Lake Eyre - Australia's largest salt lake that gets a flood every few years but only fills about 4 times each century. At it's lowest point it is 15m below sea level and you have to be careful to avoid suffering from 'white out'. We flew along the eastern edge so we always had a good horizon. The path of the creeks that drain into the lake can be clearly seen even if they were dry.
13095
There was still a lot of water at the mouth of the Warburton Ck with hugel flocks of pelicans that took off and swarmed around up to 1500ft - so caution was needed!
13096

The lake and the creeks that feed it are spectacular and when in flood the lake has its own frequency dedicated to aircraft looking at the spectacle. The bird life is stunning!
13097
13098

Having successfully dodged all the birds, we headed to the famous Coopers Ck where a friend told us of a possible landing spot up stream ( I should say up sand as there is no water in it!).

We were ahead of Col and Anna in the Super Cub and found it amongst the sand dunes. We landed and cleared a few logs for Col to land - have to make it easy for those Super Cubs!
13099

Now this spot is VERY remote - a long way from the Birdsville track which is probably the nearest place to find traffic. But what a great feeling to tie down in such a place overlook the creek.
13100
13101

It was great to walk the dunes and see all the animal tracks - dingos, rabbits, roos, goats, wild donkeys and horses ..... The flies are bad until the sun goes down to fly nets are essential to remain sane!
13102

The setting sun made for some memorable photos.
13103
13104

And the evening was magnificent out there with the full sky of stars and the howls of dingos to entertain us. A memorable evening.
13105

Cheers

[David47]

Fabulous photos Ross. They give a very good perspective of this great country of ours.

I remember driving along the Oodnadatta track beside Lake Eyre South in 2011 when it was "full". It was like driving along the shoreline of parts of Eastern Australia. Awesome sight. And yep, fly nets. Essential kit for parts of Outback Aus at certain times of the year.

[chrisag]

Hey Jim, good to here from you! only thinking about coming over for another Wilsons prom trip with our Super Cub Buddy when we get a nice patch of weather.

Hey Ross, Sounds a great move. Enough beds here for a few and if time permits Flinders Is. is not far either. Cheers..JC

[rosslr]

Leaving Cooper Ck we headed due east for Cameron's Corner which the place where the borders of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia meet. There are fences that designed to constrain vermin (Dingos and rabbits particularly). We landed on the sand airstrip and then taxied down the road to the gate which we opened and entered in Queensland where the Pub is Nothing else here but it is a great little place that offers basic rooms, fuel, food and beer as well as Tri State Golf! The owners have made a rough 9 hoe golf course with three holes in each state - I mean rough as its all sand and the emus and kangaroos are all over the sand scrapped 'greens'.

Not many photos at this stop but thoroughly recommend it as a stop over.

On the way to Camerons Corner we crossed the Strezleki and Birdsville tracks and found an nice clay pan to stop boil the billy - this is what its all about out here!
13106
The border fence - we had to open the gate and taxi through to the pub.
13107
We made ourselves at home in the pub after achieving a brilliant score on the tri state golf course - The hazzards were roos and emus!
13108
The pub has bowsers for diesel and unleaded - just taxi up an full up!
13109
13110

[efwd]

That looks like an incredibly good trip with friends.
OK, nobody else asked so I will. I can assume but "Boil the Billy"?
Eddie

[Esser]

Great trip Ross, good motivator ;)

[jiott]

Just curious Ross, do those unleaded fuel pumps in the outback have 91 octane with no alcohol?

[rosslr]

Hey Eddie - forgot abut the none aussie readers for a minute! The billy is a pot that is used to cook/boil water in. You will often here people say its 'time to boil the billy' suggesting they want to take a break and have a cuppa.

JIm, mostly 95 unleaded but that one was 91 unleaded - last fill was with Avgas and I mixed it so as to achieve about 95 rating. If these remote places do stock unleaded it is ussually 95 as many modern vehicles need higher octane - the majority of vehicles in the vehicles in the outback are diesel. Interestingly, they also use old mechanical pumps so they can fix them themselves - one place installed the new electronic ones and when it broke down they had to wait 2 months for someone to come and fix it! As for the ethanal - it is usual but we test for it each time before filling.

Glad it motivates you Josh - looks like your time is coming soon!

r

[David47]

Eddie, "boil the billy" is Australian slang for put the kettle on and have a cup of tea. A "Billy" in this sense is literally, a tin can with a lid and a wire handle you fill with water, put on an open fire till it boils then pour into yet another tin container, a tin cup with tea leaves inside ... and a tin handle .... and then drink away. Some also like to put a gum leaf into the "billy" so that the water takes on a more "bushy" taste. We do stuff like this in Aus !

[rosslr]

You'll be sorry you asked Eddie! Go Dave! (dont like those gum leaves though!)

[rosslr]

Well, like the first two days, the last two days were primarily about travelling. We left Camerons Corner and flew down the dingo fence for 165nm - straight into a 15 kt headwind! But having already had a 15kt tailwind on the way up we couldn't complain.

Flying down the very straight boarder between NSW and SA - very easy navigation!
13111
We turned east and tracked to Broken Hill for Fuel and to work out how much further we would go for the day. Our first choice, Pooncarie Pub on the Darling was booked out! So we decided on Lake Mungo resort for the last night.

We headed our from broken hill on on to the scrubby country that characterises this area - we saw big mobs of Roos and goats out here.
13112

We tracked the Darling river down to Pooncarie where we wanted to stay.
13113
Finally the Lake Mungo Strip came into sight - we were late in the afternoon so a low pass was needed to scare the roos off the strip before landing.
13114
Although we stayed in the basic shearers quarters accomodation, the dining room was luxury and Gayle and Anna enjoyed the open fire and a few drinks (so did the col and myself!).
13115
An early morning start saw us heading home via Hay for fuel - it was nice to see the fertile irrigated country again around Hay after the red desert - such a contrast.
13118
Then as we approached Col's farm we could really appreciate the fertile soil of the area around where we live.
13120
13122

Then it was just a short 40nm trip home to Mt Beauty and the Mountains - funny how different they are after flying around in dead flat country for a week.
13121
13123

Anyway, hope you have enjoyed out little trip as much as we did. We are already planning the next one!!
Cheers

Ross and Gayle

[Mcgaero]

Awesome photos Ross!
I'm really looking forward to exploring more of our great country!

[PaulSS]

Noice :) :)

...and back in time to watch the Bulldogs get beaten by West Coast :D

[colospace]

Keep 'em coming Ross. Have really been enjoying your travels and the insights into your country and slightly different colloquialisms.

[jrevens]

Gary's right, Ross... I think you give all of us a big boost! Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures!

[DesertFox4]

I also have enjoyed the descriptions and photos of your trip over varied and beautiful terrain. The photos of the "flats" make it seem as though they may go on forever. That horizon looks almost unreachable.
Thanks for your efforts Ross to share your trip with all our members.

I can only imagine while waiting for your kit to arrive a few short years back, that you dreamed of these epic trips once your project became an aircraft. Proof again that if you are willing to dream big, the Kitfox is up to the task.
"Have Kitfox-will travel" should be on your business card.
Well done.

[David47]

Thanks for the photos and commentary. You and Gayle are fast becoming the Aus aviation equivalent of the Leyland Bros !!.

[rosslr]

Now you will have to explain the Leyland Bros Dave!!!

Thanks for the comments guys - glad you enjoyed the trip. To be honest, I dont see these trips as being a great undertaking. I have done it before in our Mooney but didnt enjoy it as much we are in the Kitfox. Flying slower and lower and landing 'off piste' is the fun part. The Kitfox is entirely capable and certainly an economical way to do this type of flying.

I am now looking into the cargo pod - I dont really want to carry more - it would just enable us to put bulking items like tent, sleeping bags, tie downs, tools in there and leave the cargo pod for our clothes and backpacks. With all the gear fully laden for such trips it can be a bit of pain to pack and unpack. Anyone with experience using them? How much loss in airspeed and clearance? Ben, how about using your skills to make some out of Carbon fibre!?

Cheers

r

[David47]

Ok Ross

....... Leyland Bros = two brothers and their wives in 4x4's doing what Ross and Gayle do about 30 - 40 years ago ..... a top tv show in Aus in it's time.

So what time's your show on Ross ??!! :D

[rosslr]

Nice explanation David! No show, just some local flying in this beautiful autumn weather!

[Mcgaero]

Ross, I have plans to make a carbon fibre cargo pod after I get the Kitfox flying!
I think it would be a great place to store those bulky items on trips like you say.
I have researched the aerodynamics of pods on cub and the locally built Airvan etc and if they are designed right I don't think it would have much impact on cruse speed at all!
Once I made moulds it wouldn't be hard to make an extra one, only thing is it will be mid next year before I get to it I'm thinking...

[rosslr]

Excellent Ben! I would really like one!

We will be talking before then.

r

[David47]

Ben, if you're going to design one, fair it into the fuselage as much as possible to cut down on interference drag. A simple CFRC cuff will make an enormous difference.

[Mcgaero]

David - I do agree with your thoughts, only issue with fairing the pod to the fuse is the fabric contact area chafing and I want the pod easily removable for local flying. My plan is to experiment with a few mock-up designs and test fly them before I commit to making molds.

[Doc68]

Great trip Ross and Gayle, enjoyed the photo over a couple of red's (bottles) the other night!!, next trip Im there.

Doc

[David47]

Ben, teflon strip or similar on the fairing faying surface ? Only reason I mention a fairing is that the interference drag can be quite large, the bigger the gap. If you can't fair the pod, try and minimise the gap as much as possible.

[rosslr]

Its great to have an aeronautical engineer and LAME discussing the design for a POD - I reckon the result will be ...... good .... very good!

Nice to see you appear here Doc68! For those of you who have not heard of this guy it is Craig who gave me the privilege of flying his Kitfox 4 home across Australia last November

see; http://www.teamkitfox.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=7633&highlight=craig%27s+kitfox

Craig has the hanger next to mine in Mt Beauty and we had a great flight together the other day - don't remember anything about the bottles of red though Craig! Looking forward to more posts about your lovely red Kitfox!

r