Annual OZ Trip

[rosslr]

I thought I'd share a little of the trip we are on at the moment. Each year since launching we have headed off for a little fly to some of the interesting remote places in Australia.
We have undertaken trips straight across the country to the remote Kimberley region, into the red centre and up to Queensland and Sth Australian deserts. This year we have headed Nth through NSW, up the Queensland coast to Ayr, then across to the Gulf country where we are tonight in Bourktown. We have flow over 20 hours so far on this trip and will double that by the time we get home in a few weeks time.

I will make a few posts covering a few days at a a time.

Here is the route so far.

I hope this is interesting enough as I realise it isn't about building and technical stuff.

cheers

ross

[rosslr]

Day 1 and 2 - up through NSW and over to the Qld coast.

We left home on a cold morning with heaps of fog. But that cleared off after an hour or so, stopped at Cootamundra for a short break, then Warialda, WArick in Qld and then on to our friends cattle porperty near Boonah. Col and Anna have a Super Cub and have adventured with us before so it good to catch up with them at their new property. Col had put a rough runway in with a 10' slope up to his Hanger - fun!

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[rosslr]

After leaving Cols place we headed over to coast between the Gold Coast and Brisbane control areas and picked up the coastal VFR route north along Sth Stradboke island and Morton Island then up the coast getting a clearance to track coastal through the Sunshine Coast Control area, along Fraser island then over to Hervey Bay for the night.

[rosslr]

Kept going up the coast. We had to divert inland around the Shoalwater Bay Military Training area to Mackay. It was blowing hard. We got a clearance into Mackay and performed an imitation of a helicopter landing into a 25KT wind blowing straight down the runnaway!!

[rosslr]

Leaving Mackay took us up through the Airle Beach/Shute Harbour area of the Whitsunday islands. Cloud was low and raining around the islands but soon we out the other side and stopped at Bowen in the middle of a busy parachuting operation. Great chat with the team there and a look at the Catalina flying boat memorial -interesting. Then off to Ayre where we were met by our neighbours from home who are in a fishing trip at the mouth of the Burdekin River.


We spent 2 days with them catching mud crabs and prawns - I didn't thing I could get sick of eating fresh crab and prawn sandwiches!!

[rosslr]

After two days of indulgence on seafood it was time to leave and head across to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Now this was the start of the remote area so fuel management becomes super important! We flew from Ayre to Charters Towers and topped up the fuel. Then straight to Einasleigh - just a strip with an old pub and a wonderful gorge for swimming and exploring. It was getting hot and although we had a 20kt tail wind, it was uncomfortable so we landed and spend he night having fun at the gorge and the pub!

[David47]

Noice Ross .... very noice.... As well as you and Gayle, do you have any other aircraft travelling with you or is this a solo nav. ?. This is quite a trip you're on. Pea green. Great photos and I reckon the trip across the Gulf will be spectacular. Is this full coastal or are you back home down the centre ?

[rosslr]

Today we left Einasleigh at 0700 and after ducking under around some low level cloud over some ranges, we set sail for the Gulf at Normanton and then around the coast to Bourketown. Amazing country and a very good tailwind! Landing at Bourketown was challenging with an 17 kt crosswind and no alternative. The Kitfox handled it well, even it was a wild ride to to ground! The local Charter company have wonderful accommodation cabins in town so we treated ourselves to some luxury after being in the tent for a while - and they have lent us a car to look around! great place!

chers

r

[efwd]

Thanks for the post Ross. I, for one, love to see this kind of post. People ask me how far I can go in the Kitfox. I tell them of your trips as well as the factory trip to the Bahamas. Keep em coming.

[jiott]

Great story Ross, you are using your fox to the fullest.

[jrevens]

Yes! I love your trip reports and pictures Ross!

[DesertFox4]

Incredible trip Ross!
This is why we build.

[rosslr]

I thought it might be useful to show a pic of my tie downs. I use the main peg to hold the tie down rope and it has a dog chain on it through which I drive a second peg - it is very strong. And the hammer is essential as is the hook welded to it for pulling pegs out!

cheers

r

[rosslr]

Yesterday we left Bourketown in the Gulf of Carpentaria and flew to the interestingly named 'Hells Gate' for breakfast - its just a road house in amongst huge cattle stations. Great place and great people. Then we headed to King Ash Bay which is near Boorloola. KAB is a fishing place where hundreds of caravans and boats come to spend months fishing in the dry season. Barramundi and Mud Crabs are the attractions and they are plentiful!! Nice strip - gravel and grass which is typical of this area.

[rosslr]

Today was one of the most amazing days flying we have had! Some of the most remote coastal area of Australia and we did it mostly at 500ft! The beaches were 'landable' if it went to custard, but the the only 'unsound' part of that decision was the beaches and mudflats were full of crocs!! Nontheless we lived to talk about it!

Tonight we are in Nhulunbuy and will spend the next week up here visiting with some old colleagues and spending some time on remote indigenous communities.

But for now, I'll let the photos tell the story of today!

cheers

r

[airlina]

An amazing adventure Ross, not gonna be much left on your bucket list. Keep the photos coming! Bruce N199CL

[Mcgaero]

Fantastic Photos Ross and Gayle!
I have been too busy building and haven't looked at team kitfox for ages so I've had a great morning catching up on your oz trip!
All I can say is we are inspired to be adventurous when we finally get flying.

[rosslr]

We are back in range of internet after some lovely days spent out on a remote indigenous community - just 5 people live there. We were very privileged to stay with and learn from these people who have great knowledge. Gayle spent days with the women learning to make woven baskets from the natural plants and different colour dies from the roots and leaves of plants. I roamed far and wide and fished and hunted for mud crabs. This was a great place to fly to so will just let a few pictures give you the idea.

Getting to remote areas like this is why I built the Kitfox!

cheers

r

[Frontier Fox]

That’s fantastic Ross. You and Gayle are fortunate to be able to experience such beauty. Thank you for sharing.

[David47]

Fabulous adventure Ross and Gayle and thanks for sharing some of the photos. Like you, this is exactly why I'm building my kitfox. So many magnificent places to see in this great country of ours. Stay safe.

[rosslr]

First time back in a place with internet access. Therefore, I will do a series of updated day by day of the last week

NYINYIKAY TO JABIRU – 197NM

The wind hadn’t let up and we had no reception to get an accurate forecast. On the ground the windsock was horizontal and there were passing showers of rain. We sat and waited and finally a MAF Airvan came in and he told the weather would get better the further we went west. We were heading for Jabiru, the only town in the world famous Kakadu national park. To get there we needed to cross some water, fly across remote, croc infested lowlands and then cross over the Kakadu escarpment before descending into Jabiru. The cloud base was about 1200ft when we left but we had good definition of the coastline and an added bonus is that there are a lot of small airstrips in this area as it is dotted with Indigenous Homelands communities. It turned out well and the weather did improve as we went west, finally allowing us to climb to 4500ft over the escarpment and into clear air – much to Gayle’s joy! The only downside was the smoke from the fire management program – they burn huge areas each dry season up this way.

We decided to spend a day n Kakadu park and managed to hire a car from some backpackers for the day (no hire companies). Kakadu is in the very nth part of Australia (you will notice East Timor on the map to the Nth). There are 2 seasons here - wet and dry. In the wet the huge amount of rain drains off the escarpment via spectacular waterfalls and floods the plains all around - the result is a vast area teaming with wildlife. The Aboriginal people have thrived in this area and there is a lot of rock art documenting there 60,000yrs of successful occupation of the area. They also traded with their Asian neighbors to the north.

This is a wonderful part of Australia and one to put on the list of any Australian visit!

[rosslr]

Kakadu National Park

[rosslr]

JABIRU TO DUNMARRA – 242 NM

It was time for us to start heading south again and eventually to home! This meant the last of the tailwinds unfortunately. There was a big high pressure system sitting over Australia which meant we were wanting to go Sth and the winds were strong from the SE – not ideal! Normally in this pat of Australia it is hot and it is best to get up early and fly before too many thermals get established. But this weather pattern was different. The temps were relatively cool and the winds strong in the morning and settling a bit around 11am. The forecast was for severe turbulence below 7000ft until 1000, so we waited until 1100. The best winds were forecast at 7500ft so up we went! We would much rather fly low over this interesting country but we had no real choice because of turbulence and also because the winds backed to the east the higher we went.

Out in this part of Australia, fuel planning is important as there are not many places where you can get it, nor is the supply always reliable. Dunmarra is just a road house on the Stuart highway but there is a dirt strip out the back, premium unleaded is available, you can taxi right into the camp ground and the owner is a pilot with a Cessna 182 and a Murphy Rebel. We had been there before and the owner Garry is very welcoming. So it was no brainer for an over night stop. Again the winds persisted and made for a slow trip and at least up high is was smooth – although it made for pretty spectacular landings!!

[rosslr]

DUNMARRA TO BARKLEY HOMESTEAD RAODHOUSE – 227 NM

Again we had to wait until late morning to leave due to a severe turbulence warning. Once more up to 7500ft where we found the least headwind component. Very remote area again but this time cattle stations which are measured in ‘thousands of square kilometers’!

The Barkley Homestead Roadhouse is a very popular stop for caravans and trucks going from Qld to the NT. They even have Avgas at $2:55/lt or Premium unleaded at $2:00/lt from the bowser. We carry a 20lt flexible fuel bladder and filter. I walked back and forth 3 times, each time thinking that I was saving $10:50 each trip and that was a couple of beers!

[rosslr]

BARKLEY HOMESTEAD TO GEM TREE – 214 NM

Same old weather pattern! Wait until late morning and then off – this time with a slight west heading that but us at 4500ft initially and later up to 6500ft to get clear air. And again, large cattle stations and a few ranges to create a slightly different landscape.

Arriving at Gem Tree the wind was about 20kts - with most of it crosswind as the strip was N-S. All the strips out here are red gravel and mostly pretty wide so plenty of room even if each landing is an interesting challenge!

The Gem Tree Caravan park is NE of Alice Springs and not marked on our map. We heard about it from friends and it has turned out to be an interesting stop. Fuel is available from the bowser and they have a camp kitchen at night where they cook roast dinners. The owners are retired cattle station owners from the Utopia Station to the North. They now cater for travellers in the outback who want to stop and do a bit of fossicking for zircon and garnets.

We are stuck here today because the severe turbulence warning is for the whole day. The good news is the forecast for tomorrow is better, so we will enjoy the stop then head for Mt Dare tomorrow.

[rosslr]

GEM TREE TO MT DARE

This was the first day in over a week when the windsock wasn't horizontal! Nice. This stretch took us to the east of Alice Springs and across the western part of the nth Simpson desert. A cross section of Australian outback that would be hard to equal in terms of rugged diversity. The photos tell the story.

It was good to arrive at one of our favourite outback pubs/roadhouses - The Mt Dare Homestead. We've been there many times now and the owners are pilots that always make feel really welcome. A lot of motor bike and 4WD traffic here as they tackle one of the iconic outback challenges - crossing the the 1300 odd sand dunes of the Simposon Desert.

[rosslr]

Mt DARE TO BIRDSVILLE

This stretch is remote - very remote. But one of your favourite - this is our 4th crossing now. There are a number of tracks across the Simpson desert made by gas and oil exploration companies many years ago. The one we followed was the French line ( named obviously after a French exploration team). There are no towns, shelters of any type across this stretch and is ussually a 2.5-3hour flight. The trouble is that if anything goes wrong it is a VERY difficult recovery. We followed the French line to provide a degree of safety but only saw 3 or 4 $WD vehicles the whole trip.

We stopped off at Poppels crn (the meeting of the states of Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australia. We landed on a clay pan that had a thin covering of salt. We've stopper there before so were pretty comfortable with the condition of the clay.

And now we are in the famous Birdsville - famous for its once a year race meeting that sees the population of the town swell from 70 to about 17000 for the weekend races!!

[jrevens]

What a great travelog!! Thanks for taking the time to share it, Ross & Gayle!

[jiott]

Great trip report Ross; very enjoyable.
I just wish there was a way to enlarge your small photos to full screen. The old forum software allowed you to click on the photo and it became much larger. Maybe I just have not figured out how to do it with this new system.

[David47]

It’s a sunburnt country out there. Great log guys. One of many to remember.

[PapuaPilot]

What a great trip Ross, and fun to read about! I was going to ask you if you happened to see any MAF pilots in Arnhem Land, but you answered that in one of your posts.

[rosslr]

Last few days coming up!

Jim - yes, I find that a bit frustrating too. Perhaps I am posting using the wrong format?

Phil - yes, they have a pretty large op up in that parts of OZ.

cheers

r

[rosslr]

BIRDSVILLE TO WHITE CLIFFS

Birdsville is In Western Queensland. 2 or three days home from here depending on weather. So it was time to start studying the charts and plan how to get home (Mt Beauty, Vic). The stable weather patterns over the central and Nth parts of OZ make it all pretty predictable day to day. But down Sth, a series of fronts sweep across the nation from west to east bringing cold, wet and sometimes wild weather.

The forecast was for fog in Birdsville, and true to forecast we woke to a pretty thick one! There are about 12 charter planes bringing people to see water of the channel country and Lake Eyre that only fills with water every few years. They were mostly Caravans and 206's. While we waited, the Kitfox become the 'plane of interest' with the charter pilots all coming to look it over and ask us about the trip - they loved the idea of being able to do trips like we are at such a low cost and also to go the places we can go. We didnt mind as it helped to pass he time and before long the IFR mob were starting to depart and 45 mins later we took to the air.

A great flight down over the Strezleki Desert to Tibboburra with a 20kt tailwind. The Strezleki had a lot of water after recent rains so that was interesting and rare sight. We made good time, so after a short stop we decided press on to White Cliffs - an opal mining community. We had a few challenging bits of weather to negotiate. Sometimes having to stay low and at other times going up on top

The local pub owner came out to give us fuel and take us into town.

A good day despite the slow start and we enjoyed a few beers chatting to the locals.

[rosslr]

WHITE CLIFFS TO HAY

We are within striking distance of home! BUT..... The weather looked good to within 150nm of home and then the forecast was pretty dismal - in fact, we couldn't have got into our Valley as it was wall to wall low cloud and rain. Good news is that tomorrow looks really good. So we decided to go sth to Hay in western NSW and wait until tomorrow to make the final flight of our trip. The weather was good as we left
white Cliffs with a 20kt tail wind. We could see the cloud and rain ahead so had to deviate around it to the west. Originally we planned to go to Griffith but we deviated to Hay and got in just before a band of rain and low cloud.

Gayle managed to get a good shot of panel of the plane today that shows everything as we use it - we were at 3500ft and had a ground speed of about 118kts. But as Jim pointed out, it doesn't seem possible to blow the photos up so you will probably miss the detail. However, for those of you interested, our panel consists of ( from L - R ) MGL mini flight and engine instruments, Garmin 695, Top to bottom - MGL radio, Trigg Mode S transponder, Airmaster CSP control, and Ipad mini. ON top of the glare shield is a Dynon Traffic in system that links to the ipad. Only other thing of interest is the AOA indicator above the engine display.

Anyway, home tomorrow when I'll provide a few stats and thoughts about his type of trip.

cheers

r

[rosslr]

HOME!!! HAY TO MT BEAUTY.

Final day of our annual OZ Venture trip...and what a trip it has been.

We woke to a forecast of a sunny day with favourable winds...but only after the fog had lifted. Well we had a light fog at Hay so headed for the airport to prep the plane. The forecast was for scattered patches of fog right through to the mountains where we live. Our friend Craig was keen to meet us on the way back for the final stretch in his Kitfox 4. Well all was good in Mt Beauty and the TAF and Web cam showed the fog was lifting and cleared along the route so off we headed from Hay to meet up with Craig in Yarrawonga. Half and hour into the flight I asked Gayle to check the fog in Yarrawonga and would you believe it? The fog had come in and the visibility was down to bugger all!! Abeam Jerilderie looked clear so we diverted there and advised Craig to meet us there! (We did think of ringing you Dave to see if you were in Moama but had Craig to think of). Anyway, we got out the gas cooker and boiled water for coffee while we waited for Craig. When he arrived we enjoyed stories, coffee and vanilla slices from the Hay Bakery!!

Great reunion with Craig and then we decide to go direct to Mt Beauty - only about and hour or so and we knew Mt Beauty was clear. It was a perfect day for flying and a fitting entry into the mountains - how green was our valley after all the red desert country! We enjoyed entering familiar country and picked a path through the valleys to Mt Beauty.

On arrival we had a welcoming committee of family and friends - and my 97yo mother! wonderful! Another friend took off to join us also but got confused with the fog and where we were - but they arrived a little later too.

So here we are, home again. Another wonderful trip in the Kitfox - 48 hrs flying and about 9000km. What a capable and fun plane to tour in! For all of you who ever contemplate doing fair sized trips, my advice is to dream and plan big, prepare well and trust your Kitfox - it will take you anyway in comfort and safely!! We fly as myself, Gayle, full fuel and 65 kg of gear. The split turtle deck is a great addition (thanks John!) I think the addition of the T3 tailwheel is great, but Ben's beefed up attachment is essential in my view. Good tie downs are a must - I use dual peg and dod spike for each of the three tie down points. We have a cover that keeps the plane from any prying eyes and also protects it from the hash weather. Allow time so that you don't have to push the limits of weather and your own energy levels. Apart from that it is really not that hard to unleash the Kitfox and let it do its stuff taking you to amazing places where ever you are in the world.

Until the next one,

cheers

ross

[jrevens]

How nice to be able to follow along on your adventure! Thank you again for taking the time to share it with all of us! Great job, Ross and Gayle!!

[efwd]

Ross, Thank You for posting. People ask me all the time, "how far can you travel"? I always tell them about you and Gayle. I have been thinking about the trust you must have in your plane to travel out there like that. I will need more than 50 hours on mine before I could think of a trip like that. Totally inspiring though. Awesome post.

[rosslr]

Cheers Guys. You are right Eddie, I have grown to trust the plane very much and all the systems. The more I fly with the 912is engine the more I think it is pretty full proof, as long as it keeps to get a fuel supply! I think you too will grow quickly to trust the aircraft and ready to do some great trips around the US!

Here in OZ I'm looking forward to Ben and Dave finishing their projects and perhaps doing a trip together!

cheers
r

[David47]

Awesome trip Ross. The photos you guys posted of this great country of ours just spurs me on to finish my plane and then do exactly what you and Gayle have been, and still are doing. [I was in Moama all this week working on my plane 7 days straight and sorted a lot of those niggling issues, but understand why you couldn't call in]. These trips are what this aircraft is all about, and I personally think that we in Aus, and the guys in the USA, are very fortunate in having such vast and spectacular countryside in which to go flying. I'm really looking forward to catching up and hearing all about this last great adventure. Great job R and G.

[Rooster]

WoW!!
Ross, that's a fantastic thread! Thanks for showing us. It's really special for you, too, in that you and Gayle can do it together......

You inspire us to post more of what we do.

Thanks.
Reid