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.
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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.
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It wasn't long until Tony and Jason passed us while we slowed down and flew along with Col and Anna.
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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.
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A couple of happy Kitfox flyers!
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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!!
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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...!

[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/proje...le-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.
IMG_5804.jpgOur 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_...lls_expedition
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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.
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There is a local guy employed as a ranger to help visitors get the most from their visit - well worth the stop!
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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!
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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....
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Approaching Birdsville - you can see the main sealed strip which allows for large aircraft to arrive for the races.
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However, we dont like landing on sealed runways with our Airstreak 26" so we always find a bit of dirt besides the main runway.
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The rest of the evening was centred on enjoying the experience that is the experience of the Famous Birdsville Pub!
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We enjoyed the sunset on the benches outside the pub.
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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!
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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.