South-easterly winds of 12-14 knots were forecast for Friday at Apollo Bay. By 1045 on that Friday Bruce, Hughbert and I were standing on launch with a 10-12 knot south-easterly blowing directly up the hill into our smiling faces. There were occasional whitecaps on the sea indicating light but suitable wind strength; the windsock we … Continue reading Hang Gliding at Apollo Bay early Autumn 2023
WA trip in VH-MWL with Liz. As I reach the end of this record of my flying memories I want to record in some detail an account of at least one trip that I remember as being simply a great trip in an aeroplane. There were of course many candidates. But a standout trip was … Continue reading Flying Memories – Chapter 10 (the final chapter)
Near miss when two aircraft cleared for collision course in controlled airspace between Westgate Bridge and Essendon Airport on 18 February 1996. I was pilot in command of a Twin Comanche registered VH-TPS, flying from Hamilton to Essendon after completing the Ansett 60th Anniversary Air Race in early 1996. At the time I held a … Continue reading Flying Memories – Chapter 9 (of 10)
Chapter 8 contains my memories of the following events: a charter flight to a station on the Diamantina River, a late-night flight in moonlight above cloud over Adelaide, encounter with a lee wave over the snow fields of NSW in mid-winter, an aerial tour of the Great Ocean Road shortly after Ash Wednesday, flying shark … Continue reading Flying Memories – Chapter 8 (of 10)
In this chapter I recall: a former flying student of mine who became a QANTAS captain, a potentially fatal error made by an overconfident trainee commercial pilot, surfing a 3,500 foot wave over Bass Strait in a single engine aircraft with power set at idle, a near mid-air collision between two aircraft at Moorabbin and … Continue reading Flying Memories – Chapter 7 (of 10)
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