X oz

[Rooster]

Hello Ross and Gayle!

Quote: "We had a day in Alice which is the the centre of Australia. Although we have been there many times before we always enjoy the country around Alice, especially the western McDonald ranges."

I have to do this as it is such a party song.....

Who the%#* is Alice?


This is an awesome trip!
I'm living vicariously. Please keep the reports and pictures coming.

Reid

[rosslr]

Well, we took a narrow opportunity in the weather patterns ( that all are a bit crazy at the moment in OZ!) to fly over the Nth Flinders rangers and across to Broken Hill - from here we are about 4-5 hrs from home...and there is a little bit more to do in Broken Hill than there was in Leigh Ck!

The Flinders are up to 4000ft and with a 20-25kt westerly and cloud over the ranges we need to get up and over the top. It was a good forecast so off we went and it all turned out well.

We are holed up here in Broken Hill now for a few days until the current rain and low cloud passes.

Cheers
ross and Gayle

The rugged Flinders Ranges and the cloud we flew over
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More of the Flinders and note the salt on the tyres from the last take off - we are in salt lake country!
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The end of the Flinders Ranges as it flattens out to the desert on the way to Broken Hill
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Approaching Broken Hill that takes advantage of the sun!
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[rosslr]

We are here in Broken Hill for a few days - it is the home of the famous BHP company and has fascinating mining history, mostly presented in glowing terms of economic outcomes but the haunting memorial on top of the slag heap tells a story of the miners who have lost heir lives in tragic circumstances - a few photos to give you the idea. It is also the home for the Royal Flying Doctors that serve the remote regions of outback Australia with their fleet of King Air aircraft.

Must be patient and wait for good weather to complete this wonderful trip - it will total about 2500nm and we have just 420 to go! No need to take risks at this stage!

cheers

ross and gayle

[kitfox2009]

Hi guys
Yes,it seems you have been getting some "nasty" weather over there recently,especially up the East Coast.
Take your time, better to wait out in beautiful downtown Broken Hill than beside the highway somewhere. How about Lightning Ridge for a few days!!
Have fun
Don

[SkySteve]

Ross,
It looks like a great adventure trip! Thanks for all the photos. Being from the Salt Lake, Utah area, I especially liked the photo of your "Salt Tires"!!

[rosslr]

We left Broken Hill this morning and were home by early afternoon. A successful end to a great trip. I will comment a little on the trip in a follow up post but first, it was a narrow opening in the weather that we needed to take of wait a few more days for another system to pass. We left Broken Hill about 0830 and headed for Hay - about 230nm and a good fuel top up and refreshment stop. It was interesting to see the open sandy plains give way to the fertile irrigated areas. However, at Hay the fuel bowser wasn't working as the internet was down and not able to activate the pump. Never mind - we had enough to get all the way home if needed. So off to Wangaratta for fuel and a break to reassess the weather into the mountains and home to Mt Beauty. No problems apart from a few rain showers to dodge. Fuelled up at Wang and checked with friends that the valley was 'open' and then we headed off for the final 40 mins of this trip - it was all pretty straight froward with better cloud base than we anticipated ( although 2 hours later it dropped and now it looks like snow!). It was great to see the Kiewa Valley again after 3 weeks and 2500nm!

[rosslr]

I am an average pilot (probably a bit below average actually!). I am not a tradesman and have a very average builders skill set. But despite this, we have built the Kitfox SS7 in two years and flew the maiden flight in October last year. 7 months later we have flown it 165 hrs and our latest trip took us over some of the most remote and inhospitable country in Australia - a trip of 2500nm in three weeks. This stands as testament to the quality of the Kitfox product, the manual/instructions that guide a relative novice through the build process and the fantastic resource that this site offers! I can not thank you all enough for the advice and support you have all offered throughout or build and beyond - the experience and expertise is offered generously and enthusiastically. I note there has recently been a few 'newbies' on the site (which I was only a few years ago) and I hope you go ahead with the builds and get the same sense of joy as we have from this trip.

I have learned a lot on this trip and thoroughly recommend that when you finish the build and fly off test hours, get out and do a big trip - you will learn a lot about the plane and come to trust it like we have! Our personal preference is for under wing camping in remote areas and we are planning more of this in the near future!

We hope the posts of this trip have been of interest to you and thanks again to all of you who have helped to make this possible through your advice and encouragement!

Until the next adventure!

cheers

ross and gayle

[DesertFox4]

Thanks for taking us all along.
Glad you bonded thoroughly with your Kitfox and had a safe journey.
Epic trip over magnificent landscape in your homebuilt aircraft.
You're living the dream of thousands of folks.
Congrats.

[jrevens]

That was was so enjoyable and good, Ross and Gayle! Thank you very much for sharing your adventure... it has helped to keep me moving forward on my own project. Good job!

[rosslr]

Thanks guys. Gayle just informed me that my maths were way out - the total trip was 4,1072nm. It felt more like that.

Anyway, a pleasure to share it with you - I will post a few videos shortly.

cheers