The phone rings and a voice on the other end says, "It's
only a week away, and it's raining... are you going to
change your plans?" My answer is the same one I have
given every year for the last 9 trips. The answer is,
"NO". The person on the other end is left wondering.
Megafauna Flyers don't change their plans; we just get
to the starting point and wait if required. That's part
of the fun of being a Megafauna Flyer.
The rain teamed down and the wind was very strong, and
then Saturday rolled around. The sky cleared, the wind
abated and the aircraft started flying in, just like all
the previous Megafauna fly-aways.
By the end of the day we were only missing five aircraft.
One Drifter from Mangalore, a Jabiru from Bairnsdale,
a Snark and a Drifter from Penfield, and the SE5A from
Kyneton. All the other aircraft north of the Dividing
Ranges made it without a problem. The five aircraft that
were stuck over the hills would try again tomorrow.
On the first Saturday night we had a "get to know
you", or "what have you been getting up to lately?"
dinner, (as the case may be for each Megafauna Flyer),
at the Hangar 19 Nav-ex bar, and the social atmosphere
was great. But what else would you expect when you have
45 pilots in a hangar with good food and drinks? At the
end of the evening our bus took everyone back to their
accommodation in Yarrawonga township for a good night's
sleep. OUR TRIP HAS STARTED!
Sunday morning, and Yarrawonga Aerodrome is a hive of
activity with aircraft moving around and the bus being
packed. The briefing takes place and we hear that three
out of the five missing aircraft are already on their
way.
Aircraft depart Yarrawonga and track for Holbrook for
lunch, (a big thank you to Max Brown and Brian Gabriel
for your hospitality). Our stay at Holbrook was only a
short one but this was enough time for the three remaining
aircraft to catch up. Our group should be complete at
Tumut, our overnight stop.
The flight to Tumut was a very scenic one, and a number
of the pilots had never flown in this area before. Anne
had the camera going the whole time. With aircraft tied
down and the bus full, it was off to the motels and then
to a well-earned feed.... We were going to be eating at
the Woolpack Hotel, but this had to be changed at the
last minute due to the hotel changing hands and the new
owners renovating and not doing dinners on the Sunday.
I was told that a new restaurant would do the dinner,
and it came highly recommended. We were all hungry, but
three green beans on a spoon full of rice with a small
piece of beautifully cooked steak on it, was not what
we had in mind. We threatened to order Eagle Boy's pizza
from next door!
Monday, the sky was clear and with next to no wind, so,
one by one, the aircraft took off and headed for our lunchtime
stop at Cootamundra. Flying past Gundagai, on our designated
chat channel we heard a volley of radio traffic about
the Dog on the Tucker Box, and then someone started singing
the song. Well, all we can say is, "Don't give up
your day job".... Please!
With lunch over at Coota, the bus headed off to Cowra
and the aircraft followed. Cowra was one of our lay days
and after landing we headed off to the motel, or, should
I say, all but one of us headed off to the motel. As we
were driving along in the bus we saw the SE5A doing a
strafing run on the bus. By the end of the trip Daryl
in the SE5A has shot down fifty three aircraft and sixteen
buses. Not too bad considering we only had one bus and
thirty aircraft!
Tuesday, all headed off to the Japanese gardens while
I organized lunch at a cafŽ in the main street. Even
the macho guys reported that they really enjoyed the experience.
Later in the day, we headed out to the aerodrome and had
a tour through the Brumby f-actory, while a few of the
girls engaged in retail therapy. Just as well we had a
bus, for it would not have been possible to fly under
maximum take-off weight in at least one aircraft!!
Wednesday, we departed for lunch at Parkes. On the way
it was photo time again, and Anne was kept busy with aircraft
flying up to us to get their picture taken. Yes, Anne
did get some good shots. After lunch we headed off to
Mudgee. A small mishap with a nosewheel meant we had to
temporarily leave one aircraft at Parkes. Flying to Mudgee
we heard Daryl in the SE5A and we replied. Daryl was looking
for us and we were looking for him. We were only 3nm away
from each other but we couldn't see each other. How anyone
in WW1 ever got shot down is now a mystery to me. As we
arrived at Mudgee the cloud cleared and the day looked
brilliant again. That evening we were entertained by Bill
Beamish who, among other trivia, explained to us the Theory
of Compressed Dark.
Thursday was another lay day. Half the aircrew flew to
Rylestone, and the other half went shopping... what a
surprise! I decided to take the bus, to look for a place
that could cater for 50 people for lunch. I was a bit
surprised with one eating house when they said, "50
people... we can do that, but it will cost you a bit extra".
My answer was, "Shouldn't it be a bit less".
We agreed to disagree, and the search went on. I ended
up striking a deal with one of the pubs in the main street
to subsidize meals, and what a feast we all had! No more
flying until tomorrow, as everyone was over maximum take-off
weight.
On each Megafauna trip we try to budget for one or two
lunches at a restaurant at no cost to our crew. I ask
the locals about the best place to get a good deal, and
then I chase it up. As part of the sign-on fee for the
Megafauna fly-away, each crew member pays a food fund,
this covers everyone's lunches for the seven days.
Later in the afternoon, in the skies over Mudgee, everyone
was witness to a dog fight between two arch enemies, the
SE5A and the Drifter... well, not really arch enemies,
but it did look good (don't write in and say it was dangerous
- there was a three hundred foot separation and they were
over farm land at 2,000 feet).
On Friday we started our track home. We said goodbye to
Mudgee and headed for Forbes, picking up the aircraft
left at Parkes on the way, because repairs had been achieved
at Mudgee to the offending nosewheel.
With a gentle tail wind we flew over the hills and down
to the flat lands again. Landing at Forbes for lunch,
a special treat was in store. Lynette, David's partner
from Nowra, had baked a whole cookie jar of scrumptious
Yo Yo's. Anne said that she had to beat the bastards back
so that everyone received their fair share! After lunch
it was off to Temora for the night. We were so used to
being at altitude for flying over hills, that once again
we all started climbing, and then Peter Regan our bus
driver said over the chat channel, "Who are the two
aircraft flying low over the paddocks out there?"
It didn't take long before at least 20 aircraft were flying
at 800 feet over the flat lands. More good photo opportunities
were had.
Arriving at Temora the local flying school thought they
were being invaded. The president welcomed us all, and
it was coffee all round. I went to check on my aircraft
which we had been placed in one of the hangars, and when
I got back, Anne was gone! I was then told by one of the
Temora club members that there was a Quilting shop in
town and a number of the ladies had been offered a ride
right to the door, so they had gone in search of that
special piece of fabric that they don't already have!
I won't say any more on that subject.
Dinner was at the bowling club, and all I can say is,
"What a spread!" There was so much food, we
could have eaten all night and still not run out.... Luckily,
we organized a late start the next morning.
Saturday, the last day, and we were off to Narrandera
for lunch. Some of our crew left the group to head for
their home from this point, but the bulk of the aircraft
enjoyed another low flying session in perfect flying weather.
After lunch, the last leg was under way. It is a lot of
fun flying with a big group of aircraft, and the week
had flown (no pun intended) all too soon. We flew low
past Urana and diverted around the restricted area at
Oaklands. And then Yarrawonga was in front of us. It was
not long before we were all on the ground and the bus
arrived. Another Megafauna Fly-away was over. The remaining
aircrew dined at the pub, as we normally do, and next
morning they're gone, .... and life for Anne and myself
gets back to normal, except for the masses of phone calls
about next years' Megafauna Fly-away.
Next year,.... where can we go? I know, Broken Hill! If
you want to join us, get in quickly, because at the time
of writing, in June, we already have 30 people and 25
aircraft booked.
