We awoke TFriday to gusty hot winds. There was a front coming and knew it would be windy but not this bad. The air show practise went on a scheduled even in the conditions.
We headed off to the Airshow to have a few things repaired – namely the transponder and locker door latch. We were also going to wash the Lady with buckets of water only as there were no hoses allowed due to the drought and water restrictions.
As the morning progressed it was obvious that washing her was going to be impossible – it would only get dirtier from flying dust and debris. We explored the trade centres with the exemplary standard of companies showing their business. We caught up with Ivan and Sandy Campbell from New Zealand with their custom made helmets. Kevin had one made many years ago and was still remembered and welcomed by Sandy. Arrangements were made for some photos to be taken in the Stinson by Ivan – just for a promo. They had heard via the airshow grapevine that our machine was great and would win the Concourse! And they hadn’t even seen it.
We continued venturing around until Kevin caught up with the team from Microair who promised to call out after closing to check the transponder’s problems.
The wind became so strong and gusty that Kevin was not prepared to leave Lady for one moment. There was nothing that Sarah or I could do to help so we abandoned the outdoors for a trip to Geelong for some girl-time.
After navigating our way through a tourist map to a parking area – good work by Sarah in a strange city – we parked the little camper (rego SAR 292) and trudged through the windy down to the shopping area. We found a great little mall and spent a few hours window shopping and buying a few bargains for Sar. She is so easy to buy for but we had to be careful not to overload our baggage limit.
We enjoyed freshly made salad sandwiches in a food hall watching the shoppers of the city. Great pass time for Mundi gals. We returned to the airshow after purchasing freshly cooked chicken for dinner – much easier and cheaper than eating out.
Poor Kev had experienced a stressful day. The wind was still gusting – we had turned her tail into wind in the morning – but since then he had double-staked down the tail and tied it to the star picket fencing with miles of rope. Many Ground Ops crews and Marshalls had spent the day with Kevin & Ben tying and physically holding down some small aircraft in the adjacent parking area. One particular Storch had been locked up but with controls not fixed. Officials had to get in and tie it all down as it had begun to fly within the constraints of its ropes from the strength of the wind. Two other machines were being lifted off the ground and all hands had been necessary to avoid disaster.
By the time Sarah and I had returned the wind was abating and Kev was really ready to double and triple check everything and return to the campgrounds for a well-earned shower, dinner and early collapse into bed.
However we spent until 11 pm in the campers kitchen/office trying to bring the Blog up to date. Well we caught up with lots of days – lots of groaning from W.A. family and friends. What do they think I am doing all day – enjoying myself and not updating our website??? YEP
We headed off to the Airshow to have a few things repaired – namely the transponder and locker door latch. We were also going to wash the Lady with buckets of water only as there were no hoses allowed due to the drought and water restrictions.
As the morning progressed it was obvious that washing her was going to be impossible – it would only get dirtier from flying dust and debris. We explored the trade centres with the exemplary standard of companies showing their business. We caught up with Ivan and Sandy Campbell from New Zealand with their custom made helmets. Kevin had one made many years ago and was still remembered and welcomed by Sandy. Arrangements were made for some photos to be taken in the Stinson by Ivan – just for a promo. They had heard via the airshow grapevine that our machine was great and would win the Concourse! And they hadn’t even seen it.
We continued venturing around until Kevin caught up with the team from Microair who promised to call out after closing to check the transponder’s problems.
The wind became so strong and gusty that Kevin was not prepared to leave Lady for one moment. There was nothing that Sarah or I could do to help so we abandoned the outdoors for a trip to Geelong for some girl-time.
After navigating our way through a tourist map to a parking area – good work by Sarah in a strange city – we parked the little camper (rego SAR 292) and trudged through the windy down to the shopping area. We found a great little mall and spent a few hours window shopping and buying a few bargains for Sar. She is so easy to buy for but we had to be careful not to overload our baggage limit.
We enjoyed freshly made salad sandwiches in a food hall watching the shoppers of the city. Great pass time for Mundi gals. We returned to the airshow after purchasing freshly cooked chicken for dinner – much easier and cheaper than eating out.
Poor Kev had experienced a stressful day. The wind was still gusting – we had turned her tail into wind in the morning – but since then he had double-staked down the tail and tied it to the star picket fencing with miles of rope. Many Ground Ops crews and Marshalls had spent the day with Kevin & Ben tying and physically holding down some small aircraft in the adjacent parking area. One particular Storch had been locked up but with controls not fixed. Officials had to get in and tie it all down as it had begun to fly within the constraints of its ropes from the strength of the wind. Two other machines were being lifted off the ground and all hands had been necessary to avoid disaster.
By the time Sarah and I had returned the wind was abating and Kev was really ready to double and triple check everything and return to the campgrounds for a well-earned shower, dinner and early collapse into bed.
However we spent until 11 pm in the campers kitchen/office trying to bring the Blog up to date. Well we caught up with lots of days – lots of groaning from W.A. family and friends. What do they think I am doing all day – enjoying myself and not updating our website??? YEP
That evening we watched the most spectacular night air show. A motorised glider with sparklers on wing tips and jet fighter re-ennactments. All great to watch but impossible to photograph. The finale was fireworks and an explosive wall of flame.
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