The day dawned – well didn’t dawn actually – as thick fog surrounded everything. We could only just see Lady outside the fence and the rest of the property was blanketed.
Lady in the fog
Sarah and I got up early (GREAT!!!) and went for a jog around the airstrip portion of the property. It was 800 metres up and back with about 300 metres top and bottom. I can assure you I didn’t run much but Sarah did – so I think she’s getting fitter. I was just feeling old and cold!
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, with cereal, toast and tea as usual then showered, dressed and ready for the day’s visitors and then the next leg.
Lance Fletcher ? and Kev
Lance arrived and he and Kev talked of Lance’s life experiences and about everything aeronautical. He had joined the RNAC as an apprentice at age 14, gained his license for both airframe and engine, became Chief Engineer and remained so for 34 years. The humour is that although his life’s work was around the Tiger Moth, he in fact hated the aeroplane, and only flew it when forced to by circumstance. He didn’t enjoy flying Tigers because they were slow, cold and uncomfortable. Lance looked well for his 76+ years however his looks belied his health. He was suffering from leukemia and really has to take things easy. His family was still into aeroplanes – owning 3 Tiger Moths, a Chipmunk and an Auster.
Sarah and I went for an exploration of the abandoned farmhouse on the Luskintyre property. There was an International truck that had a wooden bench seat – the sides of which stuck out past the guards. We guessed you could fit 2 adults and 3 kids along the seat. There were also 3 Fordson tractors all in different stages of dis-repair. Under a collapsed shed were the remains of an unknown vehicle which had wooden spokes (they were in a remarkably fair condition considering I couldn’t identify the rest). We couldn’t get into the house but looked through windows to see piles of bottles, wood stove and cooking benches. Another area contained a complete but uncovered wing and numerous Tiger parts in disrepair. We could hear pigeons in the roof but couldn’t see them. Looking through another broken window we could see that the roof had caved in through the hall way of the house. We did wish we could get in and investigate further.
We wandered back through the long wet grass, around the Duck’s Pond, onto the Dam island then back to the clubrooms. The fog had nearly cleared as it was 11 am.
We flew out of Luskintyre out of the Hunter Valley in considerable haze then up over the gorges to overfly Mudgee and turned south for Bathurst. We stopped for fuel and watched two gliders being towed out for numerous short sorties. We received a complimentary radio call about our aeroplane being so beautiful. We took off on the downward slope of the Bathurst strip and flew toward the famous Bathurst racing circuit and the Mount Panorama sign on the hill. What a iconic Australian sight.
On to Temora we flew through dense smoke from a bush fire to the north west with visibility down to about 2 miles. This cleared and we descended into Temora by about 4.30. Tied down and settled into a local motel for the night.
Visibility through smoke from fire
