teson1 - Golden Age - Bee Gee Model Z Sportster

... - Melbourne

The last leg was a worthy end to the journey.

Fog with 1500 ft visibility, buzzing treetops following the railway, no time to look at the map, but just cool fast action, fun, no stress - Bee and me, we have had some good training by now.

Unfortunately FS crashed again at the exact same place as during the last attempt, and then again on another attempt. Finally got to Melbourne by changing to a night flight. Fortunately with weather that had meanwhile improved.

Landing at a deserted airport, everybody gone home. Which is a good thing, leaves some time to really arrive.

Taxi the plane to a quiet spot, roll out the sleeping bag under the wing, bed down, and spend a long time looking up into the starfilled night.

Hey Bee, waddayathink - the world is round...

But tomorrow I've got to run - got a plane to catch in Darwin.

http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?flight=b9RiqbUN1IJSoFxof8W7aRF9tsM
 
Pulling back the mixture lever for the last time, with a wet eye, the engine coughs, then stops, and leaves but silence.

What an absolutely fantastic journey it has been!

Thinking back to the start in England, with this huge distance ahead, Paris, first engine failures and first flight in fog skirting the tree tops, fantastic views crossing the alps, across the mediterranean to Rome, first crash in Bridinsi, on across the Adriatic sea to Athens and the greek islands, Mikonos, Kos, Rhodos ..., and on to Cyprus.

And then... getting utterly lost in the desert of Irak on the way to Baghdad - missing the Euphrates - how can one miss the Euphrates??? Only coming out of this by sheer luck. On through the mountains of Persia, and along the coast, scud running and worse.

India... the absolutely toughest legs of the trip. Again getting utterly lost in the fog - missing the Ganges - how can one miss the Ganges??? Landing in Allahabad on last fumes, engine died upon touchdown and rolling out in an eery silence, pilot slumped over the stick. And that flight to Calcutta. Following railways in absolute fog for hours, loosing the track, finding it, loosing it... Strong memories!

The moment India is left behind the fog lifts - heaven! Beautiful flights along the coasts and through the mountains of Burma, Siam and Malaysia to Singapore. Fantastic volcanoes on Java, Bali and the Small Sunda islands.

Then the big jump across the Timor sea to Darwin and on from the tropical forests of the north to the red deserts of the heart of Australia. Hours of wilderness till getting back to settled regions.

And here I am at the end of the trip.

What an absolutely fantastic journey it has been!


This ride was a geniuinely strong experience, so I'd like to thank those who have made it possible and such a pleasure:

- Thanks to the organisers for setting up this event. Well thought out, organised, interesting historic topic, route and planes. Again shows that SOH has [LINESTRIKE]some of [/LINESTRIKE]the best events on the web!

- Thanks to Elly Beinhorn :). Just when info on the MacRobertson event came out I stumbled across her book on her 1932 flight from Germany to Australia, and on around the world. Got me thinking. If this 25 year old girl did it in a wooden 80 PS Klemm plane with map and compass only, maybe it's possible in FS the same way? Some simple rules - just use what she had available. Only map, compass, watch and E-6B, no radionavigation or autopilot. And that's what turned this trip into such an experience. Forced to look out all the time, and pay constant attention, finger on the map at all time. A lesson in geography. And 85% of the flights were really easy,leisurely cruising along, simple navigation, just enjoying the scenery; had my share of tight situations though - bare knuckle street fighting down on the deck in the fog, leaving me in sweat and panting. Some strong experiences. I'm hooked.

- Warwick Carter for his beautiful Gee Bee Model Z! A temperamental girl, in particular during landings, and what a pleasure to ride!

- Garry J Smith for the beautiful repaint!

- Tim Arnot for the excellent Plan-G map/flight planning program! The flight would not have been possible without it, or hugely more complicated. Anybody interested in VFR flying (and other) who doesn't have it - run and get it!

- All participants to the event (can't really talk of a race for me) who have made it so pleasant.

- Finally thanks to FS, making such an experience possible...

Three cheers to you all,

Gunter
 
Congratulations, Gunter.

You've given us all a thrill as we have followed your adventures over the miles and months.

Superb all around!
 
Congratulations Gunter! The reason the airport was empty was because everyone was down at the pub waiting for you!
 
Willy said:
Congratulations Gunter! The reason the airport was empty was because everyone was down at the pub waiting for you!
Click to expand...

Congrats Gunter! Nice to see another GB complete the Melbourne Race. Good thing the pub had some rooms available since the party's been going on for a few months now. :jump:

Vicious
 
Aw... seems I missed some party there :banghead:
But nevermind, make up for that in Edwards in Pancho Barnes' room.
 
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