The Great Southern Land

[srgalahad]

Heading inland - to YKID
a dirt strip by a river - with a healthy crosswind

 

[Willy]

Nice flight to YKID. The Spartan flew well enough, but is gonna need some tweaking.

 

[Moses03]

On the way to Julia Creek. The interior of Australia is just so...wide open. It's really something.

The scrub and grassland will soon give way to desert...

 

[Moses03]

Good crowd into Mount Isa. Must be the wallaby burgers.

 

[PRB]

Got stuck in Townsville for a week or so. We ran out of sonobuoys and those things are hard to find. Made a deal with a shady character in Charters Towers. Traded a load of sonobuoys for a case of Celine Dion Greatest Hits CDs. He drove a hard bargain. Here's some pics of the flight from Julia Creek to Mt. Isa. Not a lot for a sub hunter to do out here. Mt. Isa is located in what is sometimes called the "Gulf Country", on account of its location near the Gulf of Carpentaria. There is an underground air raid shelter and hospital from WW-II here that is now listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. And, of course, the wallaby burger and hotdog joint.

 

[PRB]

Looked around inside Willy's Spartan. Pretty nice in here!

 

[Willy]

Paul, are you sure you looked in the right Spartan? That one doesn't look "lived in".

 

[Moses03]

We veered south to the small outpost of Boulia (pop 230ish). After parking and shutting down the engines, the vast outback at dusk was something to take in.

Willy is the guy you ask for apparently when passing through here. (Not our Willy but the Aussie Willy).

 

[Willy]

Taxiing to find a parking spot at Boulia. Milton would be proud.

 

[Milton Shupe]

LOL Great shots and great fun guys; can't wait to join up with y'all once I get this last project out of the way.

 

[PRB]

Here's some pics of the flight to Boulia. The first is climbing out of Mt. Isa. Looks like a Home Depot down there. On final approach to Boulia, this this Shrike Commander came out of nowhere! Thought about doing an Air Force style section landing for a moment, but decided to make a 360 instead!

 

[wombat666]

Here's some pics of the flight to Boulia. The first is climbing out of Mt. Isa. Looks like a Home Depot down there. On final approach to Boulia, this this Shrike Commander came out of nowhere! Thought about doing an Air Force style section landing for a moment, but decided to make a 360 instead!

IIRC those 'Home Depot' style structures are Pubs or Knocking Shops.........or both!

 

[Willy]

Made a few minor changes to the Spartan's paintscheme while we were stopped.

 

[Willy]

Got an offer to fly some tourists around. What could go wrong??

 

[MM]

Some snaps on the route.
Out of Birdsville, the cross-roads town.
Chasing the Great White Whale.
Down at the Moomba Gas and Oil Field (YOOM). OOM is where PMDGs go to their final resting place.

 

[Peacemaker]

This is a Flight 19 journey that is close to heart and wish I wasn't missing. I see some ozx stuff there, but sheesh default Australia looks nasty. Hope all are well. Regards, PM.

 

[Willy]

Hey PM! You know you're welcome to join up anytime. I was having crash to desk top issues with some of the scenery, so I uninstalled it.

 

[Moses03]

In Port Agusta (YPAG), there is something top secret stored in one of the hangars and is under constant guard.

This photo was smuggled out a month ago at a great cost to a certain individual. Not sure I want to wander too far around the ramp when we arrive.

 

[Taco]

O'Boy! what have we got ourselves into this time!

 

[Willy]

Bet that thing will fit inside the C-46 if I kick those tourists out.