13 June 2007 - To 'the rock'

(Advance apologies to all those who work in an office, and for my overuse of the words 'cool' and 'awsome' - you just had to be there...)


This morning I decided to have a later start, on account of not having any flights scheduled - just paperwork. I'd just finished breakfast when I get a call:


Company "I Dave, where are you"
Me "At home, having breakfast"
Company "How soon can yo get here"
Me "Why?"
Company "Because the boss is going to Ayres rock, and he can do your Cessna 402 endorsement on the way".


Neadless to say - I said yes. Quick shower. Bad shave. Thankfully, shirts ironed in the cupboard. I called a cab, to save time, and finished getting dressed on the way in. Best $8 I ever spent.


The details are a little sketchy, but somehow a couple, needing to get to Ayres rock for their wedding the next day had missed their Qantas flight. Actually, they were 5 minutes late to check in their luggage. Yes, they were not happy with Qantas. Their were no other domestic flights. We had no planes available, except for a Cessna 402, and gave them a quote I believe was about $9k. About that. The male passenger seemed happy to have talked $300 off. Personally, if you can afford that, I don't think you'd be too fussed about the $300 - but I guess everybody likes to get a discount. By the way, that figure doesn't include much profit for us, it's just the raw cost of taking that plane, half way across the country, and return.


Anyway, we load up, blast off:


"Darwin Clearance Delivery. Lima Bravo Bravo, to Ayres Rock, 4 POB, request clearance"
"Lima Bravo Bravo, Cleared direct Ayres Rock, etc, etc"


Cool


This particular Cessna 402 is a nice one, even if, as is typical, not everything works 100%. It has a 'business' interior, nice avionics and, I think, a nice paint scheme, though it probably just seams that way compared with the other 402's we fly, which are somewhat drab. The only thing I'm not that fond of with the C402 is the elongated nose, the earlier ones looked much more balanced. Unfortunatly, this 402 is not a company one, but rather belongs to another organisation on the airport that is closing its doors, so we may loose access to it soon. Well, at least I get one flight in it.


There's not a lot to tell about the flight down. Most of the country I'd seen before, at least as far as Hooker Creek, though the 402 is, as you would expect, much nicer for making the trip in. 20 knots faster, much roomier and, of course, it has two engines....


Unfortunatly, one of the things not working today was the microphone jack on the co-pilots side, which ment I could not talk to the pilot, just hear him, and worse, also ment there would be no endorsement today - it's a little hard to get trained, if we can't communicate. As needed, I scrawwled notes on a piece of paper. Just a little thing to be 'broken', and not normally required, but bugger.


The trip down to Ayres rock, if flown direct, is about 5hrs flying time, for us. A week or two earlier the trip had been done by the new company jet, in a little under 2hrs. We were about 1/2 way along when the female pax comes forward:


"How long to go?"
"About 2hrs"
"I don't think I can hold on that long!!!!"


OK. Time for plan B.


Fortunatly, the pilot flying had been this way before, and knew of a small airstrip ahead, just slightly off track, that belongs to a mining company. It also has a toilet. The problem is, you need permission to land their. He picks up his mobile - funny thing, but even with basic CDMA, at 9000ft, in the middle of nowhere, you can still get coverage. Permission is granted. We divert.


Their is a small greating party - two guys who maintain and 'run' the airstrip. Quite important, because it's a long drive to everywhere, and all the staff are there on 'fly in / fly out' contracts. Like most of the mining airstrips, it's huge, flat, and well appointed. Quad bike luggage trollys. Shelters, seperate toilets. Our passenger relieves hereself, and we do to. I was right, I have endurance, but the others confess to wondering if they would have made the distance themselves.


We blast off again. With only 4 people on board, and by now slightly more than half fuel, we get a fabulous climb rate back to our cruising level.


En-route, we pass the Mcdonnell ranges, coming out of Alice Springs - the backbone of Australia, I am told. From quite some distance out, the silloette of Ayres Rock appears, though only intermittantly through light cloud at just the wrong level. We also pass over the beautiful, semi dry lake Amadeus, and have the spectacular 'Olgas' off to our right. What a trip. Progress is good, and the trip quote is huge, so we arrange a quick scenic fly-past of the Rock, in accordance with local procedures.


Awesome.


The rock is magnificant, a pinkish red in the afternoon light, some in shade from the broken cloud, some in direct sunlight. I wasn't sure what to expect, though all my preconceptions certainly weren't based on viewing it from this angle. We're passed it all to soon, circle back the other direction equally quickly, and return to Ayres rock airport to land.


(BTW, Ayers rock looks cool through Google Earth as well - very high detail - click here)


A helicopter is doing 'circuits' - laps around the airport, learning to take off and land. I've done hundreds of these as an instructor, but at Moorabbin. Nice, but not quite the same. Lets compare the four legs flown, when doing circuits arround an airport:

Moorabbin
- Crosswind - the Dandenongs
- Downwind - Port Phillip bay
- Base - suburbia
- Final - Direct Factory Outlet


Ayres Rock
- Crosswind - Deasert
- Downwind - Lake Amadeus
- Base - The Olgas
- Final - Ayres Rock


Enough said.


We land, and see the passengers off. It's a (relativly) chilly 16 degrees, just as well it is late afternoon. I'm going to have to put together an emergency 'grabbag' - that I can just grab when such a flight comes up at short notice, containing:

- In flight snacks
- Warmer clothing

Among other items.


Lunch is at the terminal. On the 'wrong side' of security. I decide to ring Deb, it's about that time of day when she is free of kids, and she whould have no idea where I am, or why I probably couldn't call at the usual time. I'm having a chat while ordering lunch, and it comes to $9 - probably just an expensive sandwitch. Later I look at the docket and realise I've been slugged $3:50 for a Mars Bar - the'll do that when they have you captive. Add another item to the 'grab bag' - lunch.


We refuel. Have a quick brief on the various parts of the 402. I've spent a while on the way down observing, and reading the manual, so there's not a lot to cover. Besides which, with a few exceptions, I actually think it's a simpler plane than the C310. I know it's a nicer plane.


I get to do the flight back. Nice. We taxi out. I get a tap on the shoulder - someone has to go to the loo - just thinking about the 5 hour leg back was enough to set him off. While I do the engine run ups, he heads outside for some relief. So much for secutity, a 717 just departed, and we're at the holding point opening the doors for a toilet break.


Takeoff is smooth. Turbocharged engines, but automatic, not like the clumsy systems I've driven previously. The accelleration catches me a little, but I do an ok job of keeping up. The long nose swishes arround a little, but we now have a gaget called a 'yaw damper' to help with that, so I switch it on. We climb to 8500ft for the return leg.


I only get about 2hrs flying in daylight, the rest is in darkness, as will be my first landing. We head back via Tinal RAAF base, near Katherine. Tower clears us for all the usual stuff. With a little guidance on power settings, etc, I put down a nice landing. Happy.


About 10 hrs flying for the day, half of which I can log. It's been one of those rare days, when something unexpected but eternally memorable has happened. I may never get to fly this particular plane again - and probably won't get to do this particular trip again, but it's been just, well, awsome....