Derek McAllan Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 G'day all, For tonights trip I've loaded up my freshly d/l'ed Aviatika MAI-890, and discovered what a fantastic little ultralight it is for low and slow exploration. I'm heading off on a scenic tour in the Kimberley region, far north Western Australia, and one of the most uniquely picturesque places on Earth. I'll be really stretching the legs of the Aviatika, running it down from Argyle airfield YARG and around some custom waypoints in Purnululu National Park and back to Argyle - a round trip of some 120 nautical miles. It's a warm and sultry tropical summer's day, and the weather is unsettled with thundery tropical downpours all around, although by all accounts it is clearer around my destination. Off we go! Right, I've got a gap in the weather right on dawn, let's get this little plane going and off the ground. YARG is a small airfield servicing the Argyle Diamond Mine, SW from Lake Argyle, an artificial lake formed when the Ord River was dammed, it is the largest body of fresh water in Australia, but that's for another tour In the air and shooting for a gap in the surrounding mountains to the south, going to try and remain below 2000' QNH for as much of the trip as possible and enjoy the scenery up close and personal The serpentine bends of the mighty Ord, plenty of water in there this time of the year. Turning SE now, to head for the Eastern part of Purnululu NP. Sun's getting up now, so that's the last silhouette shot, I promise!! Flying through a brief shower, but as predicted the weather is clearing ahead. The sun's starting to light up the terrain now, showing up the red dirt so characteristic of most of northern WA. About to cross Mt John and enter the floodplains which make up most of the east part of the park. This is old, weathered land folks... actually some of the oldest on the planet. Some of the rocks in the surrounding areas are dated at up to 4 billion years old, and it shows. Old rock that's just been worn away smoothly by year after year of floods, there's no big hills around here. Following Osmond Creek along the base of the hills, and heading towards the famous Bungle Bungle range to the West. To the south, the plains get real desolate real quick... we're not far north of the Tanami Desert here folks. Flying around the Bungle Bungle's, while the terrain is modelled pretty well around here the textures are unfortunately nothing like reality (not that I hold that against you guys!!) with none of the famous rocky heads visible. Well... not that I could find, anyway After turning North at Cathedral Gorge, I had to rethink my route home as I was running a little lower on fuel than planned, down to about 39% here and still with about 50NM to cover. Rather than following my planned course, I turned straight for home and slowed down some to conserve fuel. Gorgeous landscape, but you don't want to get stranded out here... Nearly home! Here's the Argyle Diamond Mine in all it's glory. You don't want to be flying over the pit to the West there... could get a bit hairy when they blast! Here we are, back home safe and sound and about to go wheels down... not a moment too soon either, only had 8% left in the tank. And that concludes a wonderfully enjoyable couple of hours in the ultralight, it's a great plane for getting down amongst the rocks and actually seeing this land and I'm already planning some more scenic flights to run in it. Cheers! Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lovell Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Beautiful shots, well narrated.... and that little Aviatika is so much fun! Thanks for sharing, lookin forward to more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skooby Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Very nice story and narration. Thanks for posting. Skooby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airman Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Very nice and interesting. I'll have to take a trip in that area soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter Dog Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Really liked these shots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Emms Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 Great set of shots indeed cheers Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek McAllan Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 Thanks guys! I've had no time for simming this week... more pics inbound shortly though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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