Getting Ready...

Time is ticking down and its only five days until departure!  I've just finished work for one month which is fantastic, and I'm looking forward to getting the last things organised over the next few days. 

For the last month I have spent every bit of spare time organising accommodation, finalising flight plans, getting equipment etc.  I have had to do some unexpected extensive work on the engine of my aircraft in the last week replacing some valves and rings on the pistons.  It was a little problem that turned into a big one.  Ah well, better now than the fan stoping in the middle of a desert.  I will do the test flight tomorrow (Thursday) just to make sure everything is OK.  Fingers crossed! 

I'm keeping a close eye on the weather, at this point its looking OK, but it can change very quickly.  I better say a few prayers to the Flying Gods!

I can't wait to get up in the air on Monday, I love the feeling when I first take off on a trip, point the aircraft in the right direction, and head towards the horizon.  To me I feel as if I'm breaking out of a cage and flying to freedom with the anticipation of adventure and seeing what happens along the way.

I just got my new cover for the aircraft, which is really cool.  Dianne McNamara from Punkin Head Air Sports, www.punkinheadair.com.au  has donated the cover to On a Wing & a Chair for the Central Australia and Round Australia Flights which is greatly appreciated. 

Aircraft Cover for the Jabiru J230

As I will be leaving my aircradft outside during the trip I need a cover to protect the windows and stop water leaking in through the door seals if it rains. With limited space and weight requirements its got to be small and lite.  Dianne has made one which is small enough to shove under a seat olnly weighing around 2.2kg fitting into a small bag.

Stay tuned for the next update.

Over & Out!

Challenges of the Central Australia Training Flight....

Every flying trip I go on, I need to plan for the flight and plan for what challenges I could face, which at times is about as easy as predicting what the weather will do in Melbourne.  It’s just a matter of being prepared.

The weather is my main challenge.  April is generally one of the better flying months with more stable conditions, however this year has been very unpredictable so who knows.  If the weather isn’t suitable, then I don’t fly.  I have an extra 4 of days up my sleeve for delays, so it’s not an issue, just more of an inconvenience as I would have to change my accommodation dates.



Landing at Cobar, NSW 2010 with some lovely weather closing in



The trip will be a tiring, early mornings and long days, but an added challenge due to my quadriplegia, is that I can’t control my body temperature.  When it’s hot I cook, and when it’s cold I freeze.  Just like a reptile!  April should be less extreme and easier to manage but I will take my spray bottle (sweat in a bottle), and thermals just in case.

No one ever wants to do an emergency landing, but I still have it at the back of my mind.  When I fly I’m always assessing the landscape for possible landing sights just incase the fan at the front stopped and need to put it down.  Through some of the areas I will follow close to the highways for a bit of assurance.  I have my sat phone and PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) for communication, and also some survival gear, to ensure myself and passenger can get by until assistance arrived if needed.

If you have any questions let me know.

Over & Out

Welcome the new Disabled Pilots Association of Australia...

There are very few opportunities for disabled pilots to get together and talk flying stuff.  David McPherson from Deniliquin who is a paraplegic pilot organised a fantastic weekend on 19 - 20 March 2011, in order to get a group of like minded people together to see what can happen. 

There was a great turnout, around eight planes flew in with paraplegic and diabetic pilots.  I met some really amazing people, others that were just getting into flying following the acquisition of their disability and others that have flown for years, with experiences most of us would envy.



Having a beer at the Deniliquin Aero Club to wash the bugs out of our teeth!

 I flew up on the Friday to meet up with everyone for a bbq and beers at the Deniliquin Aeroclub. One of the things I love about flying are some of the really peculiar/amazing sights I get to see.  On the flight there was an inversion layer which looks like a bubble of haze over the earth, that I was above, and there were these spot fires everywhere.  As the smoke rose it stopped at the top of this bubble, which made it look like an atomic bomb had gone off.  It looked really cool!

Is this Armagedon?

On Saturday we had a forum discussing types of  hand controls people used on what aircraft and had a presentation by a CASA Doctor discussing medicals that pilots are required to have to fly general aviation aircraft.  I myself fly a recreational aircraft so I don't need a medical which makes it easier.  I really learnt alot and it was great to see  how everyone did their thing,  with some very entertaining stories.  The best outcome was that we decided to form the Disabled Pilots Association of Australia.  A web page will be set up with contacts and  information for new and established pilots and will have a fly in every six months.  Can't wait!

Before we left for home on Sunday, we had a navigation competition, where we had to navigate to various points and answer some questions.  Don't ask me how  I went!  It was good fun though.

Group shot of the guy's at the Fly-in!

The people of Deniliquin were fantastic, the Aeroclub put on a bbq lunch each day and the members of the Rotary Club transported us back and forwards to hotels, which was greatly appreciated. 

Over & Out

Who needs communication?

I find that when things don’t always go to plan, and you have to get out of an unexpected problem or situation, you tend to learn great deal.  July last year I flew with a group of other pilots to Broken Hill to see the Paroo River in flood joining the Darling River, which is an extremely rare event.  It was a great trip, with such a spectacular contrast of the barren, but colorful landscape with the dried lakes now full of water.

Paroo River, NSW in flood

On the flight back to Tooradin we landed at an abandoned airstrip on a cattle station south of Broken Hill.  When we went to leave I couldn’t get full power on take-off and had to abort which was very unexpected.  I couldn’t work out what the problem was, so I was in a bit of a dilemma with no communication in a very remote part of the country and the other pilots had to get going as daylight was running out.

The airstrip where Brian and I got  stuck, not much around



Luck was going my way and the station owner had seen us land and came to have a chat.  As with all country hospitality he gave us a lift back to his home so we could use the phone.  I managed to find a mechanic who could fly out and fix the problem which turned out to be some muck in the float chamber stopping the carburetor from working properly.

By this time it was too late to fly out so the station owner Mark and his very hospitable family put myself and Brian my passenger up for the night.  The next day didn't start off too well, as the night was so cold the plane was covered in ice so all we could do was wait until the sun came up and melt it off, in the mean time I was slowly getting hypothermia.  After scraping the ice off and having to jump start the plane due to a flat battery we finally got off the ground and headed back home. 

Mark and myself before flying back home.  Atleast we had a great sunrise.
Mark and his family were very generous in what they did to help us out.

That experience was very valuable and it really taught me a lot.  You always need communication!  I had my PLB (Personal Locator Beacon), but I couldn’t talk to any one.  If Mark had't of come by it could of been a different situation.  So for the Central Australia Training Flight I am now the proud owner of a satellite phone.  I found a Inmarsat IsatPhone satellite phone that is really cheap to buy $639, and the call costs are very reasonable compared to other providers. If your interested look at www.satphonesonline.com.

Now if something happens and its not life threatening I can atleast call someone to get assistance if I need it, instead of having to activate my PLB getting Emergency Services to help.  Also the satphone will give me peace of mind when I fly over the deserts.

Over & Out

Flight Plan

I have planned the Central Australia Flight to give me a real challange, both from a physical and mental perspective but also from a logistical standpoint.

I will be flying this trip by myself with a friend, Lida as a passenger, who will help me out with what I need on the ground.  Doing it as a solo aircraft will have some real challenges as I need to make sure I'm prepared for what can go wrong.  I will talk about that in later blogs.

I will be starting at Tooridan and flying in a clockwise direction.  The dots on the map are overnight stops and at some of those I will spend a couple of nights.

Some of the highlights of the flight will be flying over Lake Eyre full of water which has been a dream of mine for years, and going to the Bourke & Wills Dig Tree between Birdsville and Nocundra Hotel.

Over & Out!

Welcome aboard this is your Captain speaking.....

Hi, this is the first of my blogs for the On a Wing & a Chair Round Australia Flight, so welcome aboard!  Myself and the team at On a Wing & a Chair (OWC), www.onawingandachair.org.au , are setting out to raise the expectations of the community about what people with disabilities can achieve and hopefully provide some inspiration to encourage others, whether disabled or not to have have a go at their own challenging goals.  To achieve this I plan to be the first person with quadriplegia to fly solo around the coastline of Australia.

In the lead up and during this epic journey I will keep you up to date with my progress and experiences, and hope you will join me.

As part of the planning for the OWC Round Australia Flight I am undertaking a three week training flight to Central Australia on 4th April 2011, which is going to be a real challenge but also an amazing experience for me.

So stay tuned and I will keep you posted.