We phoned the Shell agent there and arranged to have fuel brought out when we circled the town which we did at about 500 feet, landed and waited. Half an hour passed and we were wondering if we had been noticed, so I left Frank and Phil on the ground and did it all again, this time at 200 feet, came back, landed, and 10 minutes later had fuel.

We departed Hyden with full fuel tanks for Caiguna. Climbing as we went into that remote area which had given us some anxiety on the way over. I'm pleased we did return this same route as it was as easy this time as it was difficult three days earlier. Smooth air and a 15 knot tail wind - what more could you wish for. Phil had been doing most of the flying from the passenger seat which gave me a chance to rest. For the legs out of radio contact we found comfort in wearing those industrial earplugs rather than have those sweaty headphones clamped to our skulls.

Three hours, three minutes after departing Hyden we were on the ground at Caiguna. and was it hot- 40 deg again. We refuelled, had a quick bite, and taxied out that long rough taxiway to depart. That little tail wheel sure took a pounding. Days like this really try you and your aircraft out. Conscious of the fact that I needed all the runway I could get I started my take off roll 50 metres back on the taxiway. We were airborne about halfway down the runway thanks to the ground effect, but just cleared the scrub at the end of the strip.

We had flight planned to get to Nullabor Roadhouse that night, but because of our late departure from Serpentine I knew last light would beat us. Border Village was the obvious alternative, with its airstrip and refuelling facilities just 100 metres from the motel. We landed with 30 minutes to spare. Just time to refuel and get the plane ready for a sparrow chirp departure the next morning. Avgas there was $1.13 a litre. Border Village is a well equipped spot to overnight with restaurant, shop and good motel rooms and even has a 24 hour hot takeaway food van.

The motel owner told us it was daylight about 5.00 am WA local time. I awoke 3:30 am conscious of the fact we had to be at Coldstream that night and aware of how time vanishes when you try to get away early: we rose about 4:00 . I phoned for weather etc and called home to report progress while Phil and Frank brought hot breakfast at the takeaway van. This day we were ready to depart about half an hour after daybreak.

Take off was a case of look out the side window as we were heading straight into the rising sun and could see nothing straight ahead. Wind this day was 340/20 so still had some tailwind component. Luckily we got our photos of the cliffs going over; with the sun where it was this leg they wouldn't be too good. We cut the corner at the head of the Bight and headed for Ceduna, our next fuel stop. On the trip over Frank had been experiencing discomfort in the back seat with his knees up around his chin. When you think about it he is about 6'3" and there is not much leg room in the back of a Skyking. This was overcome by Frank sitting on one side of the seat with his legs across the floor on the opposite side. A bit like riding a horse side saddle. It was a case of put Frank in first then pack the bags around him.

I had called Adelaide about 25 minutes before reaching Ceduna. First radio contact since leaving Hyden, and told them I would be cancelling SAR when on the ground. After refuelling some 30 minutes later I suddenly realised that I had forgotten to do that. I switched on the radio only to hear Adelaide asking another inbound aircraft to check if the was a Jodel KVC on the ground there. Even though my SAR had not run out, it was nice to know that there was concern for us out there so I cancelled my SAR Ceduna and gave another for Waikerie. This leg was quite uneventful, we still had our tail wind along with moderate turbulence east of Spencer Gulf. In the distance we could pick out that faint dark area which I knew was the Murray River region around Morgan.. I had trimmed the aircraft to a gradual descent from 5,500 feet for Wakerie. It was very noticeable the colour of the Murray at Morgan, a very unhealthy shade of green for as far as the eye could see. We really do have a big problem with algae bloom in our waterways and streams in our eastern states.

Wakerie was just as hot as our other fuel stops that day. Again we had a quick bite to eat, refuelled and departed. Phil had planned we had to be out of Waikerie by 4:00 pm local time to make Coldstream before last light. We were airborne 3:52 and climbing looking for some cooler air and with the help of a few good thermals we got to 9,500 feet. At that height the outside air temperature was 3 deg and I had to close the air vents because it was too cold. The SA/VIC border passed under us, then came Bendigo 10 miles to our port side and we were descending again to come under the steps of Melbourne control zone. Down to 2,000 at Whittlesea, Yan Yean Reservoir, Lilydale airfield and I was cancelling SAR to Melbourne RAS at Coldstream 7:15. Phil had phoned his wife Rose on his mobile 20 minutes earlier with an ETA Coldstream. How he ever hers anything on that phone in a plane, I will never know. By the time we had unloaded the plane and tied it down, Rose had arrived to pick us up. Frank and I were over nighting with them and flying the last 55 miles in the morning.

On thinking back over our days travel it seemed a long way from the WA border we left at sunrise that morning. My thoughts turned to Jon Johanson with his historic record breaking flight around the world. Those 15 hour marathon legs must have been an enormous strain on him both physically and l mentally and no doubt this little trip of ours would seem like chicken feed to him.

The next morning, Phil dropped us off on the way to work. There is fuel at Coldstream but at that hour, no-one to unlock the pumps so we said farewell to Phil and backtracked to Lilydale, refuelled and pointed the nose to home. No need for the GPS on this leg, I reckon I know every paddock. I did switch it on half way just to check airspeed, 140 knots, that tail wind was sure constant. As always the closer we got to home, the better the country looked. We landed at Leongatha to give Frank a look at our aerodrome there. I have been involved in the development of that aerodrome since its inception and during my seven year term on Local Government instigated the sealing of the runway and tarmac- 100% improvement. Prior to that there were times during winter when it had to be closed due to bogging.

We took off, climbed to 500 feet for the last 5 miles to home, flew around the boundary fence to give Frank a look at our property, throttled back to 70 kts, pulled on the air brakes and landed. My trusty little bird had done it again. Just six days from leaving to returning home, One day I will do this at a more leisurely pace. This trip was more of an endurance test than a holiday.

I am sure all of us who fly get the sceptics who frown when we talk of long trips in a single engine plane. However, I always reply that the most dangerous part is driving your car to the airfield. Whichever way you choose to travel whether it be walking, riding a bike or horse, or driving your car, or flying, there is an element of danger. By flying compared to driving we are at least halving the time we expose ourself to that risk

A FEW STATISTICS

Jodel Skyking is a small four seater aircraft powered by a Lycoming O-235 engine. It cruises at 100 kts at 2600 rpm. All up weight is 718 kg. Pay load is 245 kg with full fuel and oil. Our trip 3 adults 200 kg. Bag tools and tie down equipment 40 kg.
First Day 870 nm 8 hrs 37 mins Second day 765 nm 8 hrs 22 mins Local flying: Serpentine-Langley Park 1 hr 30 mins Third day 670 nm 6 hrs 43 mins Fourth day 920 nm 9 hrs 22 mins Fifth day 55 nm 30 mins