December 4th, and I fly north
Hello everyone!
Today marks 3 weeks from my arrival into the Sunshine Coast and I am so happy to announce that I am officially flying again!
First things first, I would like to introduce you all to my new best friend, November Charlie Oscar. This little 172 is the machine which I will trust to take me the rest of the way around the country- and she’s spent the past few weeks in maintenance getting a brand new panel upgrade and service in order to be completely ready for the trip, and it was well worth waiting for. With a gorgeous, modern interior and clean paint job, November is a joy to fly and I’m looking forward to making some new memories with her over the coming weeks.
For those av-nerds who like to track along on Flight Radar or other sites, NCO is the registration for all future Spread Your Wings adventures!
The past few days have been ones of slow, but most importantly safe, progress, and this morning I departed the Sunshine Coast, with a northern heading, which was very exciting.
Fuelled up with peanut butter toast, I made my way to the airport at about 6am (Thank you to Allison and the Mckeon family, for feeding me at like 5am, driving me to the airport, helping carrying my bags, taking some great photos…. and being generally awesome!), with the aim for an early departure.
With flight in the tropical summers where afternoons can often trigger storm activity, smoother and safer conditions are almost always found in the morning, so much of my planning involves early departures, and today was no exception, and I was outbound by the time the tower opened!
The flight was wonderfully smooth and I cruised at a comfortable 6500 feet, well above the low level clouds. I love when favourable conditions allow me to climb up more- generally speaking, the high altitudes are less bumpy, cooler, and also allow you to be more fuel efficient.
I loved watching the coastline and scenery change beneath me as I approached Rockhampton, landing just before 10am. Everyone was so kind- the tower controller, and various ground staff who helped me at the bowser, and the people who let me stand in their air conditioned lobby whilst I waited for an uber, thank you so much! I felt really welcomed.
For those familiar with the plan, you might be wondering why I’ve chosen to stay overnight at Rockhampton rather than fly onwards to Mackay, the nominated stop for this leg- and the simple answer is weather. There were storms forecast to form in the afternoon, and with visual flight (or any flight, when a thunderstorm is concerned), the safest option is always to give them a wide buffer! Whilst I may have made it to Mackay today in an alternate universe, weather, especially storms, can be very unpredictable and there is an old saying in aviation, that it is always better to be on the ground wishing to be in the air than the other way around.
Weather conditions have slowed the progress, however progress is progress none the less, and I’m having a lot of fun navigating the conditions and setting out on individual legs when it is safe to do so!
