Day 7- Gunnedah- The friendliest place in the world.
by Andrew Polidano
Getting my welding done seemed to be the only thing stopping the trip for me. When Ed mentioned that this could be the end of it for me my heart sank. After more thought and some imagination we all agreed it would be possible to make my steering work again.
I woke up at 6am for a look at the weather while watering the garden. I saw a trickle of wind in the trees and was pessimistic about getting airborne especially after my experience the day before which I will write about another time. ... The next one and a half hours in bed I slept like a baby. Breakfast was laid out care of the Deb and Harvey a great start to the day ahead. Fruit salad and Yogurt.
We had a picture with the new Relay for Life logoed wing we had picked up the day before. Harvey and Deb prepared to go away for the weekend however we had the keys to get farm ute to get around, a huge help. We worked our way around town until we found an Engineer that could weld chrome moly. 3 or 4 shops later we found Namoi Machining and Engineering that had the staff and equipment to do the job, The overall willingness to help out at this and every place in town was overwhelming. Having been in Gunnedah now for 2 days the friendly essence of the real community is shining through., I think this is what is meant by country hospitality. We went to town for some more DV tapes and had some pictures printed at the local photo shop.
Soon enough my steering was done and we were on our way back to Harvey and Deb’s to fit it and make a flight plan. I had been watching the trees and noticed the wind only half that of the day before. We visited the Local Airstrip on the way back to base camp. A well maintained strip, a true asset to the community. It was still on the edge for launching but with the expectation for easing winds we decided to get ready.
A session in the Bus where GPS co ordinates were punched in with VHF frequencies for our radios. I made a call to the Brisbane briefing office and checked for NOTAMs and Danger zones on route to Wellington to the North east of Dubbo. The usually shuffle before launch occurred and Thomas started the bus to follow us on the flykes.
Ed’s motor generally starts on the 1st or 2nd pull. He was up to his 4th or 5th when I heard him alert me of foul play. Spark, fuel and compression. The first 2 were quickly covered off however the compression was harder to test without a compression gauge. I called Harvey and he directed us to the aerostart as he didn’t have a compression guage but as usual he knew some one in town that would be happy to help. Ed seemed confident to work on it himself so we shifted back into the shed and started pulling it down.
I decided to get some footage of the break down as I knew this could be a turning point of the trip....
As the head bolts were being removed the look on Ed’s face was priceless. The lump of weld 5mm in diameter had made it’s way into the head and the situation was ugly. Piston and Head were a mess. It seemed this was the end. Ed spoke about a trailer and doing the rest of the trip in the bus.... I would not take this.
Without further ado I rang David Carrigan a mate in Armidale that I knew had a similar motor in a fresh breeze machine that was out of action. I had been trying to call David for several weeks however on this occasion I got through! David’s motor was available and after telling Harvey who also happens to be the President of the local Aero club we have a pilot and Cessna 152 at our disposal. Roger Miller the local gun pilot has been selected for the trip and is on stand by. I have rung Stuart from Armidale flight school and he’s on standby for the local weather reports as this morning the fog was too low to get in safely.
As I write this we await the weather to clear in Armidale for the flight to begin to retrieve another motor for Eddie's flyke.
The Flyke trip at this stage looks like it’s still on the road.
Meanwhile I’m interested in doing a local flight with the new Powerplay Naja with the ‘Relay For Life’ Logo over town. I’m looking forward to getting some shots from Peter Lorimer, Gunnedah’s award winning photographer.
by Andrew Polidano
Getting my welding done seemed to be the only thing stopping the trip for me. When Ed mentioned that this could be the end of it for me my heart sank. After more thought and some imagination we all agreed it would be possible to make my steering work again.
I woke up at 6am for a look at the weather while watering the garden. I saw a trickle of wind in the trees and was pessimistic about getting airborne especially after my experience the day before which I will write about another time. ... The next one and a half hours in bed I slept like a baby. Breakfast was laid out care of the Deb and Harvey a great start to the day ahead. Fruit salad and Yogurt.
We had a picture with the new Relay for Life logoed wing we had picked up the day before. Harvey and Deb prepared to go away for the weekend however we had the keys to get farm ute to get around, a huge help. We worked our way around town until we found an Engineer that could weld chrome moly. 3 or 4 shops later we found Namoi Machining and Engineering that had the staff and equipment to do the job, The overall willingness to help out at this and every place in town was overwhelming. Having been in Gunnedah now for 2 days the friendly essence of the real community is shining through., I think this is what is meant by country hospitality. We went to town for some more DV tapes and had some pictures printed at the local photo shop.
Soon enough my steering was done and we were on our way back to Harvey and Deb’s to fit it and make a flight plan. I had been watching the trees and noticed the wind only half that of the day before. We visited the Local Airstrip on the way back to base camp. A well maintained strip, a true asset to the community. It was still on the edge for launching but with the expectation for easing winds we decided to get ready.
A session in the Bus where GPS co ordinates were punched in with VHF frequencies for our radios. I made a call to the Brisbane briefing office and checked for NOTAMs and Danger zones on route to Wellington to the North east of Dubbo. The usually shuffle before launch occurred and Thomas started the bus to follow us on the flykes.
Ed’s motor generally starts on the 1st or 2nd pull. He was up to his 4th or 5th when I heard him alert me of foul play. Spark, fuel and compression. The first 2 were quickly covered off however the compression was harder to test without a compression gauge. I called Harvey and he directed us to the aerostart as he didn’t have a compression guage but as usual he knew some one in town that would be happy to help. Ed seemed confident to work on it himself so we shifted back into the shed and started pulling it down.
I decided to get some footage of the break down as I knew this could be a turning point of the trip....
As the head bolts were being removed the look on Ed’s face was priceless. The lump of weld 5mm in diameter had made it’s way into the head and the situation was ugly. Piston and Head were a mess. It seemed this was the end. Ed spoke about a trailer and doing the rest of the trip in the bus.... I would not take this.
Without further ado I rang David Carrigan a mate in Armidale that I knew had a similar motor in a fresh breeze machine that was out of action. I had been trying to call David for several weeks however on this occasion I got through! David’s motor was available and after telling Harvey who also happens to be the President of the local Aero club we have a pilot and Cessna 152 at our disposal. Roger Miller the local gun pilot has been selected for the trip and is on stand by. I have rung Stuart from Armidale flight school and he’s on standby for the local weather reports as this morning the fog was too low to get in safely.
As I write this we await the weather to clear in Armidale for the flight to begin to retrieve another motor for Eddie's flyke.
The Flyke trip at this stage looks like it’s still on the road.
Meanwhile I’m interested in doing a local flight with the new Powerplay Naja with the ‘Relay For Life’ Logo over town. I’m looking forward to getting some shots from Peter Lorimer, Gunnedah’s award winning photographer.
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