WayneL Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 A opportunity to flyin into Wellcamp airport near Toowoomba became a reality this morning after Trevor Bange organized permission to allow Darling Downs Sport Aircraft Assn. members and Darling Downs Aero Club members to visit Wellcamp without the need to hold an ASIC's card. It turned out to be a near perfect day once the the patchy early fog lifted. A club meeting was to happen at 8am followed by a briefing on flying into and out of Wellcamp. Departure from Clifton was from 9am with arrivals at Wellcamp from 9:30am. Low performance aircraft were to leave first cruising not above 2500ft, medium performance at 3000ft and high performance at 3500ft. It didn't quite happen that way due to the lifting fog/cloud base only managing to get to around 3000ft at the time of departure. We were asked to fly via Wyreema and give an inbound call (8nm) and do a slight left hand turn to join a long downwind for runway 12 right base. As taxiway Kilo & Lima were the only operational taxiways we all landed long to minimize time on the very big runway! Someone counted 34 aircraft on the apron, all arrived in the space of half an hour with no issues. I was to share a club Drifter with Ben, he took the front seat going into Wellcamp and I flew it back to Clifton. Turned out that we were both looking forward to a back seat ride as both of us had never been in the rear seat before! On short final to the wide Wellcamp runway I was prompting Ben to continue the descent and not flare to high due the the optical illusion. His landing was smooth but he had to do a bit of dancing on the pedals to keep her straight during a fast taxi to taxiway Kilo. All pilots and passengers were then escorted inside the terminal where we enjoyed a some drinks and snacks from the coffee shop! I am sure they would love to have us flyin everyday. Sara, from Wellcamp airport pubic relations gave us a tour and John Wagner was there to greet us and answer any questions. He made it quite clear that we could fly into Wellcamp at anytime as it is a public airport. The only catches are, it will cost you and you will need an ASIC card! Around 11am we all headed back to our aircraft and most of us returned to Clifton for the lunch time BBQ. We were greeted with a light breeze on return to the Clifton circuit. A great day was had by all. I only needed to drive back home to Oakey which is an hour's drive from Clifton........and 12 minutes drive PAST Wellcamp airport! Cheers, Wayne. Here are some photos. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest asmol Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 WOW, what a great looking facility. I had heard about it but didnt know it was that big. The view inside the terminal looking out at all the aircraft was great, I bet thats the most planes they will have there at the one time for many years to come. Congratulations on a great report, a great day and excellent organizing skills of Trevor Bange to make it all happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnewbery Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 [GALLERY=media, 3441]Ddssaa_EAST_1503280907 by mnewbery posted Mar 29, 2015 at 9:44 AM[/GALLERY] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I remember when Wagners where saying no "small" aircraft at Wellcamp at all. It's good to see they have changed their policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Page Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I remember when Wagners where saying no "small" aircraft at Wellcamp at all. It's good to see they have changed their policy. Told you ages ago that the small one would be going in and out of Welcamp. Wait for the next chapter. regards KP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 what next chapter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Good to see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneL Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Thanks Asmol, Sara said it was the most aircraft they have had on the ground, I went to the 2 open days and the last one had some large ones but not as many. Hey Mat! You caught me (2nd from right) & Ben (far left) heading over to Drifter 460 after Trevor's flight briefing! FT, I sort of get the impression that they are happy to foster any good publicity at the moment to spread the word about the airport. Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I think they are starting to realize they might need some customers eventually, imagine running that cafe out there. How much building did you see going on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneL Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Some activity on the northern side of the terminal but that's all I noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnewbery Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Another fly in appears to be in planning. Before you reply F_W, think very hard about what you want to say. Then have a cup of tea and go do something else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Don't be such a man baby Matthew, if you want to pay $7 for a coffee and $12 for a cheese and tomato sandwich be my guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnewbery Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Was I referring to you or did you just open your browser and prove to everyone the new level of asinine comments we all need to put up with ... Rather than just assuming ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnewbery Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Also, for the record please state here that your comments do in fact mean you won't be attending or participating in any way. It would be disheartening to travel all the way from Canberra only to find out that there is a risk we would meet. I may not be alone in that sentiment but I do not speak for others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnewbery Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Wrong thread. This is about the fly in not the car park. Retweeting people who can't take photos takes you down to their level. Asinine plus one. Care to play again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Don't be such a man baby Matthew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnewbery Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Me being a man baby is not your concern and nothing to do with this thread. Are you going or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Why worry? FT - if he is there - will be the guy with the huge boots, red nose and tinfoil hat. Hard to miss, easy to avoid. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnewbery Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 No turkey like a middle aged balding turkey with a tinfoil hat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Surely, a sentient population would not allow an FT to GET to middle-age? Aussies are notoriously easy-going, but an FT is well off the end of the bell-curve for tolerance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnewbery Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 That may be a good thread to start in the "Off Topic" forum. "At what point should my idiot ideas get me banned?" If it's not racist, not inciting violence (etc etc) and not shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre but just plain dumb then it's still free speech. I defend free speech. As I have noted before, even when it involves calling me and others (notably sitting members of parliament, captains of industry and others who made a difference) the worst possible names. The alleged aircraft owner, alleged current pilot who is allegedly not in need of a BFR would still need to meet a number of requirements in order to plan to fly his allegedly registered ultralight and land at YBWW without further consequence or incurring the well documented, significant landing fee. These requirements MIGHT be: Have a documented level and type of insurance for the aircraft and pilot The aircraft and pilot are documented as legal to fly Be invited to attend the specific event Attend a briefing regarding same at one of a number of aviation clubs and sign a document noting that they attended and understood the nature of the briefing Marshal at a specific time and place, fly and communicate as instructed Don't screw up and embarrass everyone Don't mouth off even if there is a reason Don't upset the people nearby, whether they are involved or not I don't know anyone who would help such an ill tempered mouthy loser even understand WHY these requirements might exist let alone help him meet them. So the punchline is, because the people who have met "Mister Fly too scared to use my real name in public because it would get me a ride to the hospital" won't vouch for him as being of good character, he couldn't go if he wanted to. This is the real world effect of being a mouthy loser. So good luck to him getting a BFR signed off north of the Tweed river. The chip on his shoulder will scare off those on the south side too, soon enough. Regardless, I am helping some of the organisers of the next fly-in everywhere I can. I hope to be there one way or another and I expect the same good experiences all round because people will do what they said they were going to do. Same as last time. It could just as easily tip down rain that day and be a total bust but we will have a great time anyway having saved our tolerance for people who truly disagree with a particular opinion but contribute respectfully and after hearing the whole point of view. Fellow aviators, their friends and families. Aviation is about communities of people, first and mostly. Being on the outside and throwing bricks into the middle doesn't help anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Hey Matthew, are you doing the hangar tour hangar tour get it? hangar tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnewbery Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Blue flower, red thorns. Blue flower, red thorns. Blue flower, red thorns. Queue the next comment from... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdarby Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Is another one planned with a date yet? I want to book the plane for the next one. Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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