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Flying in the tropics the Wet Season


Butch

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Just arrived back in Victoria from a weeks holiday in Darwin.

 

The weather conditions were so unpredictable, sunny one minute, micro burst and storm the next.

 

Lots of intimidating storm cells and thunderhead cloud formations.

 

I would love to hear from Pilots up North...do you go out and fly or leave the plane in the hangar ?

 

So many wonderful places to see from the air with all that water around !

 

Tell us about it,

 

cheers Butch

 

 

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Fly an appropriate machine and the eliments are not an issue.General ruel of thumb, the higher the wing loading, the more control authority.

Rotors ruel in bad air.

I'm in the 600 kg class....there were lots of rotary machines flying.....didn't see any light fixed wings in the air.

 

 

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I clearly haven't yet flown an appropriate machine then. No matter what I fly the elements are always an issue to be considered and respected.

Me either

 

Aldo

 

 

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Let's just say that the plane is mostly in the hangar The weather is very unpredictable in the Kimberley at this time of the year.

 

You can always go for short flights not venturing to far from home and be safe by watching the weather build up.

 

Most times with a tempo of G45Kt it is not that smart to take any risks.

 

I was taught by my instructor to respect the weather and the reports of weather at all times.

 

Given that we have a tropical low developing off the west coast at the moment I think this weekend will also be one for cleaning the plane and spending some time in the hangar planning on the end of the wet season.

 

Cheers

 

 

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Thanks Kununurra

 

I didn't think it would be safe flying any distance in those type of weather conditions..........just wait for the dry season,

 

cheers Butch

 

 

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Some of the best and smoothest flying is in the wet season. Go to the local flying club and meet the local recreational pilots and they will give you some advice. You can see the rain in the distance and judge which way it is going with the BOM radar. You will see the thunderstorms and will work your way around them as it is fairly easy to predict what they are doing. In saying that they do build up quickly so haveyour wits about you and dont organise any long flights without good planning. There is lots of flat land and heaps of small airstrips about south of darwin so theres a lot of options if you get unstuck. You can fly all year round in the topend.

 

 

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Yes it wouldn't have the thermals you do in the dry season. KNOWING the weather is critical. I've only flown big stuff into there, on a schedule, but still you divert or hold to avoid the worst Cb's. Over the Timor sea you can get tops above 55,000 feet so going near that stuff is a no no. It's green in colour sometimes and goodness knows what the updrafts register. Nev

 

 

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My own experience is that the wet season weather is often less unpredictable than it seems. A common pattern is for a clear morning and then build up leading to an afternoon storm. Heavy cloud formations and low pressure fronts are usually observable in the met data, so it's imperative to check weather conditions, but local flights are possible- you can see some amazing things even on short flight in the Top End.

 

Some of our best flying can be had at this time of year. As facthunter says, fewer thermals and often quite still conditions. Dry season tends to be windier. Another early Dry season hazard (which is much less of an issue down south) is smoke. I have abandoned several flights because I couldn't see the ground!

 

Having said all the above, not sure what to make of the 'wet' this year. It's not really happened yet, only one brief monsoon before Christmas.

 

Cheers

 

Alan

 

 

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Not in my part of Victoria FH . About the wettest Summer I can recall..... Bob

Where are you biggles, I'm in Central Victoria and it has been the driest Spring and early Summer since the 82-83 drought!

 

Have had a bit of rain in the last 2 weeks , but we are still hand feeding all of our stock...still a long way to go till we are out of gaol.

 

It was nice when we were up in Darwin last week lots of green grass!

 

 

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It has been nice in Castlemaine for the last week or two, regular rain and cool weather, but it is still the driest year we have had in 20 years that we have been here. So the paddocks are bare dust and the dams are empty. We need a lot more rain to get us back to where we would normally be. First time we will have no olive crop.

 

 

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Where are you biggles, I'm in Central Victoria and it has been the driest Spring and early Summer since the 82-83 drought!Have had a bit of rain in the last 2 weeks , but we are still hand feeding all of our stock...still a long way to go till we are out of gaol.

It was nice when we were up in Darwin last week lots of green grass!

About 10 km south of Bairnsdale Butch . Been here for 20 years now and can't ever recall the grass being green at this time of the year . But then again , Summer still has some time to go yet , and the next 7 days show 'no rain ' ...... Bob

 

 

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About 10 km south of Bairnsdale Butch . Been here for 20 years now and can't ever recall the grass being green at this time of the year . But then again , Summer still has some time to go yet , and the next 7 days show 'no rain ' ...... Bob

You have been lucky in the South East Bob, rain dropping down South from NSW. It can't make it as far as us in the central areas always seems to stay south of the ranges or follows the Murray River down to your area,

cheers Butch

 

 

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