Winging it Down the Castlereagh

[old man emu]

Seems there are giant ones and pygmy ones. Now I'm starting to wonder what is the root of worldwide stories of elusive mischief makers from elves and goblins to the gremlins who disconnect wires in awkward places or snatch away the last nut needed to reassemble the essential widget you are working on.

 

If we accept that the Aboriginal peoples of Australia have been isolated from more recent human migrations that place the arrival of humans there at 50,000 years ago at earliest, while others have suggested that these first settlers of Australia may represent an older wave before a more significant out of Africa migration and thus not necessarily be ancestral to the region's later inhabitants, the idea of creepy creatures must have arisen very early in human's cultural development. Or maybe the big hairy ones are an ancestral memory of early contemporary species.

[old man emu]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

 

EFTPOS facilities will be available at the Event Office for those who would like to pay their entry fee on the day instead of doing a bank transfer.

[old man emu]

OK. Here are the answers people have been waiting for:

Before all else - get the information package. It contains a lot of safety related information.

 

1. The problem of cathead and Khaki weed burrs has been met with an agronomist-designed weed control programme. This was instituted last summer and the result is that you can now run barefoot down the runway and taxiways and never break into the Bindi Hop.

2. The runway and taxiways have been mown this week, so the grass is short (to CASR standards)

3. For those wishing to enter the Trophy event, we can now accept payment on the day via EFTPOS.

4. The entry form is contained in the information package and is submitted by following a link which can be found in the information package.

5. Arrangements have been made to obtain 98 octane fuel from a very clean source at the pump price applicable on the day. Use our containers or your own. $5.00 per order for the driver.

6. Refuelling aids in the form of a Mister Funnel, earthing cable and a ladder will be supplied.

7. Contact details for accommodation in Tooraweenah are in the information package.

8. If the Tooraweenah accommodation gets booked out, transport to and from Gilgandra motels will be arranged.

9. For those who can't bear to leave their aircraft alone at night, but don't want to smell like a gorilla's armpit on the flight home, showering facilities are available by donation to the local Agricultural Show Society.

10. While no formal activity has been planned for Saturday night, the pub is a short stroll way and a local community group will be running a bar-b-que at the pub.

11. Bacon 'n' egg rolls and hot coffee with be available at the aerodrome on Sunday morning.

12. If you know of any student pilots who want to share your costs, they can also enter the "Neatest Correct Flight Plan" contest for a mere $10.00, again payable by EFTPOS on the day.

 

So email me at [email protected] for the information package THIS WEEKEND

 

[facthunter]

The weather looks good as far as I can tell. Good luck OME.    Nev

[old man emu]

Yep. A mild trough is passing through at the moment with isolated rain showers. But there's an equally mild High Pressure cell behind

 

 

If a  deep Low Pressure area is described as "intense", what's a High Pressure area that's 20 hPa above MSL described as?

 

If Area QNH is 1030, OAT is 22C and aerodrome reference height is 1380 AMSL, what's the Density Height on the runway?

[Garfly]

[turboplanner]

On 10/05/2023 at 9:35 AM, Old Koreelah said:

You might laugh now, but wait till you meet the bugger!

 

Yonks ago I was lucky enough to spend time learning from a Bandjalung songman. Nyimbin often featured in the many traditional stories he told. They were secretive, nimble little people who aften caused mischief arond the camp.

 

A family members knew an old bushie who told about a Yowie he caught stealing from his hut. He wrestled with it, but couldn’t get a proper grip on it’s loose, thick skin. About 1.5 Feet m tall, it must have been a badly-fed relative of the one that terrorises the Pilliga.

The truckies all talk about a Yowie type creature very hairy, tall and walking upright.

The Pilliga from near Coonabarabran to near Narrabri is Kamilaroi Tribal territory, and they had very early contact with European settlers and people who embedded themselves in tribes like Ion Idriess, so we probably would have heard about any Aboriginal pranks, or for that matter any Pilliga Men.  Not all truckies drive straight through; there's usually one or two in a truck stop somewhere, and the Pilliga Princess used to hang around them until she died. She used to talk to the truckies, just a lost soul and is claimed by some people to be buried at Truck Stop 2, but I had a good search around for a grave one day, all the while looking over my shoulder for a PM. None showed up and I didn't find any ground disturbance.

Your story about the songman is interesting. The lastest Anthropological estimates have the Aborigines arriving here when Australia was Sahul, so 4,000 - 6,000 years ago, and walking from southern India.

They were preceeded by the Negritos which were of African origins, short like pygmies or bushmen known for being nimble and mischievous. The Negritos populated most of Australia from North Queensland to Tasmania, so it's quite possible a remnant group could have lived in the Pilliga scrub area. 

[old man emu]

Not quite sure, but I think that the Pilliga scrub is a post-European product of overgrazing.  I think I read that when first discovered,  by the explorer John Oxley in 1818, that the landscape was like a grassy parkland. This enticed graziers whose sheep soon destroyed the native grasslands which were abandoned. Following that, and the cessation of Aboriginal forestry practices (controlled burning to rejuvenate grasses) the country was invaded by the cypress pine and eucalypt forests we dee today. 

 

If that is true, then the scary beasts of Aboriginal culture are unlikely to be native to the area, but are the Aborigines' bogeymen who ensure that children obey their parents and learn what dangers need to be avoided. As mothers have done since raising their young became a mammalian feature.

[Old Koreelah]

2 hours ago, turboplanner said:

The lastest Anthropological estimates have the Aborigines arriving here when Australia was Sahul, so 4,000 - 6,000 years ago, and walking from southern India.

They were preceeded by the Negritos which were of African origins, short like pygmies or bushmen known for being nimble and mischievous. The Negritos populated most of Australia from North Queensland to Tasmania, so it's quite possible a remnant group could have lived in the Pilliga scrub area. 

That “Three Waves” theory has always made sense to me, but mainstream anthropologists claim it has been disproved. Maybe. 
 

I’ve had a beer in Kuranda Pub with a bloke who sure looked Negrito: round face, little body hair, short stature. Early white explorers of the Murray described the natives as having receding hair, lightish skin and lots of body hair. Very different to the taller, very dark people found across the north of our continent. 

NZ probably has a much more interesting human history than we’re being told; there are plenty of stories of red-haired people living there long before the Polynesians arrived.

 

I’d like to see lots more genetic research into humanity’s origins, uninhibited by political considerations.
I’ll kick off with my own story: After being a white fella for seven decades, I’ve recently discovered that I’m Nigerian. (Well, actually about 2%). My 5th Great grandfather was born of African parents in Jamaica about 1715.

 

 

[spacesailor]

O K .

How did you find all that about your ancestry. ?

I tried the big ' ancestry ' sites and it couldn't even find my father or grandfather. 

My wife went all the way to Dublin,  Ireland, where the Head records office couldn't find her grandfather s records , ( kept getting the father as the grandfather).

Had pay for each page of " misinformation " ,   after repeated pages with the same name & DOD , ( dads ) gave up & left .

spacesailor

 

[Old Koreelah]

1 hour ago, spacesailor said:

O K .

How did you find all that about your ancestry. ?

I bludged on other people!

My mum had an amazing memory for family history and absorbed everything she heard - even from my dad’s side. When she was at my place in her 80s she started recounting some stories, so I laid out some butcher’s paper and we drew up a family tree going back almost 200 years- all from her memory.

One sister has done years of research via the net, another got her DNA tested. About time I pulled my weight and did my bit!.

[old man emu]

5 hours ago, Old Koreelah said:

I’ve recently discovered that I’m Nigerian.

 

2 hours ago, Old Koreelah said:

About time I pulled my weight and did my bit!.

OK Prince Ngambo. We're awake to your little Go Fund Me scam.

[pmccarthy]

We all have long lost Nigerian relatives who want to send money to our bank accounts.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Don't leave it too long old K....  I left it too long and Auntie Flora died and she was the one who knew everything.

[rgmwa]

How did the fly-in go?

[onetrack]

You're getting ahead of yourself, rgmwa - the fly-in date was moved to this coming Saturday, the 20th May.

 

Weather is looking good, OME, even if it is going to be a little chilly in the early morning.

 

http://www.bom.gov.au/places/nsw/gilgandra/

 

 

[rgmwa]

1 minute ago, onetrack said:

You're getting ahead of yourself, rgmwa -...

 

 

 

That's usually where you'll find me.

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, onetrack said:

 

Weather is looking good

At midday today it was calm, although some fair weather Cumulus did develop, but dispersed by sundown. Temperature around 20C. Perfect autumn weather. Forecast air pressure is around 1024 and rising to 1028 and higher on Sunday. So far 12 entrants and more to sign up as well as quite a few lookenpeepers. A good mix of VH- and RAA aircraft . The oldest C-172 in Australia will be on display. 

[spacesailor]

Out of curiosity!, 

Will there be many road  travellers ,  ( other than myself ) coming for the get together?.

spacesailor

[old man emu]

5 hours ago, spacesailor said:

Out of curiosity!, 

Will there be many road  travellers ,  ( other than myself ) coming for the get together?.

spacesailor

Not any like you who are driving in from  far away. One young fellow is bringing a campervan from Coonabarabran, 40 Ks away to stay in overnight , but is flying in on Saturday.

[spacesailor]

WOW

A camper-van that flies . LoL

spacesailor

[old man emu]

Don't laugh. There is one at Wedderburn.

[Old Koreelah]

37 minutes ago, old man emu said:

Don't laugh. There is one at Wedderburn.

That one also swims!

[spacesailor]

Must go there , ( Wedderburn) . Just to check out that campervan ,.

I MAY NEED TO UPGRADE MINE .

spacesailor

 

[Old Koreelah]

Is this the one: