markendee

Fantastic!

I have kept out of this as I just thought it very odd. I was sitting in my Savannah with a mate one hundred or so meters from the aircraft when it took off. The mate saw him taxiing and commented that he was surely not about to take off. my reply was "he is just moving the aircraft to a safer place" I had decided to check on the ropes holding my plane and then decided to sit in it for extra ballast. The mate had just checked his ropes and sat in with me during the worst of the storm. Couldn't believe it when he rolled and took off. I don't know much about stormscopes and the like but I have seen what a good bolt of lightning, severe winds and wild weather can do. Gamer than me. Mark.

Take off your shoes, set a spell. Mark

Good on you mate. Mark

Jg3 John, Was looking forward to catching up with you, Bill and Hans this Easter. Kept watching the skies for you. Someone told me there were Savvies stuck in Casino so thought it may be you. (I know Hans has a 701) Good to hear you are all OK not so good you had to miss out. Mark D

Ian and family, A sincere thank you to you all. Not just for the forums (although I do thank you for them) but for the wonderful offer of assistance on Saturday night. To put people in the picture, two good friends flew up from Tongala (near Echuca) early Saturday morning for the day (so they thought) They flew out in difficult conditions on Saturday afternoon only to use good common sense and return half an hour later. Spent the next hour and a half on the phone/s trying to find accommodation - no luck. I thought it would be worth an ask of the retailers there whether they sold camping gear (tent sleeping bags etc) as this would have been a solution to the problem. Went to Ian and his family at the Rec Flying tent first and was absolutely overwhelmed at their hospitality and generosity. Ian offered the Rec Flying tent to them without a moments hesitation. He and his whole family then went to work organising bedding, mattresses etc. I rang my friends (who were in the gliding club still ringing around) to give them the great news to find they had just reserved a room in Dubbo so could not take up the most kind offer. Teraya (spelling?) ex CASA and now CFI of her flying school waited around for an hour so the boys could travel with her to Dubbo - nice one Teraya! When a friend is in strife and stranded it is nice to know there is still great people out there willing to put themselves out and help. Thanks Ian and family - I just hope all the people here realise what good people you truly are. Mark Dunwoodie

Here's a few of mine. Great weekend, great memories.

What a pearler! See you there. Mark D

Had a beaut day at John O'Hare's property between Nathalia and Picola. Organised by Eddie & Dot Fullager and supported by their family it was well done indeed. Fourteen aircraft of which seven were Savannahs. How often would you find seven Savannahs in one place? World record perhaps? Have a peek at the pictures.

Excellent photos Kenny - thanks. Looking forward to the results. You're right John, hard to be bored in a Savannah. I was referring to the low traffic flow on our Savannah section Ian was good enough to give us.

Great pictures and writing as always John. Down here in Northern Victoria we place a lot of hope that the evaporation from Lake Eyre will bring us rains through the year. Where were your fellow two travellers? Thought you three were a team. Thanks for the story. Mark D

Captain, Would flying to Avalon via Ballarat be a way of avoiding the G.D? That's my plan for Thursday morning from Tongala. Adds 24 minutes to my flight but well worth it in my humble opinion. Mark D

Tommo, Watch this website closely. Lara weather forecast, Bureau of Meteorology Warnings & rainfall Not only does it give you a pretty decent forecast it also tells you what is happening right now and if you click on 'past 24 hours' it will give you the trend. Once there you can punch in any location on the way. Do not dismiss this this site lightly - it is a pearler. Mark D

Good for you, go for it.

Young Clint, Have a read of this: "Tuesday, March 21, 2006 An aiplane from the Patrulla Aerea (Air Patrol) crashed in Mosquera, Nariño, a small and remote town in the south west part of Colombia. Immediately after takeoff, the plane, a Cessna, was pushed by heavy crosswind, and crashed into a house, killing a boy, his mother and a doctor on board. The pilot, Rafael Arenas, aged 42, who had been working for 10 years on the Air Patrol, survived with burns on 90% of his body, but died later in the Intensive Care unit of El Valle Universitary hospital. The Air Patrol is a Colombian ONG, created and staffed by pilots and doctors to bring medical care to people in the most abandoned regions of the country." Also mate, these people are volunteers doing their bit for their community. Enough said I think.

Lyall, Stolspeed is the place to go for information on all things Savannah. John thoroughly and extensively tests all mods, configurations and ideas as no one else has in my reading of Savannah related matters. He is the authority. When John Gilpin talks we listen. Kenny, interesting that you bought the kit and well done for thinking ahead. The retired aeronautical engineer I previously mentioned conducted a range of brilliant tests which included flying without slats or vortex generators. (as a short test flight) He taped lengths of black wool all over his wings and video'd the whole thing in flight. This man is no fool. His findings are comprehensive and worth taking on board. Mark

Don't want to get right into the slats VG thing but our experiences consist of this. Of all our friends flying Savannahs none are running slats. Five of us have built VG kits. One has converted from slats to VGs using the factory supplied kit. (leading edge mod) Two have removed their slats and fitted VGs. One has removed slats and not fitted VGs. (he is gamer than me) All are flying and not posing a problem. We all fly out of private strips and as far as averages go we fly a lot and often. Not going to get into an argument but this is a fact. One of the aircraft with slats removed and VGs fitted was owned by a retired Aeronautical engineer with a ton of experience and knowledge of a/c design - no wing drop. Very bold statement making accusations of wing drop - much better to talk of things you can prove or have had a lot of experience with. Mark

Mr Duigan Lyall, I have read all information available that I could find and it would seem that there were 50 kmh winds that day and the aircraft was caught in the down draft due to the wind coming over a hill forcing them down. Do not take this as gospel as it is only information read on very sketchy media reports. Have spoken to John Duigan by phone on Savannah related matters (before the incident) and he is a great bloke. (Not to mention very connected with Australian aviation) I hope he and his son recover 100% and they are back flying soon. Mark

Great report Tomo, was reliving my own training with you. Bob sounds like a good instructor who can cement the lessons in your head. A nice skill to have. Mark

Simon, the Savannah is more fun than Luna Park. The more you fly it the more fun it is. Nothing wrong with the Tecnam - very nice plane. Savvy is forgiving and safe. My flying instructor flew mine shortly after I finished building it and had it showing almost zero on the ASI and still no stall. His comment "you'd have to be really trying to hurt yourself in one of these." Kenny, should be flying into Narromine and looking forward to meeting you and your Savannah. If nothing else how about a few photos of your instruments and some of your plane on the ground. Other Savannah people - how about a photo! (or photos)

About time someone posted something in our Savannah section. A few photos of the Savvy flying yesterday. (better than nothing!) How about some of you Savannah people showing some photos of your outings?

Great photos, thanks Doug.

Let it go

cloudsuck this I love my dash.

Two down only x more to go. Keep up the momentum, don't let anything stop you now. Mark