rob16584 42 Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 As I sat on the tarmac taking in the afternoon sun and watching Brett arrive, an old man with silver hair and bright blue eyes approached me with a tatty book in his hand. 'Hello sir, my name is Jack Devon and I am an explorer from New Zealand. I found this book in a cave not far from here last week and it's contents are leading me north of here towards the Bunyip State Park. Are you able to help me with my quest? I will pay you generously for your assistance as my quest is very well funded' After thinking about it for a moment, I realised that some company would be very welcome on this flight. There were no waypoints and very little to see along the route, so some chit chat would be very welcome. Plus Joe would welcome someone putting money into the Hangar account for a change. 'Sure no problem, we'll leave at dawn' I replied enthusuastically. =========== The next morning I turned up early at the airport to see what I could blag rent for the journey. I didn't fancy any of the GA Aircraft, so opted to rent a DC-3 that was sat in a quiet corner of the apron. As I was carrying out the pre-flight checks Jack startled me with a slap on the back. 'Excellent choice, I used to parachute out of these during the war.' Whilst jack hobbled back to the airport shack for a cup of something hot (it didn't look good so I decided to give it a miss) I climbed aboard this old girl and started to familiarise myself with the cockpit. When Jack was strapped into the right seat I fired up the engines. He did seem to be a little over-protective of his book and kept shutting it each time I looked to his side of the office. To be honest, I couldn't care less what was in it, I was just happy of the company for this 300nm trip There was very little traffic in the air so we were able to taxi out to the runway and depart straight away After settling into the cruise and Jack started to feel at home Dizzie he began to tell me a few of his stories from when he was in the parachute regiment. It sounded as though the limp he had was down to lots of less than prefect landings in the dead of night. I started to tell him about the ATWC and that he should keep an eye on it's progress as each trip is totally different to the last The further we flew the more he began to relax and I asked what was in his book. 'I found this in an old Aboringinal settlement and it has what we think is a map leading to more un-discovered locations where the early tribes may have lived. I'm hoping that I might be able to find some artifacts to bring back to my boss, who is a private collector of such things. But we need to keep this secret at the moment, hence why I couldn't risk taking a charter flight as I would need to explain why I wanted to fly out here.' Taking a plane did seem a little extreme to be, as it would have been far cheaper to rent a car without any questions being asked. But we need the money so who am I to complain! We skirted along just below the cloud base and had a nice smooth flight; I hardly needed to touch the controls the weather was so calm The early dawn skies were a fantastic opportunity for me to take some pictures of this area of the world. Which was just as well as there was b***er all to see beneath us (or at least so I thought, Jack was paying a lot of attention to something) Eventually we flew over something that could be described as a hill, or a scar on the ground below. Jack finished his flask and limped into the back of the aircraft, returning a bit later all suited up for a jump. I couldn't believe that he was even considering jumping out of Dizzie considering his limp, and he was in the middle of nowhere. But whatever was below us was what he had been looking for. 'Why not wait until we get to Warburton and then rent a ute to get back out here? It won't take much more than an hour and you'll be able to get back much quicker too' I pleaded with him. 'Sorry old pal, but I need to get down there before anyone else does and stake a claim for it. Once I am there I'll phone my boss and he'll send a car out for me along with some other people who'll want to collect and log everything. I'll make sure that you and the Hangar are suitably compensated and get a mention in my book.' With that he stumbled into the back of Dizzie and threw himself out of the back door. The last I saw of him was his parachute opening as he cleared the aircraft. Thankfully it wasn't too much further to Warburton so I was able to occupy myself with preparing for the landing. It was only a narrow runway so I was going to have to nail it dead centre. I heard something rattling around in the cockpit, which isn't unusual in these old birds, but this was a new sound. After searching I found that Jack had left his flask behind. I''ll keep it as a reminder of our flight, but will make sure I empty the contents down the first drain I find. All that was left to do was bring old Dizzie in for a nice landing at Warburton and secure her, hopefully for not too long as these aircraft deserve to fly. She did look a little odd sat down amongst the small GA Aircraft. I could already see a crowd gathering at the side of the airfield wanting to know more about her Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Nice trip and great pics, good choice of plane. Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Great trip Rob! Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,285 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Perrrrfect landing Rob, bravo. You turned a boring leg into a mysterious PIREP. Your indifference to the outcome is killing me, did he make it, what did he find? Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Flown and landed like a pro Rob.. i wish my landings looked that smooth (At the moment I can at least claim I'm not used to flying with a yoke ) Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Nice leg Rob, I am glad you have turned up as I want to make a quick getaway, for reasons that will become obvious when you read my PIREP. Love your choice of aircraft. I hope to restore "Rusty" from Leg 27 into the RAF version. And by the way Rob, I was not referring to your legs when I said nice leg, although no doubt you were wearing shorts in this hot place. Enjoy Warburton. Rule 2 ("I dont want to catch anyone not drinking") doesn't apply here as alcohol is band by law. Enjoy your stay . PS, Have you heard anything of your jumper? Watch the news papers for headlines like "Mysterious drug smuggler arrested in Aboriginal reserve" Link to post Share on other sites
rosariomanzo 545 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Nice story, Rob. Curious about your passenger! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Super post Rob, very mysterious. You had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen but I'm so pleased you made it safely. Cheers...Joe Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now