Good evening all

This message was originally written in the departure lounge at Tullamarine Airport, with Garrett Russell doing the typing on behalf of himself and Barry McCarthy – who could not manipulate the keyboard through his thick woollen gloves.

Yes, it was cold in Southern Gippsland where we spent Friday afternoon, night and Saturday morning. It was also wet and extremely windy. Dodging downed trees windy. And freezing cold even in the hangar where we made first acquaintance with the newest bird to join Caboolture’s vintage flock.

Yes, we shook frost-bitten hands with the committee of South Gippsland Gliding Club, only the second owners since 1961 of ES-Ka-6 VH-GRS, and we will soon be bringing her up to a sunnier nest at YCAB.

She is the first of her species to have been hatched by Edmund Schneider in South Australia, and Barry and I think she’s even cuter than her younger-by-one-year sister VH-GRV and second cousin VH-GSR (though Messrs Rodda and Gonsalves may disagree).

We also met her maiden aunt – the first Grunau Baby built by Schneider in Australia – along with a lot of other historic aircraft in the Australian Gliding Museum at Bacchus Marsh. Ian Patching made the introductions, and says hello to all his northern friends.

And we came very close to flying in an ornithorincus.

See the full story and photos soon on a computer screen near you!

Caboolture Gliding Club
Vintage Branch
Southern Chapter
(and now thawing out back in Brisbane)