Saturday was a day of Kangaroos and
Kookaburras at Caboolture.
The Kangaroos were out earlier and
closer to our RWY12 flight line than ever before,
and not at all scared by the tug’s exhaust or
prop wash.
It took some spirited driving in
two cars to herd them away before we could start
flying safely, and then the Kookaburras took over.
There was GLM, of course, plus a
chorus of real Kookaburras which started up in the
trees near the flight line almost perfectly in
time with Speedy and duty pilot Nick Sheahon’s
return, just short of two hours after take off, to
give them undisputed flight of the day.
Vintage gliders continued their
dominance with second best time of 1:27
I was fortunate to score that one
in GRV after Kevin Rodda had generously handed his
baby over to me while he took the day’s AEF in
CQC. That flight ranked third best at 54 minutes
(a full air brake descent from 3500ft over the Big
Fish when called back in because we now had a
surprise second passenger). Much of the time was
spent gaggling with the KA6 while Kevin told his
passenger what a beautiful looking glider it was.
Said passenger Patrick O'Grady enjoyed the
experience so much, his partner Jodie White lined
up for her own air experience!
Fourth best time went to Alan
Graham: an impressive 45 minutes in CQC on the
day’s first launch, and the flight which gave
the rest of us encouragement to get up into a sky
which turned out to be much better than forecast.
Final figures for 8 flights, all
towed by Karl Bodi:
A great day for a small crew, and
two very happy passengers.
