Crouching Tiger Moth, Hidden Harvard
Jul 7
posted by Mark Christie in
MKT Airfield, TEFC, Warbirds, Flyaway
| 0 Comments
Well the weekend down at Coomalie Airstrip went well. The NT Orienteering Championships went well and I understand that no one was left out there. We headed down in the Drifter early on Sunday morning and with my radio in for repair we used a uniden scanner that had the required frequencies already dialed into memory. With the receiver in the top pocket and the earphones in the ears under the headset now functioning as ear muffs we took off and headed South towards Manton Dam and then onto the rehabilitated woodcutter's mine (over some bushfires on the way)
When we got to Manton Dam I heard something I hadn't heard for a very long time - Someone talking on the radio. I had heard people talking on the radio of course but... firstly I could understand what they were saying and secondly they were talking about me!
As it turns out Nick had taken the Harvard for a quick scenic over Manton Dam and I had him spotted even with the sun shining brightly behind him. I then heard another voice and the conversation and location of the aircraft suggested it wasn't flying as fast as the Harvard. The pilot mentioned that the Ghan was on the tracks below but I was focussing on where this second aircraft was.
As we approached Woocutters minesite, I saw the Tiger Moth over my left shoulder. It was Greg Hardy's beautiful shiny Tiger Moth that had recently arrived in Darwin and was also heading to Coomalie for an outing. Greg tried to contact me, but without a transceiver all I could do was waggle my wings which wasn't that comforting for the other Greg sitting in the back seat of the Drifter. Once you click on the thumbnail you will have to zoom in to see the Tiger Moth with Coomalie Airstrip in the bottom right of the picture.
I decided to circle back so that Greg would know that I could see him and after doing so tried to keep up for a photograph... A Drifter doesn't have much chance of catching up to a Tiger Moth and I imagine that to Nick in the Harvard it would have looked like the race of the turtles.
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| From Aerial - Merlin Magic 2009 |
We landed on runway 17 after the Tiger Moth had landed and cleared. It looks like the previous night had been a lot of fun and Caleb was cooking bacon and eggs on the bbq. We went and checked out the aircraft and the folks who had come down, catching up with Richard who owns the property and let me know that yet again Merlin Magic (even without the Merlin) was still magical.
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| From Aerial - Merlin Magic 2009 |
Nick landed shortly after in the wonderful Harvard. We saw Harvards at the Omaka airshow but there is no way you can get as close as this to landing aircraft. Luckily all who particpate in the event have respect and understanding for what is acceptable and what isn't.
Once again only about 200 photos... Something I forget to mention is that if you want the hi-resolution digital image (12.3 megapixels) of your aircraft, you, an event etc... just let me know. I won't print them but I will place the originals on a webpage for you to download. They are for non-commercial personal enjoyment.
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| Aerial - Merlin Magic 2009 |
I took Richard, the property owner up for a lap around the location of the Orienteering Competition to get some photographs. If you are interested in orienteering, they have a great website.
Greg M flew the drifter back so I got a chance to take some nice pictures of Lake Bennett and the farms around Acacia Hills.
With Mick's storage structure going up in double quick time I also managed to grab a few pictures of that magnificent building all approved through the good people at the development consent authority.
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| From Aerial - Merlin Magic 2009 |
As for Crouching Tiger Moth, Hidden Harvard - it is probably more like Crouching Harvard, Hidden Tiger Moth but it doesn't sound as good. A big thank you to all who made the event possible and don't forget...
MKT Open Day Sunday 23 August - Tell your friends - it will be great!!
