TEFC                     

 After working through a variety of small cameras used to capture video from my Drifter, I think I am getting close. I have used a variety of pencil cams and even the small ipod nano with inbuilt camera. I have recently purchased a gopro HD Hero2. After evaluating it against the contour, it came out in fron for quality and durability.

My small kodak playsport is still in the mix for price and sound - ideal for that trip through Vietnam... but it doesn't really stack up in the extreme sports arena.

Nuff said, here is a piece shot with a combination of the gopro, the kodak (my ten year old son) and a couple of snaps from the Nikon D90. Music by my favourite music provider for indie videos - Smartsound.

Remember ladders are dangerous!

This entry was posted on January 23, 2012 at 8:17 PM and has received 101 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

 I went for a flight the other day to get some pictures of Darwin from a distance and captured some other evidence that Darwin is emerging from a backwater status to an economic contributor.

The President of the United States arrives in Darwin tomorrow and I thought that seeing that all flights by non-essential aircraft are not permitted during his visit I would provide an aerial view of the surrounds of Darwin taken in very recent times.

I have marked some of the locations on a google map

I will start with the new detention centre being built out along the Channel Island road. I took quite a few pictures of the centre which is looking very nice. Here is one from the album. Click on the picture to view the entire album of shots.

New Detention Centre in Darwin

To get photographs of Darwin I had to use a 200mm lens which in a digital camera takes it out to about 300mm. I hadn't used this lens for a while and I am almost inspired to buy a 28-300 Nikkor lens with vibration reduction after seeing the shots this old lens produced.

So here is a photograph of the existing Gas Plant with Darwin City in the background. Apparently the large tank in the foreground has a floating roof that rises and falls with the gas that is stored within the tank.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

 Although this doesn't look like an island, this next shot is Channel Island where our power station and aquaculture research facility are. There is also a boat ramp there that will see you into the mouth of the Blackmore River quite quickly - and it is bitumen all the way. The power station is gas fired and the aquaculture centre breeds barramundi as well as exotic items like the sea cucumber and giant clams.

East Arm wharf is where our cargo and livestock shipping occurs. There has been some controversy with the temporary banning of live cattle exports which genuinely affected the livelihood of many folks. Hopefully the disruption led to a genuinely positive outcome in relation to the humane treatment of animals otherwise it will go down as a failed action on the local and international stage. A couple of cranes have fallen over or come adrift and then there was the spillage of ore into the harbour although on that one I would prefer to be in Darwin Harbour than in harbours surrounding the failed nuclear plant in Japan. The wharf will only continue to become busier with all the development that is going to happen in the resources sector.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

The small island in the middle of East Arm is called Catalina Island. The Peninsula behind the island was occupied during WWII with the presence of Z Force on Catalina Island.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

Site of the new INPEX project in the foreground and Darwin in the background.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

 Darwin in the background with the new detention centre in the foreground. Vacant plot of land is partially for the INPEX site. East Arm Wharf on the right and on the far left the edges of the existing Conoco Phillips gas plant.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

 Finally to Darwin, the place of my birth and much changed over the 50 years I have been around.

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

From Darwin, Gas Plant, Wharf and Palmerston

Welcome to Darwin Mr. President

This entry was posted on November 16, 2011 at 7:43 AM and has received 241 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

 A week ago we held our first meeting on a Sunday in a long time. I liked it for a number of reasons. I was able to come down to MKT, go for a flight, come back and attend the meeting where a new member joined the meeting and after we concluded Armin prepared the classic bacon, toast, sausage and eggs breakfast (and devilled kidneys) which was a pretty fine way to spend a Sunday morning.

It might be good for catering purposes for folks to place an order via email (or something like that) when meetings are held, so that if Armin is available and willing to cook up a storm, he has an idea of how many to cater for.

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This entry was posted on October 3, 2011 at 8:34 AM and has received 193 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

We had a great AGM on Friday night with Armin cooking up a sensational barbeque for all who attended. One of things decided at the meeting following the election of office bearers was to move end of month meetings back to Sunday morning.

Although there will be formal minutes of the meeting posted to the website, here is my quick rundown of some of the key events of the evening.

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This entry was posted on August 28, 2011 at 9:38 AM and has received 333 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

This year's AGM of the Top End Flying Club will coincide with the 28th anniversary of MKT aerodrome being established by the Meyering Family back when people genuinely asked "where the bloody hell is Noonamah" because it was considered "out bush".

When is it?

6:30pm on the 26th of August 2011 at MKT Airfield in the TEFC clubroom.

Armin will be cooking up a storm so come along and remember you do need to be financial to vote.

We have seen a transformation in the club, the airfield, the infrastucture that supports the airfield and maybe most importantly an acceptance by the greater community of the Top End and Government that we are a positive cornerstone in the plans to develop the outskirts of Darwin and the new city of Weddell.

This entry was posted on August 20, 2011 at 8:14 AM and has received 221 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

As you may be aware, our good friends in the defence force have been using MKT for exercises for over 25 years and ther is another intersting exercise coming up. This Friday at our club meeting at MKT ther will be an informal briefing by one of the members of the defence force.

So if you would like find out what interesting things will be happening in and around MKT over the next period of time, make sure you are are at MKT this Friday evening for the meeting.

For those folks who are recipients of this blog entry and not from MKT - it is great that we have trikes, RAA, GA and military all welcome and operating in harmony from our little 1.2 km strip up here in Darwin.

This entry was posted on May 24, 2011 at 8:12 PM and has received 284 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

As the time for Natfly draws closer, the program is being tweaked and refined. Ther have been some substantial changes to the program. To view these please click on the "More" link below. This is the most comprehensive program yet. Please take a look.

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This entry was posted on March 29, 2011 at 8:20 AM and has received 270 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

There have been a few late changes to the Natfly programme which I post here as three pdf documents.

NatFly 21-23 April 2011 -Temora NSW

Thursday Programme

Friday Programme

Saturday Programme

See you there

This entry was posted on March 25, 2011 at 4:09 AM and has received 221 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

We have been getting a lot of rain lately and it was great when a Sunday morning and not too much cloud was around. Joe (my son) and I headed out to MKT Aerodrome, Darwin's light aircraft hub to catch the famous Crabclaw Breakfast (featured in a previous entry). We were out the early enough and Greg was out there as well for the journey and we pulled out the aircraft, conducted our preflights and I went for a quick circuit while Greg tried to jump start his Drifter.

When that didn't work, we grabbed the spare battery I now carry with me and we off and away to Crabclaw we went.

There were two layers of cloud, small puffy things hanging around at about 200ft and then another layer at about 1000ft.

Going through the first layer, or more correctly in between the puffy little clouds, Joe stuck his hand out and got to "feel the clouds" which for any nine year old earns some bragging rights.

In the wet season, things get, well, wet.

Radios either work much better or much worse in the wet. My transmissions were okay but I had a consistent weak radio reception from the VHF.

I heard Greg behind me and he landed 4 minutes after I did at Crabclaw which is another great thing about flying with a group of aircraft with the same cruise speed.

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This entry was posted on March 19, 2011 at 9:25 AM and has received 339 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

I will be heading to Temora for Natfly this year. Due to commitments in Sydney on Sunday and Canberra on Saturday I will only be able to stay for Thursday and Friday, but I am sure it will give me a great taste of what recreational aviation is all about in the South and Eastern parts of Australia..

I only wish I was wealthily retired enough to afford the time to fly my drifter to Temora - but I'll have to save that pleasure for sometime in the future.

On an unrelated communications front...

Our RA-Aus website will be getting a makeover in the coming month or three and during thisprocess we might not be so quick to publish certain items to the website. But once our shiny new website is in place, the great staff in Canberra will be able to publish information faster than you can say twitter or facebook.

But... in the meantime there will be a variety of alternate electronic sources of information and of course our Magazine.

Look forward to seeing those of you who can make it to Natfly.

I'll be the one looking like a kid in a candy store!

This entry was posted on March 14, 2011 at 6:45 AM and has received 183 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.