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These were taken at Mangalore Airshow in 1993 or 1994. The pilot told me that this particular Cherokee Cruiser was the first to be owned by Royal Victorian Aero Club, although it was no longer owned by them. I have 2 Minicraft kits waiting to be modelled into this aircraft..

VH-RVK-MangaloreMid90s-1.jpg

VH-RVK-MangaloreMid90s-2.jpg

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:) What was the name of the girl who owned the flying circus those PA-28s were part of? Beaver Galore? No that doesn't sound right. Oh, that's right, I remember now, it was something to do with cats Galore. Ah, those were the politically incorrect days when you could quote from a movie without having your quote censored by Autobot. Never forget the ending where the ever compassionate Bond asks in his immaculate British accent, "How's Poossy".

:thumbsup:

Ross.

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You don't know what flyin' is until you've soloed in a PA-140, aahhhhhhhh those were the days, the throttle wide open and you're doin all of 110 with the wind at your back. I flew your basic Cherokee and the hotshot version the Flite Liner. :D :D :yahoo:

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Back in 1989/1990, I was introduced to VH-CNL and VH-CNP. These were 2 Cherokee 140's "fondly" known as Charlie No Lift and Charlie No Performance. I had the distinct pleasure of taking CNP for a trip that was supposed to last for 3 days, departing Cessnock for Bathust, then Albury for my Uncle's wedding on Day 1, then across the VIC/NSW border to Mangalore for the annual airshow and then back across the border to Deniliquin on Day 2, and back to Cessnock via Bathurst on Day 3.

Day 1: Depart Cessnock in CNP, start crossing the Great Dividing Range...hmmmmm, getting a bit cloudy and wet (no mention of this in the ARFOR, I might add), get some handy low level practice in and finally arrive and refuel at Bathurst. Wait for 3 hours for a weather front to pass.....Take off for Albury - Uncle married by now, ah well, I'll make the reception, just make it in before last light (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it :coolio: ) Go to wedding reception.

Day 2: Make my way out to the airport for an early departure. Weather forecast: You should've stayed in bed. Oh well, there's always next year's airshow....Go back to bed.

Day 3: Break in the weather, so a quick flight to Deniliquin, refuel, and off to Bathurst. ARFOR predicts some rain/cloud about, but nothing too serious. Approaching Great Dividing Range again - Nope, I ain't flying through that. Check watch - yep, enough time to get back to Deni.......get to Narrandera and Oh Crap, I'm flying CNP (published cruising speed and actual cruising speed 2 very different figures). Run out of light, so put down at Narrandera for the night. As it happens, I the boss of the flying school at Deniliquin knew someone in Narrandera so I had a place to stay the night.

Day 4. Back to Deniliquin, get a lecture about the importance of a RON (Remain Over Night) kit - could've pointed that out before I undertook this pilgrammage - refuel and back in the general direction of Cessnock. Once again, no serious weather predicted.......Abeam Griffith, well, I should land, I think. Not the only one with this idea, either. After about an hour on the ground, the skies are relatively clear, and it's time to take off again. Ever been to West Wyalong? Getting pretty late in the afternoon, and once again, VFR is a bad idea. One bloke ahead of me even thought IFR was a bad idea. He was kind enough to loan me a tent for the night as he took his elderly dad into town to stay at a hotel. I should point out here that CNP had a bit of a leak, so I thought it best to take all my gear in the tent with me. Until 1am, that is. A severe storm came through, and the tent collapsed. All my stuff - maps, ERSA, headset, clothes, me - got soaked. In the middle of the night, I managed to get the tent back up, and get some sleep.

Day 5.: 6am, the RPT flight lands. You never appreciate just how loud those Navajos are until you're awoken by one. Crawl out of the tent, doing my best drowned rat impersonation, and asked if I might sit in the terminal in front of those lovely heaters and dry off. Apparently, they're for passengers only. The kindly lady waiting for the Bank Run offers a lift into town, which I gratefully accept. I pull down the tent, and pack it into CNP, gather my clothes and maps and head into town. After a phone call to Mum, and a visit to the bank, I throw my clothes into the dryer at the laundromat and go have some eggs, bacon and coffee. After my clothes are dry, I ring the weather service. Then I check into a room in the pub and have a few beers.

Day 6. Wake up. Ring the weather service. Walk around the town and see a DC-3 mounted on a pole. Go back to the pub and drink beer.

Day 7. Wake up. Ring the weather service. Drink beer.

Day 8. Wake up. Ring the weather service. Cobble together a flight plan and walk out to the airport. Give the tent back to the bloke that loaned it to me. Take off in the general direction of somewhere else. Not West Wyalong. Ever again. Abeam Parkes. Swear a lot, because here we go again. VFR bad idea. Land. Fork over $5 to rent a bed for the night, along with the bloke that loaned me the tent, and another fella we found along the way. Have a BBQ dinner and drink beer.

Day 9. Wake up. Go to the teletype machine and look at the ARFOR. Bugger the flight plan, they're no bloddy good anyways. Tell flight service I'm a-headin' home. Finally Cessnock in sight, join the circuit and land. :D

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MJFCCherokee02.jpg

Barney, Below is UBC in Dec. 1985 still in its flying Club colours with an F-18 in the background. I purchased UBC locally at the municipal airport in 1989 and tied here down in the same spot while posted there and then took her to the Trenton area- Frankford/Stirling- where I sold her in 1994. The bottom photo is a visit home to Medicine Hat.

Tony, Comox, BC

piperUBC0001.jpg

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