By Erik Skye

December 18, 2010:

Flight success! I was instructed by Shane Field of Airborne Aviation in the de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth. This was my first time in an open cockpit airplane, and I found the experience to be surreal. It was challenging to communicate because of wind noise. Also, when flying an unfamiliar airplane it's sometimes difficult to tell when the instructor is influencing the controls. Thus, the question can be "did I do that by myself, or did the instructor help?" (I understand this from being both a student and an instructor.)

Well, Shane demonstrated a couple of 4-turn spins (a spin is when the airplane spirals in a "stalled" condition, with nose towards the ground), and then I tried one. The stick at first held by itself full to one side. Then, as I applied a little pressure to center it, the stick flopped firmly to the other side. I thought for sure Shane had done that, in an attempt to correct my technique. But nope – the plane did it! (Sometimes the plane flies itself too, and you have to distinguish that from your input and the instructors.) Anyway, it was a fun flight. The Tiger Moth is quite docile. Thanks Shane and Airborne Aviation. Shane’s going to send me a video clip of one of the spin sequences (there was a video camera on the wing), and I’ll post a link to it in a subsequent blog article on this trip. (UPDATE: See Day 13 for spin video.)

I drove through an area called Kangaroo Valley and found the Hampden Bridge, which was constructed in 1898. It was a neat looking cable suspension bridge with stone castle-looking abutments (see picture).

Temperatures have varied from 15 to 30 Celsius so far. Converting to Fahrenheit is easy. For every 10C, it’s 18F, and then add 32. So I find it fairly painless converting (i.e. 15C = 27F + 32 = 59F).

I've gotten a few comments about my blog articles. Feel free to send them my way. (I'm checking my e-mails, but I have no cell phone.) Butch: I use a 12v-120v inverter in the car, for the camera battery. Addie: Thanks for the clarification on the slang term "arvo"...

Okay - Thanks Sydney! We're off to Perth now.