John Martindale wrote: > Have a great time in our country Mark. Make sure you get over to Rotto to > smoke a quokka.
I'm almost afraid to ask any of the locals about smokin' quokka, but it does sound interesting! Today Graham Hewitt rolled out the Aussie red carpet and really made me feel like royalty. I can't say enough about how completely blown away I've been by this day. I met about 30 of the funniest aviators you can imagine, and saw more perfectly restored Tiger Moths and Chipmunks than probably exist in the US, several one-off Aussie homebuilt creations, a "best of show" Stinson, and a whole host of unique experimentals under construction. I didn't realize it, but the Aussie gov't has really lightened up on builders, to the extent that they are allowed to build with about as much freedom as US builders. Graham had lined up several CorvAircraft builders to talk to, and is installing a Corvair in the Piet that he's currently building. After Jandakot we drove to Serpentine in his LP gas powered Ford Falcon "Ute" to see another amazing array of planes, including a Jabiru powered Flitzer doing taxi tests to ready for first flight. Serpentine was another of those deals where 10 pilots stand around joking watched three more in the air doing aerobatics in the late afternoon calm. It was the kind of day I wish I could make more time for back home, and sure did enjoy doing it here. I missed the KR guys at Serpentine, but hope to hook up with them next weekend. Also from Serpentine I got an excellent tour of the area in Graham's gorgeous RV-6. See http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford/perth/070428489m.jpg for a view of my hotel, the tall building left of center in the picture. What an incredible way to spend the day... Mark Langford, Harvest, Alabama email: N56ML "at" hiwaay.net see homebuilt airplane N56ML at website: www.N56ML.com
