Worth the wait....

I haven't had a long flight for a month.  The flight with Mel was a big deal and very enjoyable, but it was only six minutes worth.  I'd been hanging out for a longer flight, maybe some circuits, maybe a depart and circuit re-entry, maybe just a scenic flight.  It didn't matter too much, but what did matter was that the conditions were good for ultralight flying.

Ballarat has endured a cold, wet and windy Winter this year.  There have been little glimpses of decent weather here or there, but invariably I would be working far, far away from the aerodrome with no chance of getting back before last light.  It's been really frustrating.

Today was a glimpse at the better weather that can sometimes appear here in Ballarat.  I was coming back on the bus from a gig up in Woodonga, where I spent most of it talking with my friend Andrew (a keen self-taught flight simmer!) about flying stuff when Manny sent me an SMS saying that the conditions at the aerodrome were perfect for a fly.  Drat.  Would I get back in time?  I wasted no time in departing Melbourne once the bus arrived back and dropped some lunch home for Mel (earn brownie points!).  I invited her come too, but she was not feeling up to it, but she told me not to waste the opportunity and still go for a fly myself. Cool.

I headed out to the hangar and started pre-flighting the Jabiru.  As I went to remove the cowl I noticed that it was slightly warm.  A quick check of the paperwork showed that it had in fact been flown hours earlier.  One must be particularly careful around the propeller with a warm engine.  I then taxied over to the runup bay and headed towards runway 36.  By this time in the day it had become busy!  There were several guys reporting inbound to Ballarat, yet there was already several aircraft already in the circuit.  It was going to take eyes like an eagle and a lot of radio work to maintain safe spacing.  Thankfully, everyone worked as a team and we all got to do our circuits safely.  My first circuit was a little bit wonky, partially due to the fact that I felt a tiny bit rusty, but also to keep my spacing from the Cessna in front. I had to extend downwind a bit, which made my approach path a little different than normal.

After the three circuits, I departed the aerodrome and headed out to the North.  I felt like checking out Creswick from the air, so I headed over there.  Upon returning I rejoined the downwind leg and landed.  The Aero Club's 182 (VH-DHS) was behind me, so after I announced my intentions for a full stop I asked if they were far enough behind me to allow a small backtrack so I could exit on taxiway Alpha (the first exit).  They replied that there was plenty of time and they'd keep a good lookout for me.  Quite often I pull the Jabiru up just after the taxiway, but this time I succeeded in pulling it up safely and turned safely off the runway - all without burning out the brakes!  :-)

It's been a long time, but definitely worth the wait.  Hopefully next time it will be with a passenger!