F L YY -I N S
Wal Chapman flew up from Guyra in his pristine Jabiru J230
Doug and Robyn McCullough took just over an hour to reach Warwick from Caboolture in his Tecnam P2002 Sierra
PERFECT WEATHER STORY AND PIC S BY AL AN BE T TERIDGE
Intrepid aviator Brett Poole flew over from Maryborough with a stop at Watts Bridge for extra fuel - just in case
T
HE weather forecast for Warwick listed fine days but cold mornings for the weekend, so it was with some trepidation I planned my trip to attend the biennial Wings over Warwick fly-in. The plan was to camp using my new tent. But having had multiple failures at this camping caper, especially when it involved me doing it in cold weather, I had misgivings about tempting the camping Gods, who seem to hate me. Luckily my beloved came to my rescue and decided she would come with me. This, of course, meant we would take our caravan, because there is no way in the world she would ever consider camping under canvas. We arrived on the Friday and were invited to set up in the Warwick Gliding Club’s camp area. Power, flushing toilets and hot showers, all for just a $10 donation per night – what bliss. A strong wind blew most of Friday, but by Sat-
Savannah touches down
urday morning it had abated and clear skies set the scene for a perfect day. As with all fly-ins, the event is more about the people than the aircraft and Warwick was to prove no different. One of the first arrivals was Wal Chapman who flew up from Guyra in his J230 Jabiru. Wal has owned the aircraft, which he built, for the past six years and is more than happy with it. “It took me around 530 hours over 12 months to complete the construction. I was impressed with the quality of the Jabiru kit and the back-up from the Jabiru factory,” Wal said. Wal’s aircraft is powered by a 120hp Jabiru 3300, six-cylinder engine which he said was the perfect match for his aircraft. “The airstrip we operate from in Guyra has an elevation of over 4,000ft. During the summer months, it can have a density altitude of 30 / S P O R T P I L O T
7,000ft or more. So, having an aircraft with such a good power to weight ratio, makes good operational sense,” he said. “We have a C172 and Piper Warrior as well but, with that sort of density altitude, they really become two-seater aircraft. “Although they have 150hp on tap, their power/weight ratio is far worse because of their higher weights”. What Wal said was correct of course, but I wondered how many LSA pilots give much consideration to the effect of density heights when operating from high elevation airfields during the summer months. Another early arrival saw Doug and Robyn McCullough alight from their Tecnam P2002 Sierra in which they had travelled from Caboolture. “We had a good, smooth trip over and it only took us just over one hour to do,” Doug said. Both were pretty well rugged up in jackets to