Page 95 - AA 2018_11
P. 95

OUTBACK AIR RACE












































































          Grealy’s former office, the Boeing   Australia, was the penultimate stop     Team Bad Mooney Rising in   arid areas in the country and suddenly
          747-400.                       on the air race 2018 route from   Mooney M20J VH‑SJT took out   you come across this magnificent lake
            But 2018 Outback Air Race    Archerfield in Queensland to Broome   third place. andrew payne  and greenery.
          manager and race competitor,   in the west, a 2,125 nautical mile                    “We organised a boat tour on the
          Stuart Payne, said the hours the   journey over 12 nights from August 19           lake and then suddenly this Lake
          duo had racked up – from their   to 31 and encompassing eight airfields.           Buccaneer amphibian came in and
          early professional lives as pilots in   The nearby Lake Argyle, the so-            did a splash and go, and then came
          1970s PNG to the left-hand seat of   called Jewel of the Kimberley, is WA’s        alongside the boat.
          a 747 – were on full display in what   largest and Australia’s second largest        “There are hills all around the lake,
          he described as an “airshow-quality   freshwater man-made reservoir by             and you really need to know what
          performance” on Lake Argyle near   volume. The reservoir is part of the            you are doing taking off from there.
          Kununurra.                     Ord River Irrigation Scheme.                        The skill level of the crew was very
            The town, an eastern bookend   “It was ridiculous,” Payne said.                  evident, it was a fabulous display of
          to the Kimberley region of Western   “You fly in across some of the most           airmanship.”
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