Two upside-down’s make a right-side-up

That’s right, turn something on the other side of the world upside down and its right side up to a Canadian.  That’s how the two of us look at it anyhow.  By this logic, that means that a good portion of a joy flight Nick took recently was done “right side up”.

We were both very anxious when YAK 52 pilot ,Peter, pulled up in his golf cart at the Bundaberg Airport and escorted  us to his hanger.  Ready and waiting was a polished, 9 cylinder radial, Russian trainer aircraft.  Peter went over a few safety procedures and had Nick jump into a flight suit.  They paused for a few “before” pictures and wasted no time getting in and synching down their shoulder straps.  The engine came alive and settled into a deep growl.  If Harleys had cousins that flew they would sound like this.  Peter taxied down to the end of a grass strip and did a quick high RPM run-up.  They turned back to face the hanger and the YAK’s voice went from a growl to roar.  The nose came up followed by the to main wheels, and it seemed like only a second had passed before they shot almost vertically into the cloudless sky.  It wasn’t long before they were a tiny black speck, and then just an invisible hum.  In the rear seat with the canopy closed Nick could still hear the wind howling over the airframe.  After a quick warning Peter pulled back on the stick, pointing them vertical again, and held it back taking them inverted, then facing the ground and finally, with the YAK forcing them into their seats back to the usual “blue on top” configuration.  Testing out Nicks belt tightening skills Peter swung the stick left  rolling them slowly as if they were in a drying machine rather than an aircraft.  They headed for the coast near to where we have been staying and just so Nick wouldn’t have anything obscuring the view, Peter did the majority of the sightseeing upside down.  After hearing that Nick had flown before Peter handed over the controls.  They did a few simple exercises (for Peter) like (very) steep turns and a couple rolls.  They flew a navigation exercise inverted and even practiced a Hammerhead or two.  They flew back to the Airstrip and did a couple low and over’s for Amanda’s camera on the ground and Nick (with Peters guidance) brought the YAK back to earth.  Smiling and a little white Nick took off the straps and stepped out for a few “after” photos.  Peter presented Nick with some gear and jotted down his info to send him a DVD of the experience.  It turns out that Peter had taped the whole thing from inside the cockpit.  Should make for an entertaining movie to watch when we get back.  Also since Peter is also a flight instructor in his spare time Nick was able to log the time/training in his records (every little bit counts).  Though both Nick and the plane are on the ground it seems like his head will remain in the clouds for days to come.    

As a warm up to the flying adventure we took in an aviation museum dedicated to the world famous local Bert Hinkler.  It was a tribute to his life spent building, flying, and inventing flying machines.  He was the most famous for his solo trips flown from England to Australia.  He was is/was a local legend and even has a song written for him.  The tours concludes with a tour of Hinkler’s (actual) home relocated to the park just outside the museum.  It was a great story showing how once you catch the bug (called Aviation) it can be very hard to get rid of.

A stay in Bundaberg is not complete without a tour of the world famous Bundaberg Rum and Gingerbeer distillery.  These are two separate entities, but together they form another legendary beverage the “dark and stormy”.  This is a premixed drink, combining both their gingerbeer and rum, which they assure us is something that the public came up with.  The guided tour took us through the whole process from sugar to molasses to fermentation to ageing to the bottle.  They also let us in on a secret.  This secret being that they ship their rum in milk trucks as to fool any potential rum bandits.  The only difference on the truck is it is required by law to have a flammable sticker on the back.  So next time you see a milk truck, check it for fine print, it could be a rum runner.  The tour ended with a few sample on the house.  They had all the options you could get at the any local bottle shop, but also had a few blends exclusive only to the bond store.  The ginger beer factory tour also ended with a sampling.  Instead this time you were encouraged to try all 14 flavours.  By the end of it Nick was feeling a bit sugar sloshed.  After sleeping off the sugar, we packed up Sully and pointed him North to Airlie Beach.