SilverWing = Evektor Australia & Foxbat Australia

With effect from 1 January 2008, SilverWing Aviation is being separated into two companies - each to focus on specific aircraft. Evektor Australia will handle the SportStar Plus, Cobra and Super Cobra GA retractable singles, and the EV55 Outback, a new twin turbo prop passenger/cargo aircraft. Foxbat Australia will handle the A22L Foxbat from the Ukraine and the new Foxbat LSA from Sebring in Florida, USA. The purpose of the separation is to further strengthen our high reputation for customer service. We will be appointing new area sales and service agents for each aircraft - please contact us if you are interested in becoming a dealer for any of our planes.

By the time you get this newsletter, our two new websites should be live - www.evektor.com.au and www.foxbat.com.au - there is plenty of new information, including comparative specifications, pictures, video and even audio files. Very soon our 'Owner' areas will be open, to provide owners with vital information they need and/or will find useful.

Congratulatons to Hastings & District Flying Club!

Congratulations to Hastings & District Flying Club at Port Macquarie NSW - on completing over 1,000 hours in their A22 Foxbat, 24-4422. The Foxbat is used for training and hire and is certainly earning its keep! 4422 is now leading the Australian Foxbat fleet on hours flown - the average flying time in Australian Foxbats is now well over 350 hours, not far behind the world fleet average of 550 hours (which is much older overall and includes the highest time Foxbat, which has just passed 3,500 hours).

You can learn to fly on the Hastings & District Foxbat - contact them via their website at www.hdfc.com.au or call in and see them at Port Macquarie Airport.

SportStar over Yeppoon

SportStar Victor Charlie Zulu spent a very enjoyable weekend on the central Queensland coast recently - and took the opportunity to get some excellent air-to-air pictures over that glorious blue ocean! The photos were taken by Nic Barnes, flying with a friend in a Grumman AA1 - many thanks Nic!

SportStar ferried Brisbane-Perth

Pro Hart mural at Broken Hill Airport

From 27-30 August, I was lucky enough to spend just over 20 fantastic hours flying SportStar MTF from our base at Jacobs Well, SE Queensland, over to Jandakot Airport, Perth, WA, for its new owner, a flying school for instructors.

The route took me first south west to Moree and then to Bourke, for a re-fuel. My aim was to get to Port Augusta for the night's stop, but the weather was forecast to be bad (30 knots gusting 45), so I decided to stop at Broken Hill instead and enjoy the town. The airport has some amazing murals, painted by local (and world famous) artist Pro Hart. The town is dominated by the mine, with a restaurant now firmly established at the top - I think it's called The Broken Earth. I wished I had more time to stay and look around.

Next morning, I left for Ceduna, overflying Port Augusta on the way - the sight of the edge of the Southern Ocean is always stirring after flying across the dusty and dry outback of New South Wales. A brief stop at Ceduna for fuel and then on across the Nullarbor plain - passing over the Nullarbor Roadhouse, with the great cliffs along the bight clearly in view. What a fantastic sight!

The road runs straight as a die for long stretches, then a bend and another long straight. Here and there, the road becomes a runway - with piano keys and direction numbers - I believe for the Flying Doctor Service.

It was almost with disappointment that I reached Caiguna in the late afternoon, taxied the 5-600 metres from the red dirt airstrip to the John Eyre Motel and tied down for the night. The motel is basic but clean and well kept - the chicken schnitzel, salad & chips in the cafe was very welcome after a day at the controls.

Finally, on to Kalgoorlie. The direct route from Caiguna takes you over a lot of 'tiger country' - mainly desert at first, then trees building into solid cover for the last 90 minutes or so. I brought a new GME locator beacon with me, with a built-in GPS, although the thought of trying it out didn't appeal to me much! Very re-assuring to have it along though; it has an accuracy down to 45 metres.

Just about 10 miles north west of Caiguna is an old sign, scraped into the dirt, I assume many years ago. It consists of a huge horizontal diamond - about 5-600 metres wide - with 'READY MIX CONCRETE' written inside the diamond. The letters are eroding away now, although they are still just about readable. The sign is still shown on the WAC chart - anyone know the history?

At Kalgoorlie, it was blowing a gale, with dust clouds beginning to rise. A local pilot advised me the weather at Jandakot was even windier & wet as well. So I decided to stop for the night and fly to Jandakot the next day. All during the afternoon, the wind strengthened, although there was no sign of rain. I stayed at the Railway Motel where there was a big business function going on. But they fitted me in for dinner OK and afterwards I slept like a log.

The next morning the weather was perfect - well, almost. Clear skies and cool, but a bit of a westerly to fly into. I tracked towards Merredin - home of the big China Southern flying school. I made the radio calls approaching their airspace and was greeted by a cheery ground station advising me there was no conflicting traffic. So on I flew toward Perth. Just before you get to Jandakot from the east, there is a 20 minute patch of dense trees on the hills - with the westerly creating a few bumps and the Perth International airspace pushing me down, I was glad to reach the clear low lands around Jandakot.

Landing - this time with a 12-knot crosswind - was as uneventful as the previous five on the journey and I taxied to a halt outside the new owner's hangar.

At the end of a long flight by myself I always have a mixture of emotions - glad to be safely at my destination but sad the flying - and all the sights - are over for a while. If you haven't flown coast to coast (in either direction) I can recommend it. There are some amazing sights and places to see. Try it sometime - but take a week or two!

Great Eastern Fly-in - Evans Head - 28-31 December

'Better Late Than never' and/or 'You Can't Keep a Good Thing Down'! YES, we're back and looking forward to seeing you all, old friends and new. For four days of Flying, Fun, Sun and Surf, join us for this year's Great Eastern Fly-In at the WWII Heritage listed Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome. Air Displays, Static Displays, Aviaiton Business, Adventure and Joy Flights, Trial Instructional Flights, Classic Flying Film Night, Hot Cars, Sunday Market, Beaches, Surf, the River, Free Shuttle Bus, multiple runways, excellent flightseeing of the beautiful Northern NSW coast, National Parks and Cape Byron, Great Food, Great Coffee, PIlots BBQ night, Great Camping (underwing and caravan area and more) and maybe even Karaoke. Aircraft include: T 28 Trojan, P51 Mustang, Pitts Special, Scale FW 190 and Spifires, Beech 18, CT 4, Recreational and Light Sport Aircraft, Model aircraft, Fletcher Ag Aircraft, Microlights, Powered Parachutes, Gyros, GA, Motor Gliders and more. Something for everyone! For somewhere special to spend your Flying Summer Holiday, look no further, The Great Eastern is it - see you there!

PS A special Thanks and invite to all the Kempsey People who put on such a great Fly-In last year when we couldn't run, excellent!