Flew S and a friend down to Bankstown to pick up the Robin. I was flying the club Warrior. Weather was wierd. Hot humid early summer day but started out with very poor viz down to 4000 in haze from bushfires and smog, with very low cloud dorn to 1000 feet. Left at lunchtime, climbing out in Class C. By the time we were starting over Lake Macquarie the remnants of the low cloud forming a broken shelf at 2500 ft and lowering to 2000 further south. Viz wasnt great but at least 10 kms thru the northern suburbs of Sydney.
Over Prospect just about call Bankstown tower when a Piper Cub calls inbound from the same location. Three heads in the Warrior going round and round, where is he? Approaching 3 miles to runway one-one and we are almost on top of it when he calls 3 miles. Still cant see him. We call and look and look. There! Maybe one mile ahead. He floats, down down, finally, touches down as we are approaching late finals. He misses the first taxiway and crawls to almost a stop. We're going to have to go around, as I mentally prepare myself and mention it to S. Tower tells me to Go Around, and I reply Going Round, and S shouts What?, Dont!. But I am in control and look at him sternly as I guard the throttle from his desire to grasp. He asks if the Tower directed me around? and I say Yes. And concentrate on the transition from Landing configuration to Climbing configuration. We turn downwind and I call reminding the tower of my intentions. He graciously gives me landing clearance ahead of a cessna at 3 miles, but it is too tight and I decline - it would be making him go around. He renumbers me number two and I follow the cessna after some head swivellings finding him. S berates me for going too fast. You're doing 120! I'm doing 110 yes a little too fast. I am a little close but nothing like the Cub. Tower offers me runway right but I decline. The cessna baloons upwards. What? He floats past the piano keys deep into the runway before touching down and almost stopping. Here we go again. I am 100 ft, 80, 60 when he finally pulls off to the left and Tower gives me landing clearance. ... There was a fair crosswind and I am more in-control with less flap, particularly if there is the possibility of a go around. ... Shaking my head we pull in behind the cessna on the taxiway leaving runway centre. The tower tells the cessna that left is inactive and no need to wait for crossing clearance.
I drop S and P and refuel, peculiarly consipuous in my cammies. It is my lunch hour and I have no food, though I do have some water to drink. It is fairly hot.
I depart before the Robin and charge up the lane. Over Pennant Hills, still listening to BK Tower I hear the Robin get take off clearance. I see my old house, fly right over it only 1000 ft above the ground (still cloudy). See my old school. Broken Bay, listen to a floatplane landing in Pittwater.
The view draws me northward. I have flown this so many times now I know what I can see before I see it. 25 miles call Clearance Delivery who assign a transponder code. 12 miles call Approach who clear me direct at 1500 ft. 7 miles to Tower who clears a visual approach to early downwind. A commercial jet has jsut taken off and immediately asks tower for return to base due to smoke in the cockpit. He is given priority and the fire tenders are called. I am told to orbit on downwind. The Robin shows up on frequency and is not given visual approach but told to orbit on downwind 500 ft higher than me. I do two orbits over Fullerton Cove, watching the 737 approach. He lands and pulls off the runway and I am cleared to land.
What a flight!
