Leg 9

From Vanuatu, the flight route .west over the Coral Sea should be generally dry with little weather concerns. At Cairns, Australia, some of the driest weather so far will be encountered.

Averages

reports

Date	From	To
Tue 07/20	NVVV - Port Vila, Vanuatu / UTC +11:00	YBCS - Cairns, QL, Australia / UTC +10:00

	Departure	Enroute	Arrival	Distance	Avg. Spd.	Max. Spd.	Max. Alt.	Fuel
				(NM)	(KT)	(KT)	(FT)	(USG)
Estimated	08:00 (-1 21:00Z)	08:38	15:38 (05:38Z)	1,296				138
Actual	08:41 (-1 21:41Z)	10:06	17:47 (07:47Z)	1,339	133	179	8,598

Continued from previous leg page.

Tuesday morning cleared customs and immigration by ourselves and off to Cairns. We have a 10:11 ETE with light and variable winds. The Queensland AM radio station came in loud and clear 400 miles out.

We are looking forward to staying with Ed' old friends Norton and Margaret Gill. Norty is a captain with the Royal Flying Doctors Service flying physicians and patients to and from the outback. Margaret is Deputy Mayor of the city of Cairns.

After a quarantine inspection, customs and immigration, we taxied from the international terminal to the general aviation area where we were met by Norty. Whisked off to their new condo overlooking the bay. Pure luxury with view. Champagne with neighbors Hans and Hillary and a delightful dinner and off to bed.

Wednesday AM off to airport for oil change and HF radio checkout. Lunch with Norty. He has pilot standby this PM so Ed and Dick rent a car to explore the Tableland area to the west. After a winding road crossing the Karanda range we were there. Agriculture with abundant bananas, sugar cane, coffee, corn and veggies.

Norty was called to fly so we had a delightful surprise dinner, kangaroo steak cooked up by Margaret..Positively delicious.

Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick About to land at Cairns airport	Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick Quarantine inspection
Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick Our hosts, Margaret and Norton Gill	Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick Norton flies for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick Beech King Air fully equipped for medical evacuation	Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick Oil change and routine inspection
Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick Once more, Ed and Dick act confused to charm the locals, here in the Kuranda train	Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick Like all mountain trains, it winds
Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick It is, after all, a scenic train	Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick See
Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick View of Cairns airport in the distance	Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick View from the Gill's apartment

Wednesday to airport to arrange for oil change and HF repair to be done next day.

Thursday took old time railroad to Kuranda (which we had driven by on Wednesday) via twisting railroad. Lunch and shopping and back down on a cable car with spectacular views. Meanwhile the oil was changed and the HF radio repaired. A loose connection had caused all our grief. Fortunately we had the satellite phone. Dinner that evening with Norty and his friend retired Navy Commander Dennis Jones. Neat guy.

Friday AM Norty drove us up the coast to Port Douglas for sightseeing and lunch. Port Douglas is great access to the Great Barrier Reef. Nice homes and shops. Dinner that night was with the Gill's friends Max and Lorraine. Max is a pathologist with whom we had a long discussion on FOP. Great wonderfully fresh seafood and great Australian Shiraz wine.

Continued on next leg page.

Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick Riding the cable car in Kuranda	Photo Courtesy of Ed or Dick Terry Close, of ACS, posing in front of his toolbox on wheels. How about calibrating computer users too?
Photo Courtesy of Ed From Port Douglas, a nod to Bobbie, a Century 21 broker in Metuchen, NJ	Photo Courtesy of Ed Captain Sollner at the controls in a Cairns Internet Cafe

Temperature in Cairns, Australia	Low: 60°F, High: 80°F
July Precipitation	1.3 Inch
Winds Aloft at 7,000 to 10,000 Feet	From the southeast at 10 MPH

Expected Weather: Vanuatu to Cairns, Australia

Averages

reports