The offspring are migrating westwards. In the same way that water
molecules move from a low concentration solution through a
semi-permiable membrane to a higher concentration, they are moving
from a lower concentration of dollars across the WA border to where
the dollars flow more freely. They'll be earning more than us soon...
Anyway, the Matriarch (alias the Navigator) is faced with the prospect
of needing to cover vast distances at relatively high speed to be
occasionally close to her progeny. So I thought this would be my
chance to upgrade my skills and get endorsed on something quick and
sleek- like, say a Piper Arrow (130 knots, retract, CSU, etc.).
Well, going from a speed (on the average) of 80 knots in Dorothy to a
speed (on the average) of 120 knots in the Arrow essentially doubles
the cost.
Here's how it works. We want to go from Parafield to Esperance. In
round figures this is about 900 miles by the time you have put down
somewhere for fuel (probably Forrest). So at 125 knots (allowing 5
knots for manufacturer's optimism) this will take about 7.5 hours,
giving 15 hours round trip and at $200 per hour a cost of $3000.
In Dorothy, we plan at 80 knots (allowing 5 knots for owner optimism
and another five knots for the amount of time we spend going up and ...

Yes, it's time the govt fixed the rabbit proof fence - we're geting invaded
by aliens. Soon we'll be totally overrun by foreigners saying cass-ell
instead of car-sell, grar-f instead of graf, and who go swimming in cossies
instead of bathers. There won't be a pure bred sandgroper left in the place
in a few years :-)

Instead of the Arrow, or equivalent, endorsement and the associated hire
costs you could build yourself a Vans RV-6/7.
Faster than the Arrow, less complex (fixed gear, and you could go for a
fixed-pitch prop), still has a control column and cheaper to run.
I would think that the payload would be at least equal to that of Dorothy,
although egress and exit are a little less elegant. Of course the
construction time and cost would be an issue that may require some major
"negotiation" with the Matriarch.

Commercial flights would be interesting. You'd have to route Adelaide-Perth
with one of big two, then Perth-Esperance with Skywest.
I'm not saying that our city on the west coast is not worth visiting, it
certainly is; but it's hardly convenient routing for you.

So the puddle jumper may end up being the best bet - I'm sure you wouldn't
be too disappointed with that.

Coop said the following on 21/07/2007 12:55 PM:

Have you taken account of the lovely breeze that wafts out of the west?

For example, QF775 takes 4h 15m from Melbourne to Perth. QF480 takes 3h
30m from Perth to Melbourne.

DC wrote:

Not the same (upper/lower) wind tho - and don't forget what you lose on the round-a-bout, you
pick up on the merry-go-round.

On Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:51:48 +0800, "Aubrey Adams"
MOVEiinet.net.au> wrote:

Don't think I haven't considered it- but I do want to get there some
time before the end of the next decade... :-)

On Sat, 21 Jul 2007 13:19:03 GMT, veritas coldmail.con>
wrote:

On Sat, 21 Jul 2007 14:25:19 +0930, Coop
chariotnose.netwheel.au> wrote:

Coop wrote:

My Mrs is the *reason* I go away on trips.

On Sun, 22 Jul 2007 09:28:25 +0800, Stealth Pilot
aeroplanes.com.au> wrote:

nospam@usenet.fake (Brian) wrote:

Ah... she's an "inspiration"! :-)