Bass Straight Crossing

THE stage was set for a world record attempt. The JR Vigor had to conquer 294 kilometres of ocean to satisfy Mike Farnan's latest challenge. Photojournalist Mark Smith went along as support team to capture the ups and downs of a dangerous Bass Strait crossing.

It had all the trappings of a great adventure.........a brave hero, a bumbling sidekick and a super cool pilot....Together they formed a team that beat Bass Strait and flew into the record book!

The tale started 18 months ago when Mike Farnan set the world record for a flight over water by a radio controlled model helicopter by flying across Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay from Geelong to Elwood. That 64 km journey cemented Mike's hold on the world record and sowed the seeds for an even greater journey.

"To cover Port Phillip Bay only used half of the 3 litres of fuel available," Mike said.

"The model carried the weight easily giving me confidence that it would lift a greater load. I knew we could do something longer."

The planning began in earnest. Mike felt that three and a half litres was about the limit the model could carry. Based on the Port Phillip trip that should give about 100 minutes flying, or about 70 nautical miles at 40 knots groundspeed. A quick check of the map comfirmed the distances were within limits. The goal was set: Tasmania to Victoria via Flinders and Deal Island.

Leg 1. Cape Portland, Tasmania to Flinders Island. 79 km.

After spending a sleepless night on Flinders Island, a 6.45am cab ride took the team on the 10 minute drive to the airport. The windsock indicated a slight northerly, the skies showing a small amount of cloud building to the west. The Jetranger was quickly loaded and heading was set for our start point of Cape Portland on the north-east tip of Tasmania.

Local television was on hand to record our departure so after a quick interview Mike fuelled the model and gave the signal for Professional Helicopter Services pilot Luke O'More to start the mothership. Mike strapped in and gave the signal to fire up the model. The ever reliable OS engine started straight away and after getting myself strapped into the back we were away. The time was 8.15am.

A climb speed of 35 knots saw the model maintaining 400 feet per minute, about 20 yards ahead of the fullsize. The model was levelled at 500 feet, and allowed to accelerate to cruise speed of around 50 knots. Visibilty was excellent with Flinders Island visible right on the nose from the moment we left Cape Portland.

Everything was moving along beautifully, the Vigor gamely leading its full-size cousin on its trip over the unusually-still Bass Strait waters. Without realising it we had climbed to 1500 feet, causing some discussion about how rich the mixture could have become. Not wanting to find out we descended back to 800 feet.

Soon Flinders Island airfield appeared on the horizon. The plan was to come in high from the water, land the full size near the fuel bowser then hover the model to a landing nearby.

Constant talking between Mike and Luke saw a successful landing in front of a dozen interested locals, one hour after leaving Tasmania. This broke Mikes original world record by 15 km. Luke warned Mike that our aproach speed had been a little slow. The next leg to Deal Island would be with a full fuel load in both model and full-size, so approach speeds would be more critical.

Servicing of the model saw the 1700Mah battery pack changed to a 2000Mah, despite the smaller battery still showing 70% capacity. Fuel burn had been as predicted with about 40 minutes left in the main tanks.

Leg 2. Flinders Island to Deal Island. 100km.

After the locals had been shown the model, and the full-size had been refuelled it was time to start on the longest leg of the trip. Mike strapped in and the Jetranger fired up. Then distaster struck. After starting the model the harness I was wearing to allow me to open the door in the back of the aircraft caught the model and pulled it over. In a second the fly bar bent, dangerously unbalancing the model. (Hence the reference at the start to the bumbling side-kick.) The full-size was shut down and Mike furiously worked to straighten the fly bar and retrack the blades. Thankfully he was able to do this and the attempt was continued.

The Jetranger was using 105% torque as we slowly climbed away heading north-west. As we reached our cruise altitude of 700 feet, Deal Island loomed on the horizon, a grey blur hidden by rain showers. The water below was still glassy indicating very little wind.

The model had also acquired a glitch in the form of severe tail twitch if it flew too far or too near the mothership. The sight of the model twitching every so often caused the crew a few butterflies as we got further out over the water away from the safety of terra firma.

A rain shower was encountered, the wind increasing as we flew into it. Luke complained we were flying so slow the windsreen wasn't clearing, making it hard to see the model.

The GPS was indicating 32 to 35 knots until we cleared the shower, then increased back to 45 knots.

Mike brought the model close to the left side so the fuel state could be checked. Three quarters of the way across and the right tank was still half full. A plan was hatched to fly past the Deal Island light house for pictures before a straight-in approach to the very tight helipad.

Treacherous cliffs falling into the ocean provided a great back drop as the formation tracked for landing. Luke put the big Bell helicopter expertly on the pad and Mike followed suit with the model. One hour and twelve minutes of difficult flying saw the record broken for the second time. The relief was immense. Time for a break.

Deal Island is home to two caretakers who obviously appreciated the break in their routine on the lonely windswept island. Local wallabies hopped near the model as the team enjoyed coffee and cake in the caretakers residence.

The wind was still light so after fueling up it was time to hit the blue for the short hop to Hogan Island.

Deal Island to Hogan Island. 40 km.

The original plan had been to fly from Deal Island direct to the Victorian mainland. However the prospect of headwinds associated with an approaching front meant a landing at Hogan Island would be necessary. Departing Deal we flew low down an ocean fjord with rugged rocks thrusting skywards from the deep blue water. The sun was shining, illuminating the yellow canopy making for some great photos. The leg was covered in 38 minutes, the only obstacle being a large rain shower moving across from the mainland. We flew through several small showers but thankfully avoided the worst of the weather.

Landing on Hogan to an audience of cattle, the model was quickly refuelled, a few pictures taken then a hasty departure to try and get ahead of the worsening weather.

Hogan Island to Port Welshpool. 75 km.

The battery had been changed to a larger 2300Mah pack for the final leg. The wind had now shifted giving us a northerly of about 10 knots. The cloud base was also lowering forcing us down to 500 feet to remain clear of cloud. The GPS indicated a groundspeed of 35 knots after departure, then dropped to 32knots 10 minutes out. It was going to be a slow trip. Up ahead the cloud was rolling in off Wilsons Promontory, with showers becoming harder to dodge. The windscreen kept misting up making the model blur against the grey skies. After a long days flying Mike's concentration was begining to wane.

Snake Island slipped by underneath us, gaining its fearsome name from the hundreds of venomous snakes said to live among the wiry undergrowth. Thankfully we didn't have to make a forced landing!

As we approached the mainland, 20 minutes out the formation was joined by the ABCs Squirel filming us as we crossed the coast. Now the groundspeed was down to 30 knots due to the increasing headwind but the runway was in sight and an hour and fifteen minutes after leaving Hogan Island we touched down in front of the waiting media.

A total of 294km had been covered in 245 minutes flying time. An epic trip deserving of a world record. Will there be another record attempt?

"I'm not going to do anything like this again, I might end up divorced!"

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

SPONSORS

• RADIO CONTROL TECHNIQUE MAGAZINE
• MODEL ENGINES (AUST.) PTY. LTD.
• JR HELI DIVISION
• O.S. ENGINES
• V-BLADES

Here in Australia I was very pleased to see the extensive coverage and reporting of the flight on nationwide television, radio and newspapers. The record flight has lifted public interest in model radio control flying and particularly helicopters.