Friday photo: pyrocumulus cloud in Australia
Capturing a farmer’s field burn-off producing a cumulus cloud of its own on reaching the cloud base a thousand feet below me.
Born in England, Neil's love of flying started after reading Biggles books while bed-bound with tonsillitis at age 10. Later he cadged flights in Cessnas or Pipers with his former Scout patrol leader, now a pilot. After moving to Australia years later he started flying lessons with Recreational Aviation Australia, and gained a Pilot Certificate at age 54. His first purchase was a half share in a Gazelle. Now retired from a career in IT, he owns a Savannah LSA, and is building a full-size replica Sopwith Pup in his garage/under his pergola. He is hoping that will be finished in the next year... or two... or...
Capturing a farmer’s field burn-off producing a cumulus cloud of its own on reaching the cloud base a thousand feet below me.
Capturing photos of this ancient salt lake which has evidence of indigenous occupation over the last 45,000 years. The lake is host to kangaroos, emus, white-faced chats and an inland gullery.
While enjoying his first flight after the lifting of COVID restrictions, Australian pilot Neil Sidwell took this photo from his ICP Savannah. As he says, the view was full of color: “Yellow canola, brown ploughed fields, green grass, and dark green wooded hills in the background melding into a patchwork quilt.”
Neil Sidwell shares this unique photo: a beautiful view of Melbourne and the Shrine of Remembrance (just visible over the inspection hatch on the cowl of our plane) as he flew in a formation of four aircraft over the Shrine in honour of those who had fallen in combat.
Towering over the shoreline of Port Campbell National Park in Victoria, Australia, the Twelve Apostles is a unique formation of limestone stacks. Neil Sidwell captured a great photo of this unique vista from the cockpit of his ICP Savannah. While many visitors see it from the nearby road, there’s nothing like an aerial view.
Australia is famous for its varied terrain, from beaches to mountains to deserts. In this Friday Photo from Down Under, Neil Sidwell shares a photo of Lake Eildon. This sprawling, man-made lake northeast of Melbourne is nestled in between the 3,000 foot peaks of the surrounding mountains, all part of Lake Eildon National Park.
I was particularly interested to see an event titled “Porepunkah Movie Night” advertised in a magazine. Porepunkah is a beautiful location in the Victorian Alps, and I remembered flying in there once before. It is a grass airstrip of about 770 metres, surrounded by mountains.
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