I could not help feeling extremely excited when I arrived at Cairns to check-out my prospective new purchase. A Cherokee 160hp made in 1962. I always wanted a 180, but could not resist the thought of having a fully overhauled engine in my next plane. So, a couple of hours later and the deal was done. I went to Cairns armed with my notebook, lists of things to check for, a sheer determination of not buying a dud, and rows and rows of questions to ask the LAME. But, you know what? Once you have made up your mind deep down inside there is very little you can do to dissuade yourself from going ahead. I am an emotional buyer and therefore I quickly suffered from the proverbial buyer's remorse. The shockwaves of bad news came pouring in – cracked crank-case, illegal “motor-car” alternator, unusable oil-radiator and the list goes on and on. Naturally it goes without saying, I was in for a couple of thousand more than what I had planned for originally.

Nevertheless, after three months of perseverance, for the major to be completed, the aircraft was ready for delivery to Caboolture. The delivery was planned for somewhere early May 2005. My dear friend Scott flew it from Cairns to Townsville where he picked up a mate and flew to Caboolture in one day with absolutely no hick-ups whatsoever. I did my Aussie PPL in Caboolture and wrote the CASA exams in Maroochydoore.

Initially I could not find hanger space for my little aeroplane and had to make due with tying it outside. I felt a little fortunate as the summer months had passed and winter presented no real threat as far as thunderstorms are concerned. Stephanie and I would regularly go down to the airfield on weekends and polish the plane. We'd pump the tyres and fiddle with the GPS etc…It soon become apparent that the vibration in the engine was not synonymous with a newly overhauled engine and after much deliberation I made a very good decision and fitted a brand new Sensenich propeller – what a bliss from that moment on. Before I got my Australian licence, I had to pass a medical and before I got the medical I had to have a CASA authorised flight report, which were to prove that I could handle rudder pedals with my gammy legs. The flight training was real good and I enjoyed every minute of it. I knew that I had become totally rusty for not having flown light aircraft for so long.

After I got my licence, the first persons to go flying with me was Stephanie my wife and Melissa, my daughter. Caboolture airfield is a very handsome little airpark with farmhouse style restaurant that serve the best breakfast and lunch and cold beer you can buy. The long runway "12/30" is 1200 meters with 200 meters of bitumen. If have officially managed to take-off and land my Cherokee on the bitumen only, but don't advise you practice it. It creates a recipe for disaster.

In January I took my 1st flight over the water to Morton Island - 12 Nautical Miles or approx 20 Kilometres. Having flown so many trike hours and after having survived so many engine failures, especially in the 1980's and early 90's I am always looking for a place to land and over water there is none. I quickly decided to rather enjoy the flight and accept the fact that there is not much that I can do about my situation. As you can see from the picture, I went quite high initially, which calmed the nerves considerably. Tangalooma wrecks on the right with crystal clear waters - what a sight. My friend, Graeme Mc Carthy from South Africa paid me an unexpected visit in February and we flew around this island as well. I now frequently fly this route, simply enjoying the view and loving the scenery. I have flown to the Gold Coast and routed directly overhead Brisbane International and once via Archerfield. As both these are heavily controlled areas with plenty of traffic and traffic rules, I had not even the slightest inclination of taking pictures - too busy flying.

On a subsequent trip to the Gold Coast, I encountered some unfavourable whether, at times in rain and a little unsure of myself, but fortunately in my training we often flew in rain. The turbulence on this particular day was horrific and had me somewhat scared at times. Once past Moreton, North and South Stradbroke islands, the weather cleared up beautifully.