[ttc]

Last year was a rough one so I took a week off and just went west.
I took the i30, and I went from Brisbane to Charleville, then to Longreach, back to Charleville and then back to Brisbane. It is 750km from my place to Charleville, and another 550km roughly to Longreach.
Car didn't miss a beat, I got to Charleville and it still had about a third of a tank left, and cruising at 110kmh it just ate up the road. It's really harsh and arid out there, but everything was just sweet. The only thing that did worry me was the numerous kangaroos that tried to play chicken, no wonder they have bullbars on everything out there.
I did feel the odd one out as I didn't have a caravan, wished I had a sticker that said my caravan fell off lol But overall the i30 absolutely excelled, both in fuel economy and comfort for the trip


If you want somewhere to go that's a bit different I highly recommend, it was a real eye opener, the drought out there was shocking, absolutely shocking.
The cosmos centre at Charleville is really amazing even if you're not into astronomy.
The QANTAS centre at Longreach was my favorite, they have a great museum, you can then tour the jets they have there. If you pay extra you can walk on the wing of the jumbo, and they take you all through the plane, into every nook and cranny.  Didn't like the stockmans hall of fame that much, the place has lots, and lots, and lots of boards with people's stories, I found them to be similar and it got a bit monotonous trying to read them all.
There's also a place in Longreach where you can go for a ride on a cobb and co coach which is pretty good.

[Dazzler]

Thanks ttc, interesting post!

[Doggie 1]

 
I'd like to do the Qantas one.

[The Gonz]

A ride on a cobb sounds good if a bit cramped but I'm not very good at co-coaching (I tend to want to take over) so I'd give that one a miss.

[Surferdude]

Sounds like a, great drive, ttc.
I've done the QANTAS thing, including the wing walk.
Great experience.

[The Gonz]

Seriously, though, I've done that drive in the process of inspecting the nearby Jindalee OTHR station. Quite the experience indeed. I recall a pub in a town population 2 which pinged me for asking what an exorbitantly long acronym hanging behind the bar meant. It turned out it said that people who ask must chip in with a tip for the local charity.

[Asterix]

I did feel the odd one out as I didn't have a caravan, wished I had a sticker that said my caravan fell off lol But overall the i30 absolutely excelled, both in fuel economy and comfort for the trip

Buy a caravan, the i30 is a fantastic towcar.... 

[ttc]

lol that's funny, I didn't think the i30 could tow that?

[Surferdude]

lol that's funny, I didn't think the i30 could tow that?

He takes it all over Europe.

[MetalDan]

Is anything specific/aftermarket required to tow that sized caravan or is it all stock standard?

[rustynutz]

 Asterix installed some after market rear springs...   

[FatBoy]

The Boeing 747 Wing Walk is well worth it.  My youngest son and I did it about 18 months ago.  He really liked getting down into the bowels of the aircraft, in amongst the steam driven avionics and into the baggage compartment.  While the tour itself was good, take everything they tell you about the aircraft with scepticism; some of it is made up bull dust that even a semi-experienced aviator would pick up on.  I saw an old RAAF Boeing 707 tail in the yard, with an RAAF serial number and "flash".  When I questioned the lady about it, she told me it was from an Air France aircraft.  I had to Google the tail number and show her it on a photo of an RAAF Boeing 707 in flight.

[Phil №❶]

So, she didn't know her sh!t, then.

[Surferdude]

TBH, the lady we had was very knowledgeable and I had no reason to doubt any of the stuff she told me. Having been warned about the tailplane by fatboy I looked for and found it. Pretty much tucked away and I suspect not something the volunteers had been advised about. I guess she had noticed it and made an assumption.

[FatBoy]

Our lady appeared knowledgable to the lay person too.  However small comments about items such as the radios, "They automatically switch from low frequency to high frequency, and there are the antennas," is not true.  She was pointing to the correct antennas, but the aircraft only had High Frequency (HF) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radios, which she assumed was Low Frequency as the other one was HF.  They don't automatically switch either.  You have to tune in a different radio to the appropriate frequency.  I did check in the aircraft cockpit, it had different radios for HF and VHF (two of those).  The pilot has to select which one they want to talk on.

She also got confused with TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) and Transponder, mixing the two up and saying they were the same thing (BTW, they aren't; TCAS does use the Transponder from other aircraft).

Likewise, she had only a basic understanding of the Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) that aircraft use.  She stated that the pilot dialled up the frequency of the airport they were leaving, and the one they were going to, and then you knew how far you had to go.  Sort of correct, but it is a VHF radio, and therefore only line of sight.  So you have to be in range (and legal range) of the DME to be able to use it.  Pilot's use different DMEs enroute to fix there position, this is used in conjunction with other navigation aids like the VOR (usually, but not always, colocated with the DME), Non Directional Beacon (NDB) and Localisers (LLZ).

She also didn't know how Centre of Gravity affected the aircraft, stating that the pilots like the load at the rear, as it made the aircraft sit "nose up" in the air, much more comfortable.  Pilot's like the load further forward, it gives a more stable flight.  Even better, they like it within limits (there are forward, aft, and lateral limits for Centre of Gravity).

Don't get me wrong, it was a great tour, and the stuff that I picked up would be picked up only by a semi-experienced aviator or aviation lover (Phil, I'm looking at you).  Little things like what I mentioned didn't affect my experience, as I loved it, but there were some "un-truths" in what was said.

[Surferdude]

They're only volunteers,  remember.

[Phil №❶]

I thought she may have had a grammar problem.   

[The Gonz]

I would have done the same, Jamie. I couldn't resist correcting her (politely, in the spirit of enhancing the experience for those who follow). As it is, I'm sharing some lesser known facts about Indonesia with Indonesians.

[Doggie 1]

lol that's funny, I didn't think the i30 could tow that?

He takes it all over Europe.

Up and down the Alps.
And driveways.
Even in reverse. 
I do believe that European caravans are of a lighter weight than equivalent Australian 'vans due to their construction methods and the need for heavy duty chassis on Aussie 'vans.
Although some lightweight caravans have been introduced to Australia over the past few years (such as Bailey) and they seem to be doing OK although are meant primarily for bitumen road use and not gravel outback roads.

[Asterix]

lol that's funny, I didn't think the i30 could tow that?

He takes it all over Europe.

Up and down the Alps.
And driveways.
Even in reverse. 
I do believe that European caravans are of a lighter weight than equivalent Australian 'vans due to their construction methods and the need for heavy duty chassis on Aussie 'vans.
Although some lightweight caravans have been introduced to Australia over the past few years (such as Bailey) and they seem to be doing OK although are meant primarily for bitumen road use and not gravel outback roads.

Yep. 

I would never take my caravan to your outback, it would fall apart, but for the European conditions it's fine.

Here the FD diesel is rated @ 1400 kg, the GD diesel is rated at 1500 kg. For both it's 200 kg less when auto gearbox. My caravan on the Picture have a max weight of 1350 kg.

The picture is taken just outside Salzburg, Austria.

Is anything specific/aftermarket required to tow that sized caravan or is it all stock standard?

Nothing required, but as Rusty said, I had some stronger rear springs installed. Have actually just removed them and fitted the originals again as we don't have the kids on board anymore so not so much weight in the back seat or boot.

[FatBoy]

They're only volunteers,  remember.

No, they aren't.  They are employed as either Casual or Full Time staff.  Regardless, the information given to them to give to the guests is incorrect.

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