Blue Mountains, Katoomba Airfield- January 16'th - Page 2

GeoffW1 (Geoff) · #21 15-01-2010, 08:36 PM

Aaahhh,

Bad luck with dates again, it is our 39th anniversary, and I would not make a 40th if I attended.

Still interested tho

Cheers

mental4astro (Alexander) · #22 15-01-2010, 09:19 PM

Happy anniversary Geoff! Do what you must to survive, mate! That comes first.

Meet at the Airfield is the easiest. Less mucking around that way.

mithrandir (Andrew) · #23 15-01-2010, 10:49 PM

Alex,

Quote:

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Oh my gosh, the sky has cleared up!

Please, please, please, no-one buy a new scope!!!! Not until Sunday!

PLEASE!!!

Wavy, you've come up with a brilliantly objective method.

It didn't take long to cloud over again - about the length of time it took to load all the gear in the car and drive to the local darkish site.

What sort of time would you be making a final decision on going?

It appears to be about an hour round trip from the airfield to Hargraves. I've got a shiny new SQM-L.

mental4astro (Alexander) · #24 15-01-2010, 11:57 PM

I hoping to be there latest 8pm. It takes me nearly 2hrs to get there. So I guess if things are no good by 6pm, and the weather radar and local live webcams don't show improvements pending, then I'll have to leave things for next month.

Katoomba's Scenic Skyway has a live webcam available for public use. I often check on it before heading out.

See how we go.

mithrandir (Andrew) · #25 16-01-2010, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mental4astro

I hoping to be there latest 8pm. It takes me nearly 2hrs to get there. So I guess if things are no good by 6pm, and the weather radar and local live webcams don't show improvements pending, then I'll have to leave things for next month.

It's about an 1.5hrs from here.

Quote:

Katoomba's Scenic Skyway has a live webcam available for public use. I often check on it before heading out.

This one? http://www.scenicworld.com.au/index....active-web-cam

Neat. I like the way you can take control of it. Low cloud up there at the moment.

Manav (Yugant) · #26 16-01-2010, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Katoomba's Scenic Skyway has a live webcam available for public use. I often check on it before heading out.

Hi Alex,
You can also check out the Sydney Star Gazer for details on the cloud cover. Its been good on the previous predictions Ive checked.
Regards

eclipse (Leslie) · #27 16-01-2010, 02:16 PM

Alex, we won't be able to make it tonight, but hopefully next month if it is still on and the weather is good we will be there. Les and Deb

flawedprefect (Paul Caggegi) · #28 16-01-2010, 03:01 PM

Dammit, gonna have to pike tonight. Yup, it's a work thing.

mental4astro (Alexander) · #29 16-01-2010, 03:44 PM

I just called Rod at the Airfield. They just had 34mm of rain in the last hour. Best of all, it's stopped and is clearing from the south-west. There is one heck of a storm front approaching Sydney from the west. It's clearing the mountains now.

I'm making the dash upto the Airfield. I'll be picking up Peter and seting off. Hope to get there around 8pm.

Sorry to see Les, Deb and Paul can't make it. Hope to see others there,

.

Mental.

mithrandir (Andrew) · #30 16-01-2010, 05:59 PM

Sorry I won't be there either and I was really looking forward to meeting the crowd.

Have had a headache all day but while it's getting better it's not up to the OK to drive stage.

Manav (Yugant) · #31 16-01-2010, 07:08 PM

I'm piking as well due to the cloud conditions. Sorry guys!

lacad01 (Adam) · #32 16-01-2010, 07:56 PM

Being the optimist I decided to trek up and am at the airfield now, she's not looking too flash

couple of possible sucker holes but the thunder doesn't sound too good. Oh well will see if Alex & Peter turn up and maybe drown our soorows

lacad01 (Adam) · #33 16-01-2010, 08:13 PM

Aarrgh it's bucketing down

AG Hybrid (Adrian) · #34 16-01-2010, 08:41 PM

Yeah, I lost my nerve after you said 34 mm of rain. Dont really want to take my corolla down that dirt road after all that rain. I checked that camera at the 3 sisters at about 6 pm and the clouds were blacker then egypts night. That was enough to convince me I should go and take a nap instead.

mithrandir (Andrew) · #35 16-01-2010, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AG Hybrid

Yeah, I lost my nerve after you said 34 mm of rain. Dont really want to take my corolla down that dirt road after all that rain. I checked that camera at the 3 sisters at about 6 pm and the clouds were blacker then egypts night. That was enough to convince me I should go and take a nap instead.

Alex said the road had been graded so it should have been OK if you didn't hurry.

We saw a Corolla after it went down the Ullarra to Hughenden road - in the dry - at 50Kph. You could plant an orchard on the back window. They had slid off the road once trying to handle the ruts - with no damage. We'd done it at around 100Kph. The advantage of constant 4WD.

AG Hybrid (Adrian) · #36 16-01-2010, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mithrandir

Alex said the road had been graded so it should have been OK if you didn't hurry.

We saw a Corolla after it went down the Ullarra to Hughenden road - in the dry - at 50Kph. You could plant an orchard on the back window. They had slid off the road once trying to handle the ruts - with no damage. We'd done it at around 100Kph. The advantage of constant 4WD.

If I had my hilux yeah no problem, but not my little corolla! I did it in the dry back in october, and I drove through it slow at about 25Km/s since it was like a mine field, and my entire rear of my car had about 3-5 mm of this fine silty yellow clay. And a graded silt/clay dirt road can be quite slippery when wet. Im sure in the end of the day its ok. But I didnt really want to drive 70 kms each way, to be clouded out.

You know whats going to happen though right?

Tommorow Alex and Rob are going to report they had clear skys and brilliant seeing

AG Hybrid (Adrian) · #37 16-01-2010, 09:46 PM

Mind you. If I was to do 100 kms down that road without it being graded in my hilux, my spine would be broken, my torse - a bag of mush, my hip - shattered. The suspension was so damn hard!
Honestly, it would be like falling down a flight of stairs in leg calipers.

mithrandir (Andrew) · #38 16-01-2010, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AG Hybrid

I
You know whats going to happen though right?

Tommorow Alex and Rob are going to report they had clear skys and brilliant seeing

You can't have read Adam's post.

En1gma (Robert) · #39 17-01-2010, 01:29 AM

didn't end up going.

Stuck myself at home.

mental4astro (Alexander) · #40 17-01-2010, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AG Hybrid

You know whats going to happen though right?

Tommorow Alex and Rob are going to report they had clear skys and brilliant seeing

You betya!

We got to wentworth falls soon after 8 (sorry, bit late. Shame I didn't hvae your No. Adam, I'll PM you a little later), with Peter and a mate, Ivan. Started to rain so had pizza. Rippa storm happened.

When we left the rest't, very light rain. We umed and ahed for 15 min by which time rain stopped. I KNEW it would clear, so we went to a pub in Katoomba for a juice. Guess what? In the next half hour it was clear!

We were set up by 11pm and the sky was ablaze with stars!

Saturn, Mars, sombrero, Centurus A, M 83.

Peter had his new Odyssey I. First thing he targeted was M42 "WOW! I've got goose bumps all over!".

I had installed a new 2" focuser on my 10". WOW again.

Ivan was also blown away with his new 8" dobbie!

Got home at 4am