Tanami Desert and a jaded P1

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No P1 surprise upgrades for me on these two flights - but having the ability to get row 4 is really great. The flight turned out to be absolutely full - and so my shadow disappeared. The gentleman who got that seat was a doctor of some sort and appeared to me to be a competent traveller, so maybe this time it didn't go to a random late-show.

For all those that get jealous that they cannot sit in the v ery most forward row of economy, I have to rub it in your faces a bit just how lucky I am. The seats are HUGE in that first row! And the legroom is simply UNBELIEVABLE - I am 6' 7", and even my toes did not touch the bulkhead:

legroom.jpg
 
Further tiny data points regarding the "P1 reality":

- no upgrade
- no "recognition" or whatever it is called, at either checkin, boarding, during flight.
- no offers of freebies from the front etc.
- essentially an experience identical to every other passenger.

Had the same chicken pie that everyone else had. And a cup of tea. (It would be tedious to photograph those and share them :))

And every single qantas staff member so far (on ground and in air) has been professional, courteous, and warm.

The first "perk" that I have benefited from today is entry to the business lounge in SYD during my transit. I am not a great lover of lounge food anywhere, but I had what is my usual choice here - some little fresh rolls with some butter, cheese, and cold meat. Simple but does it for me. And a glass of average Pinot Noir:

meal.jpg
 
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Further tiny data points regarding the "P1 reality":

- no upgrade
- no "recognition" or whatever it is called, at either checkin, boarding, during flight.
- no offers of freebies from the front etc.
- essentially an experience identical to every other passenger.

Had the same chicken pie that everyone else had. And a cup of tea. (It would be tedious to photograph those and share them :))

And every single qantas staff member so far (on ground and in air) has been professional, courteous, and warm.

The first "perk" that I have benefited from today is entry to the business lounge in SYD during my transit. I am not a great lover of lounge food anywhere, but I had what is my usual choice here - some little fresh rolls with some butter, cheese, and cold meat. Simple but does it for me. And a glass of average Pinot Noir:

View attachment 191810

I see you still have that bomb proof laptop 😉 💣
 
Hi all, second flight SYD-ADL very uneventful. Flight close to full, but had empty 4B next to my 4A. Being a 737 I could see all of J on this leg and there was one empty seat there.

On boarding the CSM looked at my boarding pass and said the good old "welcome back Mr Juddles" and gave me a nice smile. The steward serving snacks addressed both me and the person in 4C by name, and was quite attentive during the flight. So yes, an extra touch during this flight.

Probably the most noteworthy experience of this flight was my arrival at Adelaide. I am not one to bag those people who due to work travel in the (dreaded by some) hi-vis gear. Maybe because I rarely travel domestic in Australia. But i have heard stories of bad behaviour, etc by the "working class" FIFO's.

Anyway, I arrived at ADL about 6pm - still very much broad daylight. Got my bag and headed to the rental car area, pushing a trolley and closely followed by a young lady also pushing a trolley. As we got into the main rental car park area, I saw a young fella in truely stained high-vis, leaning against a wall with one hand while he used his other to hold in direct sight his "member" as he merrily pissed on said wall. This is on the narrow walkway. He gave me some sort of mumbled apology as I walked past.

Now I am happy, when suddenly coming across a strange situation, to rapidly ascertain that this was not one involving me being mugged, so within half a second I was back to happily walking, almost already forgetting things, but then I remembered the young lady walking behind me and I assume that this was a really unattractive part of her day. :)

BTW, I did not look (or care) what company he belonged to. I just assumed he was a geologist.....
 
Anyway, after arriving, I checked in to a hotel, then went to visit my friends - so no time to post or such. Quickly got up to speed on latest in our car modifications, which were sufferring some delays and setbacks, so today at dawn headed off to help.

Our car, "Ruby", is a 1993, 80 series Landcruiser. And it is getting mods that put it somewhere in the class of those diesel-electric Collins class submarines. (except Ruby has solar too :) ) Maybe lucky we are attempting this in Adelaide, where said subs were actually built!

A hectic and long day, between assisting with wiring and mechanical work, to shopping for bits and pieces ranging from new fun gear through to finding bits in wreckers....

Having already becoming quite attached to "Ruby", I refrained from taking photos today - she was in chaos still. But eventually will furnish detailed snaps of all the various mods. Just to rouse the interest of any off-road enthusiasts (or rev-heads or whatever people are called?), this vehicle mod includes some of the following key parts: (details including brands, specifics, etc when I have more time)

(1) electrics: This is the biggest challenge, and is done in sheer joy at going "overboard": under the hood is a primary 100 AH battery, with an second, auxiliary 100 AH. Apart from new upgraded alternator, these can be charged directly via solar input also. The heart of the system is however a single large (300 AH !) lithium battery mounted in front of the cargo barrier (we have removed rear seats for one of the fridges and other gear). There is a fixed 150w solar panel on the roofrack, and we also have another 150w solar blanket.

(2) lighting: I enjoy the dark, but my friend likes light - so - LED spotlights mounted on bull bar and on front of roof rack. LED spotlight arrays on rear of roof rack and on sides of roofrack. LED strip lights in rear of cab for working with rear open. LED strip lights for the Rhino batwing roof-rack mounted awning. Interior simple lights replaced with LED patches.

(3) Refrigeration: centre console mini fridge, large unit mounted across where rear seats were, large unit mounted on pull-out tray in rear of cab, arge unit in trailer.

(4) various electronics: battery management systems, inverters, plethora of power input and output connections (including maybe a dozen USB ports???), sound system with subwoofer etc, HEMA GPS/nav system

(5) Roofrack: Rhino with inbuilt awning, etc.

(6) Fuel: second long range fuel tank.

(7) Comfort: brand spanking new Recaro seats :)

etc etc

Am hoping to sleep now as another big day tomorrow solving small issues.
 
Anyway, after arriving, I checked in to a hotel, then went to visit my friends - so no time to post or such. Quickly got up to speed on latest in our car modifications, which were sufferring some delays and setbacks, so today at dawn headed off to help.

Our car, "Ruby", is a 1993, 80 series Landcruiser. And it is getting mods that put it somewhere in the class of those diesel-electric Collins class submarines. (except Ruby has solar too :) ) Maybe lucky we are attempting this in Adelaide, where said subs were actually built!

A hectic and long day, between assisting with wiring and mechanical work, to shopping for bits and pieces ranging from new fun gear through to finding bits in wreckers....

Having already becoming quite attached to "Ruby", I refrained from taking photos today - she was in chaos still. But eventually will furnish detailed snaps of all the various mods. Just to rouse the interest of any off-road enthusiasts (or rev-heads or whatever people are called?), this vehicle mod includes some of the following key parts: (details including brands, specifics, etc when I have more time)

(1) electrics: This is the biggest challenge, and is done in sheer joy at going "overboard": under the hood is a primary 100 AH battery, with an second, auxiliary 100 AH. Apart from new upgraded alternator, these can be charged directly via solar input also. The heart of the system is however a single large (300 AH !) lithium battery mounted in front of the cargo barrier (we have removed rear seats for one of the fridges and other gear). There is a fixed 150w solar panel on the roofrack, and we also have another 150w solar blanket.

(2) lighting: I enjoy the dark, but my friend likes light - so - LED spotlights mounted on bull bar and on front of roof rack. LED spotlight arrays on rear of roof rack and on sides of roofrack. LED strip lights in rear of cab for working with rear open. LED strip lights for the Rhino batwing roof-rack mounted awning. Interior simple lights replaced with LED patches.

(3) Refrigeration: centre console mini fridge, large unit mounted across where rear seats were, large unit mounted on pull-out tray in rear of cab, arge unit in trailer.

(4) various electronics: battery management systems, inverters, plethora of power input and output connections (including maybe a dozen USB ports???), sound system with subwoofer etc, HEMA GPS/nav system

(5) Roofrack: Rhino with inbuilt awning, etc.

(6) Fuel: second long range fuel tank.

(7) Comfort: brand spanking new Recaro seats :)

etc etc

Am hoping to sleep now as another big day tomorrow solving small issues.

Sounds awesome!
 
The heart of the system is however a single large (300 AH !) lithium battery mounted in front of the cargo barrier (we have removed rear seats for one of the fridges and other gear).

How much did that 300 Ah lithium battery cost?
 
Anyway, I arrived at ADL about 6pm - still very much broad daylight. Got my bag and headed to the rental car area, pushing a trolley and closely followed by a young lady also pushing a trolley. As we got into the main rental car park area, I saw a young fella in truely stained high-vis, leaning against a wall with one hand while he used his other to hold in direct sight his "member" as he merrily pissed on said wall. This is on the narrow walkway. He gave me some sort of mumbled apology as I walked past

Probably more likely to be a construction site worker, hundreds of them at ADL airport over the last few months, doesn't excuse the behavior though.
 
Diesel LC80?
How many spare wheels?
Mud terrain tyres?
Air compressor?
UHF? HF? Sat phone?
High lift jack?
Diff locks?
Uprated springs and shocks?

when you have time would really like to know how you are isolating the cranking battery from the other batteries and your battery charging regime
 
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Then what is he going to be like, after getting through 250 cans of Bundy mix?
I am not sure this is enough to last the duration of the trip. ;)

We had a good night on Friday that went into Saturday :cool:
I can second this. It was around 6pm on Saturday before MrsM started talking to me, Saturday was quite in more ways than one. :cool:
 
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