Cilli - The solar aviator: flew a perilous journey from Perth to Los Angeles using only the rays of the sun as fuel

THE SOLARAVIATOR

by

RoccoCilli

Its about ladystreakers with big boobs, aircraft flying backwards, aircraft doingaerobatics, a forced landing on a highway while a road train iscoming the opposite way, a wild ride on a boat in Mandurah, gettinglost in Southern Cross and a wild strip-tease in a public swimmingpool.

Its also basedon fact, an important part of Australian History.

Meanwhile, backat the ranch, our hero and his mate fall in love, build a SolarAircraft and begin a long and perilous flight from Perth, overthe Australian Desert, across the Pacific Ocean and back to ourheros home in Los Angeles. And all without a single drop ofpetrol!

Itsadventurous. Its entertaining. Its about the Eightys.

Youll loveit.

ETEXT PRESSPUBLISHING

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THE SOLARAVIATOR

AN ETEXT PRESSBOOK

ISBN:978-1-921968-82-2

SmashwordsEdition

This editionpublished at eText Press 2013

Copyright Rocco Cilli 2013

Rocco Cilli hasasserted his right under the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988 and any andall other applicable international copyright laws to be identifiedas the sole author of this original work.

This eBook(electronic book) is sold subject to the condition that it shallnot, by way of trade, transmission or otherwise, be redistributed,sold or hired, without the publishers prior written consent.Further, this eBook is copyright material and must not be copied,reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publiclyperformed or used in any way except as specifically permitted inwriting by the publishers, as allowed under the terms andconditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted bythe applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or useof this text may be a direct infringement of the authors andpublishers rights and those responsible may be liable in lawaccordingly.

CHAPTERONE

The weather closed in on this smalllight aircraft. Then the sky opened up and it rained in buckets.Millions of droplets smashed against the windscreen with greatforce leaving slug trails across the windscreen. The noise wasunbearable. Peter flew the aircraft low and slow. Visibility infront was nil and he could only just see the ground below.

Look! A country road, shouted Peter.It must lead to a town.

Yes! yelled Dino. Road maybe come totown and maybe Airport.

Peter screamed, Theres too manymaybes!

The gusts of wind were very strong andPeter constantly wrestled the control column.

Dino shouted excitedly, Look! A roadsign.

Use your binoculars, screamed outPeter, and see if you can read it.

Dino looked through his binoculars andyelled, Me no see sign good, you fly more low.

Peter flew the aircraft lower.

Me still cant see sign good, Dinoshouted. You fly more, more low.

Peter clipped a tree top with thepropeller. If I go any lower, he screamed, I might as well landon top of these damn trees! I just hit one of them!

Dino shouted with excitement, Me seenow... me see now! Its Koolyanobbing, two miles.

Peter quickly looked at the map. Weare 50 nautical miles off course, he screamed. There should be arailway track around here somewhere. The map says if we follow it,itll lead us to the town of Southern Cross. And near the towntheres an airport. Dino! Look for the railway track.

Okay me look, yelled Dino.

oo00oo

A while later, Dino shouted withdelight, Me find me find railway.

Where? Peter shouted.

To your right. Look! repliedDino.

Peter with a sigh of relief shouted,Thank God.

oo00oo

Fifteen minutes down the track.

Dino, look! Another town, yelledPeter. Read the sign and find out the name.

Okay, me look, shouted Dino, grabbingthe binoculars. Its Southern Cross.

Peter nodded, Okay. Then he circledthe town a few times, found the airport and landed.

oo00oo

Inside the small terminal Dino andPeter looked through the glass door at the rain.

We stay long here? asked Dino.

Peter answered, We stay until theweather clears up and that might take hours or days.

Dino Looked worried. But me go worktomorrow, he said. Me wire up big double story house putelectricity there!

Peter was intrigued. Where did youlearn to be an electrician?

Italy. Me help wire up to ten storybuilding there. No more job there, me come here, Australia.

Well Im sorry, but I cant fly in badweather, Peter replied. I havent got my instrument rating. Buteven if I did, I wouldnt fly through this muck, its toodangerous.

oo00oo

An hour later the black clouds began todisperse and patches of blue sky reappeared.

They set off for Perth Airport onceagain.

oo00oo

Fifteen minutes into the flight, theweather cleared up completely. Peter turned to Dino and asked.Since we have a bit of time left before the sun goes down, howabout we drop in to see my mate? Hes got a farm just twelve milessouth of here.

Dino angrily replied, Too much troubletoday. Enough, no more, no more. Me go home. Tomorrow big job wireup big, big house.

Peter said smiling, Just kidding, justkidding, and laughed.

CHAPTERTWO

Peter was lying in bed and listening tohis solar and battery powered transistor radio while Dino wasadmiring his model aircraft on top of the wardrobe.

Good aeroplane. Can fly? askedDino.

Peter sneered, No, Its only amodel.

The radio stopped playing. Petermumbled, Batteries gone flat. Peter picked it up from his desk,switched on his bed-side lamp and placed the radio underneath it,making sure the solar cell was getting the hot radiating light onthe radio. Then suddenly the radio came back to life again andPeter went to lay back on his bed again.

Dino noticed what Peter did and asked,If you put cell on little aeroplane, will fly?

Peter smiled, Yes! If you put a smallelectric engine it would fly. Its been my dream to build a solarAircraft.

Dino sat on the foot of the bed andlooked at Peter. Where get this dream?

Peter answered, Grandpa in Los Angelesin America told me this when I was a little kid. He showed me asmall solar cell connected to a small electric fan. When under thesun the fan turned and cooled us down. He also used to tell me thatif you cover the top of the aircraft with solar cells and once youfly it above the clouds, it could fly from sun up to sun downwithout using a single drop of petrol.

Dino intrigued asked, If rain comelike last time we fly, how you get on top of cloud? You need sun tomake motor go, no?

Well we thought of that. We could puttwo engines on the aircraft. One, that runs on petrol. So itwill get us above the clouds in bad weather and the other that runson solar cells that will come on after we get on the top of theclouds.

Dino excitedly asked, Why notmake?

Peter smiled, Money! he said.And time, my friend.

Dino smiled. I think no cost much.Build small one. Big enough to fly you and me.

Well I do have some money saved up toput a deposit on a house answered Peter. I suppose Icould use that!

Dino excitedly stood up. I give a bitmoney too. You build plane on top of your Dad empty block. Me seehave very big block.

Peter face lit up. I know its a bigblock we could lay a few slabs of concrete on there. Then build alittle shed for the tools. That would be great. But when I tell mumthat Ill spend my savings on the plane shell kill me!

Dino answered with a smile, If no ask,you no know. Maybe she say okay?

oo00oo