The Solar Aviator

By Rocco Cilli

Solar Aviator about lady streakers with big boobs, aircraft flying backwards, aircraft doing aerobatics, a forced landing on a highway while a road train is coming the opposite way, a wild ride on a boat in Mandurah, getting lost in Southern Cross... and a wild strip-tease in a public swimming pool. It’s also based on fact, an important part of Australian History. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our hero and his mate fall in love, build a Solar Aircraft and begin a long and perilous flight – from Perth, over the Australian Desert, across the Pacific Ocean and back to our hero’s home in Los Angeles. And all without a single drop of petrol! It’s adventurous. It’s entertaining. It’s about the Eighty’s. You’ll love it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rocco Cilli
• Release date: Nov 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781921968822

Book preview

THE SOLAR AVIATOR ©

by

Rocco Cilli

It’s about lady streakers with big boobs, aircraft flying backwards, aircraft doing aerobatics, a forced landing on a highway while a road train is coming the opposite way, a wild ride on a boat in Mandurah, getting lost in Southern Cross… and a wild strip-tease in a public swimming pool.

It’s also based on fact, an important part of Australian History.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our hero and his mate fall in love, build a Solar Aircraft and begin a long and perilous flight – from Perth, over the Australian Desert, across the Pacific Ocean and back to our hero’s home in Los Angeles. And all without a single drop of petrol!

It’s adventurous. It’s entertaining. It’s about the Eighty’s.

You’ll love it.

ETEXT PRESS PUBLISHING

PO Box 3488, Joondalup,

Western Australia, 6097

Australia

[e-mail]

www.etextpress.com

THE SOLAR AVIATOR

AN ETEXT PRESS BOOK

ISBN: 978-1-921968-82-2

Smashwords Edition

This edition published at eText Press 2013

Copyright © Rocco Cilli 2013

Rocco Cilli has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and any and all other applicable international copyright laws to be identified as the sole author of this original work.

This eBook (electronic book) is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade, transmission or otherwise, be redistributed, sold or hired, without the publisher’s prior written consent. Further, this eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by the applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

CHAPTER ONE

The weather closed in on this small light aircraft. Then the sky opened up and it rained in buckets. Millions of droplets smashed against the windscreen with great force leaving slug trails across the windscreen. The noise was unbearable. Peter flew the aircraft low and slow. Visibility in front 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 to town and maybe Airport.

Peter screamed, There’s too many maybes!

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

Dino shouted excitedly, Look! A road sign.

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

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

Peter flew the aircraft lower.

Me still can’t see sign good, Dino shouted. You fly more, more low.

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

Dino shouted with excitement, Me see now... me see now! It’s Koolyanobbing, two miles.

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

Okay me look, yelled Dino.

oo00oo

A while later, Dino shouted with delight, Me find… me find railway.

Where? Peter shouted.

To your right. Look! replied Dino.

Peter with a sigh of relief shouted, Thank God.

oo00oo

Fifteen minutes down the track.

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

Okay, me look, shouted Dino, grabbing the binoculars. It’s Southern Cross.

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

oo00oo

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

We stay long here? asked Dino.

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

Dino Looked worried. But me go work tomorrow, he said. Me wire up big double story house put electricity there!

Peter was intrigued. Where did you learn to be an electrician?

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

Well I’m sorry, but I can’t fly in bad weather, Peter replied. "I haven’t got my instrument rating. But even if I did, I wouldn’t fly through this muck, it’s too dangerous."

oo00oo

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

They set off for Perth Airport once again.

oo00oo

Fifteen minutes into the flight, the weather cleared up completely. Peter turned to Dino and asked. Since we have a bit of time left before the sun goes down, how about we drop in to see my mate? He’s got a farm just twelve miles south of here.

Dino angrily replied, Too much trouble today. Enough, no more, no more. Me go home. Tomorrow big job wire up big, big house.

Peter said smiling, Just kidding, just kidding, and laughed."

CHAPTER TWO

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

Good aeroplane. Can fly? asked Dino.

Peter sneered, No, It’s only a model.

The radio stopped playing. Peter mumbled, 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 on the radio. Then suddenly the radio came back to life again and Peter 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 small electric engine it would fly. It’s been my dream to build a solar Aircraft.

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

Peter answered, Grandpa in Los Angeles in America told me this when I was a little kid. He showed me a small solar cell connected to a small electric fan. When under the sun the fan turned and cooled us down. He also used to tell me that if you cover the top of the aircraft with solar cells and once you fly it above the clouds, it could fly from sun up to sun down without using a single drop of petrol.

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

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

Dino excitedly asked, Why not make?

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 to put a deposit on a house… answered Peter. "I suppose I could use that!"

Dino