The aim of the air race is to
raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia is a not-for-profit charitable service providing aeromedical emergency and primary health care services together with communication and education assistance to people who live, work and travel in regional and remote Australia.
The Service depends on funds provided by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments and contributions donated by the general public, businesses and the corporate Sector.
The Outback Air Race Inc. is a major contributor to the fundraising of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and guarantee a minimum of 85% of donated money goes directly to the services and facilities provided to all Australians and Overseas Visitors by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Your donation of $2 or more is tax deductable in Australia.
Jensware Pty Ltd is a software development company specialising in the market research industry. The homepage is www.jensware.com.au
Any donations made to their team will go directly to Outback Air Race Inc, the organisers of this event.
Jens and Dirk were first fully licensed to commit aviation in 1990 and 1986 respectively. Both of them hold multi
engine command instrument ratings while Dirk went on to also obtain his commercial licence.
Although having flown extensively in Central Australia, neither of them has competed in any air race in the past and they both look forward to maintaining their unblemished record of never having won any race before.
They will be competing in Beechcraft Bonanza VH-FWL Jens runs his own software development company in Melbourne, while Dirk works as an architect in Sydney. Notwithstanding this normal separation in their lives, they hope to be sitting next to one another for the air race. The first one into the aeroplane on any given day will be flying while the other will be acting as navigator or flight attendant as necessary. For part of the way (Bourke to Shute Harbour) their take-off weight will be increased marginally, as they will be joined by Jens' wife Heather. Heather's aeronautical experience is limited to putting on a brave face and supplying refreshments en-route. During the day Heather works as a mathematician and statistician for a stock broking firm, trying to figure out why they lost as much money as they did. |
Dirk and Jens, in order to get their plane to the starting line and back home from the finish line, will have to cover another 2267 nautical miles (4080 km, 2551 miles), making it a total distance of 4813 nautical miles (8663 km, 5415 miles) which is just over a quarter of the way around the world. It is a similar distance as any of the following city pairs: Tokyo to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to London, London to Rio De Jainero, Rio De Jainero to Paris, Paris to Mexico City, Mexico City to Lisbon, Lisbon to Capetown, Rome to Hong Kong, or Sydney to Calcutta.
| Map | Date | Leg | Distance | ||
| nm | km | miles | |||
 |
11 Aug | Tyabb - Alice Springs | 1041 | 1874 | 1171 |
| 13 Aug | Alice Springs - Oodnadatta | 240 | 432 | 270 | |
| 14 Aug | Oodnadatta - Marree - Broken Hill | 412 | 742 | 464 | |
| 16 Aug | Broken Hill - White Cliffs - Reola Station | 165 | 297 | 186 | |
| 17 Aug | Reola Station - Bourke | 144 | 259 | 162 | |
| 18 Aug | Bourke - Charleville | 218 | 392 | 245 | |
| 19 Aug | Charleville - Longreach | 209 | 376 | 235 | |
| 20 Aug | Longreach - Hughenden | 157 | 283 | 177 | |
| 21 Aug | Hughendon - Shute Harbour (Whitsundays) | 257 | 463 | 289 | |
| 23 Aug | Shute Harbour - Undara | 267 | 481 | 300 | |
| 24 Aug | Undara - Adel's Grove | 347 | 625 | 390 | |
| 25 Aug | Adel's Grove - Mt Isa | 130 | 234 | 146 | |
| 26 Aug | Mt Isa - Tyabb | 1096 | 1973 | 1233 | |
| Total | 4813 | 8663 | 5415 | ||
(aka The Fowl) of
which Jens is a part owner and which is normally hangared at Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula, South of Melbourne.