HGFA Skysailor Magazine

4 SKY SAILOR July | August 2019 T he call to rally the troops for the 2019 assault to regain the trophy was sent out late last year. Word had spread quickly via the handful of comrades who attended the 2018 event, on how gutted we were to narrowly miss out on taking home the trophy. The fire in their bellies attracted an armada of new pilots with low hours to join the 2019 crusade! With the weather forecast looking favourable for the entire weekend, some of the team arrived early Thursday morning to settle into camp and get a reconnaissance flight in. For some of our pilots, it was the first time they had seen Mt Borah in the flesh. By late evening, the rest of the team arrived and the atmosphere around camp started to build. Friday morning, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted through my cabin… I only wished I could figure out where it was coming from! Sadly, I had to head to the kitchen for an instant version fix. With over 200 pilots in camp, having our team wear their Queensland team shirts on the Friday morning made it much easier to identify the many new faces and make some early introductions. Team shirt, Check! Team flag, Check! Sixty-two enthusiastic Queensland pilots descending on Manilla to regain the coveted State of Origin Trophy, CHECK! Brandon O’Donnell (aka Lofty, Retired Queensland Captain) State of Origin 2019: Queenslander! Determined Dan Ussher Focussed Sarah Allen