The final touchdown was made at 4.32pm, on schedule.

The record attempt was part of fund raising by the Mission Aviation Fellowship to try and purchase a second plane worth some $500,000.

By the end of the day, and with previous donations, some 70 per cent of the target had been reached.

Parkes Mayor Ken Keith was on hand to welcome Ron at the completion of his feat.

In his own words, Ron describes how his day proceeded...

The day started for me at 4.30am, and by 5.45 the aircraft was ready to go as we waited in the cool pre-dawn for enough light to start flying. 

By the time the Rex flight departed at 6.30, we were well into our first session of 24 take-offs and landings. 

With no wind at this time of day, the flying was pleasant, but as time went by the warmer air brought with it gusts from various directions, and willy-willys on the runway that kept me on my toes! 

Having a roster of safety pilot/observers in the right-hand seat was a great help as they were able to sign for each landing, as well as monitor my performance as the day wore on. 

One was an airline captain, one a MAF pilot from Arnhem Land, and the other Matt Alcorn, a Parkes local, also currently serving with MAF in Arnhem Land. 

John Westcott, former MAF pilot and aircraft engineer, was on hand just in case there were any mechanical problems with the aircraft (which there weren’t!)

The 70th flight was completed just on 11am, so we were on track to complete the full 140 flights on time. 

By this stage I was consuming a litre of Gatorade every hour and a half, and needed to refill my drink bottle at each of the five short rest breaks. 

The aircraft was refueled and checked over during these breaks, and the engine required the addition of three litres of oil over the course of the day. 

Nearly 300 litres of avgas was used for the more than nine hours of flying.

While all this was happening, down on the ground people were able to try out the MAF Flight Simulator, enter the Facebook competition to win a trial instructional flight at the Parkes Aero Club, enjoy a steak sandwich, have their faces painted by our legendary face-painter Gail, or simply watch the silver and red Beechcraft land and take-off every four minutes.

 The final touch-down was made at 4.32, right on time, and we were greeted by a small but enthusiastic crowd who had stayed on in the heat (and flies) to witness the end of a most memorable day. 

Mayor Ken Keith represented the Parkes community, which had been so wonderfully supportive in the lead up to the event, and handed over a contribution from the Shire Council toward the fundraising effort for the second MAF aircraft for Timor-Leste (East Timor). 

By the end of the weekend we were approaching 70% of what will be required to achieve that goal.

Special thanks are due to Parkes Aero Club, Parkes Shire Council, the churches of the area, Parkes Visitor Information Centre, Parkes Christian School, the Parkes Champion-Post, and the many individuals who contributed time and resources to ensure this landmark event was a success. 

The staff of Mission Aviation Fellowship in particular have been blessed by this community’s warm-heartedness, and those who will benefit from the provision of this second aircraft in Timor-Leste would want to add their thanks as well. 

You can still follow the progress of this exciting venture here.