A geologist searching for new gold deposits in Western Australia's Pilbara has built his own airplane which allows him to take high resolution imagery and cover greater distances.
Allan Ronk built the aircraft over five months, equating to about 1,300 hours of work during his down time from geology.
It then took a month of flight testing and fine tuning before he was issued with a certificate of airworthiness.
The SuperSTOL aircraft is constructed from a steel frame and lightweight stretched Oratex fabric.
"The SuperSTOL gives you the advantage of landing short, taking off short, and makes a very good observational aircraft, and it's a hell of a lot of fun to fly," Mr Ronk said.
Oratex fabric on the airplane is applied with glue and heat.
Rubber wheels also house shock absorbers, which make for a comfortable landing in the red dust of the Pilbara, where Mr Ronk is not limited to landing strips.
Mr. Ronk and his wife Susan, from Pemberton, have been camping out in remote locations for months at a time for more than 25 years in their quest for minerals.
They have honed their logistical process for taking large amounts of equipment and vehicles to remote areas over years of working together as a team in the bush.
Keeping tight lipped about gold finds
As a geologist, Mr Ronk contributes to the bank of knowledge about the land that is built up over generations.
Working in specific areas, he is currently on a search for gold in the Pilbara.
Intense detail in select areas is how he works to collect his data.
"You still must walk the country. If you don't walk the country, you cannot get that basic information," he said.
With the renewed interest in gold deposits in the Pilbara, Mr Ronk keeps much to himself about what he finds and its whereabouts.
Working at a level above the weekend prospectors though does not stop him chatting to the quirky characters he finds while working out bush.
"I mean, they do a lot of work. It's good to see it and I usually walk up to someone when I find them out in the bush and say 'Show us your gold' and generally they do."
Technology brings new ways of working
The huge changes in technology over the working lifetime of Mr Ronk have brought significant benefits and new ways of working as a geologist.
Using digital technology has meant that layers of varying types of data can be put together to paint a much clearer picture of the underground landscape.
To mix data such as geochemistry or magnetics and to look at it as multi-layered is one of the biggest advances over his time.
Having the SuperSTOL aircraft means Mr Ronk can create his own high-resolution imagery with a DSLR camera mounted to a port in the bottom of the plane.
It also allows him to check the country terrain before deciding which way to take the ground vehicle on a trek into the river valleys or mountains.
The camera carries trigger equipment, and the computer that drives the camera records the GPS.
Mr. Ronk can cover much greater distances flying in his SuperSTOL aircraft than most current drones used for recording high resolution imagery needed for geology.
He has a huge appreciation and passion for his work, life and the beautiful landscapes the Pilbara offers any visitor.
Most of all he just loves flying, and said the Pilbara was the best place to do it with its vast remote landscapes.
"That's what brings the beauty, because you've done the struggling to get to it.
"The Pilbara should be on everybody's to-do list."
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