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Australian Campaign Phase One. Planning

Vlad

Well Known Member
I had a visitor from Down Under the other day. To him I relayed my dream plan and we had a great talk over the beer. We didn't talk much details but rather about strategy. If I bring my RV to the land of Oz in a shipping container how difficult would it be for N-registered airplane to fly around the continent VFR? I've read a lot of travel stories with beautiful pictures and I am fascinated with Australia. If you hit a lottery and the winning prize would be fuel for 100 hours and lodging for it how would you burn it? Where would you go? :D


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Vlad, you missed a spot.

Seriously, that's my dream trip, too...(not to be confused with the indigenous "Dreamtime").
When this trip is done, you'll have to start building another ship, because your 9A will need to go to a museum. Seriously.
 
Hey Vlad

Recommend watching old episodes of Bush Tucker Man in preparation for this trip. ;)

There are RVers all around Australia and I'm sure you'll find good suggestions and support. Some local knowledge is essential for planning in the remote areas, unsealed runways can become unserviceable after rain and fuel stops are often 350-400 miles apart.

For suggestions I would include:
White Gum Farm (YWGM), 50 miles east of Perth. 5 runways and none of them sealed.:D
Don't forget Tasmania, with stops at Flinders and King Islands on the transit
You really must stop in at my home base of Wedderburn (YWBN) which is a sport aviation field in the Sydney area.

Mal
 
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Pulleeeeeez....

Watch this..

What could possibly go wrong ?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107556/

Man up Vlad - you can do it !


In a serious mode, there is a book called Emergency, Crisis On The Flight Deck by Stanley Stewart.

He works for British Airways and wrote a book about incidents.

This featured in the book.

Really worth a read - nobody dies, but I will guarantee you will be in bed shouting - no, no, he isn't..... OMG, he did !

Come on Vlad, I can't wait for the vid on YouTube.

Comrade, here is my video, it is 5 1/2 hours long, it shows my crossing to a small island, you will get solace from it......

:D
 
Really good read from a guy who recently flew a single lancair US-Aus here:
http://www.lancair.com/journey-to-coolangata/

All I can say is your two favourite colours must be blue (sea) and gold (sand)

Nearly the same size as the continental USA, just we have a lot of sand in the middle.
Oh, and a big rock.
Population about 25 million people , Tee up your airport connections - it ain't like the USA where every aerodrome has a rental car and attended fuel.

South east coast has best flying conditions around Easter. Qld gets a bit tropical during the build up (Nov+)

Plenty of good places to visit , plenty of remote places to visit - million acre stations (farms)
I reckon the container is a great idea - It'd reduce the personal risk, and keep one fresh (er) for the circumnavigation

In no particular order
Tasmania (cradle mountain worth a peek) or simple, King island
Apollo Bay
Merimbula has great facilities and close to the beach

City of melbourne will have people - (Moorabin or Essendon?)
Anywhere along the great barrier reef (Hamilton island?)
Kakadu
Ningaloo reef
Wirrealpa station
Birdsville hotel (for the horse race?)
Broken Hill ( good source to keep the noise going) for a couple of outback stations ie Trilby station (Darling river),
Noccundra Hotel, Kallara station

I've left some big gaps in that lot - maybe someone else will fill them in !
 
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I am fascinated with Australia. If you hit a lottery and the winning prize would be fuel for 100 hours and lodging for it how would you burn it? Where would you go
?

Come to New Zealand !
 
Oz flying

Vlad,

First, you should not have a problem flying a N registrated aircraft as long as it is flown by a person with a US license. I needed to get a Oz license to fly an Australian registrated aircraft, but that is just the start.

If you ship it down in a container, then you will have to have it inspected by their customs, and they will go through it with a fine tooth comb looking for any type of agriculture items in it like dirt, grass, etc, as they have very strick quarantine laws there. It might cost you a pretty penny to have it cleaned to their satisfaction.

Second item to consider is insurance while you are down there. Yours might cover it, but you might have to get a rider on it.

Third, their gas prices will be higher than anyplace you found over here, but the exchange rate will help.

My wife is from there, so I have spent a lot of time down under. When you get out of the big cities, you will love it and really enjoy the people.

Enjoy your trip, but do your homework before you head out.

Brian
 
Vlad,
......
If you ship it down in a container, then you will have to have it inspected by their customs, and they will go through it with a fine tooth comb looking for any type of agriculture items in it like dirt, grass, etc, as they have very strick quarantine laws there. It might cost you a pretty penny to have it cleaned to their satisfaction.

.......

Whilst this is correct, I have imported a couple of aircraft into Australia, and the inspection for agricultural quarantine purposes has gone smoothly and not needed a new clean once here.

The trick is to clean THOROUGHLY before it goes into container and get evidence of it being done. They are especially concerned re soil/dirt anywhere and everywhere. when I say thoroughly I mean it has to be pristine re cleanliness.

If you fly it in no problem. Much easier in all respects.
 
The picture of the aeroplane on the $20 note (in the first picture) has the same call sign (rego mark) as my RV7.:)
 
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You can expect to pay anywhere between $1.90AUD/L ($5.30USD/USG) to $3-4AUD/L depending where you fly, with the more remote airfields being incredibly expensive.

To get anywhere in Australia, you need to fly for a long time. To get decently-priced fuel you need to fly even longer! So consider that in your planning. Most everyone down here now uses OzRunways or AvPlan on their Ipads, both for planning and in flight. OzRunways now talks to SkyVector, so you can plan on SV, and export it to OzRunways.

One thing you must do, is fly Sydney Harbour. To do this, there is a VFR corridor that follows the coast called Victor 1, call up Sydney Radar and request a
harbour Scenic. You'll (hopefully) be cleared for a HS1 or HS2, fly into the harbour, do a couple of laps near the bridge and Opera House and fly back out to Victor 1 to continue tracking down the coast.

We live an hours drive north of Sydney, 15 min flight time. There's a small, private airport just down the road at Somersby, where my -9 lives now, owned by an RV'er, so you should be made to feel quite welcome.
 
Hey Vlad

Feel free to reach out with questions during planning I would be only to happy to help and and also provide accomodation while in Oz.

You'll probably find you get free accomodation for your entire trip if we get the word out.


Cheers
 
Welcome Welcome

Hey Vlad

Hi from Western Australia, Been following your trips on VAF for a long time now! If your on the western side of australia be sure to hit me up for some hangar space and a spot to stay :)
 
Vlad, I am sure you get more than 1 week vacation a year. What are you going to do after the 1st week and you have been to every airport in AUS?

You need to come up with a much more extensive plan I believe.
 
Hey Vlad

Recommend watching old episodes of Bush Tucker Man in preparation for this trip. ;)

There are RVers all around Australia and I'm sure you'll find good suggestions and support. Some local knowledge is essential for planning in the remote areas, unsealed runways can become unserviceable after rain and fuel stops are often 350-400 miles apart.

For suggestions I would include:
White Gum Farm (YWGM), 50 miles east of Perth. 5 runways and none of them sealed.:D
Don't forget Tasmania, with stops at Flinders and King Islands on the transit
You really must stop in at my home base of Wedderburn (YWBN) which is a sport aviation field in the Sydney area.

Mal


Mal thanks appreciate it. Won't miss Tasmania for sure it looks like a pretty place. :)


Tasmania%20-%201.jpg


....

If you ship it down in a container, then you will have to have it inspected by their customs, and they will go through it with a fine tooth comb looking for any type of agriculture items in it like dirt, grass, etc, as they have very strick quarantine laws there. It might cost you a pretty penny to have it cleaned to their satisfaction.

Second item to consider is insurance while you are down there. Yours might cover it, but you might have to get a rider on it.

Third, their gas prices will be higher than anyplace you found over here, but the exchange rate will help.

My wife is from there, so I have spent a lot of time down under. When you get out of the big cities, you will love it and really enjoy the people.

Enjoy your trip, but do your homework before you head out.

Brian

Brian I started my homework thanks for tips.


The trick is to clean THOROUGHLY before it goes into container and get evidence of it being done. They are especially concerned re soil/dirt anywhere and everywhere. when I say thoroughly I mean it has to be pristine re cleanliness.

If you fly it in no problem. Much easier in all respects.


John I received all your information now digesting it. Thanks. I have couple alternative quotes and they seem higher then your recommended shipper. Flying in is out of question. I communicated with Michael Smith after he finished his odyssey and he opened my eyes on transit fees. One fee (Japan)could cover shipping costs plus some gas. :eek:

One thing you must do, is fly Sydney Harbour. To do this, there is a VFR corridor that follows the coast called Victor 1, call up Sydney Radar and request a
harbour Scenic. You'll (hopefully) be cleared for a HS1 or HS2, fly into the harbour, do a couple of laps near the bridge and Opera House and fly back out to Victor 1 to continue tracking down the coast.

We live an hours drive north of Sydney, 15 min flight time. There's a small, private airport just down the road at Somersby, where my -9 lives now, owned by an RV'er, so you should be made to feel quite welcome.


Thanks, will do.

Hey Vlad

Feel free to reach out with questions during planning I would be only to happy to help and and also provide accomodation while in Oz.

You'll probably find you get free accomodation for your entire trip if we get the word out.


Cheers


Eddie,
I am compiling an email to you with tons of question. :)

Hey Vlad

Hi from Western Australia, Been following your trips on VAF for a long time now! If your on the western side of australia be sure to hit me up for some hangar space and a spot to stay :)

That's how we do it. No need for a hangar but would appreciate a spot to stay. :D

It'd probably look a lot cleaner if you put a bit of paint on it, too.

- mark :D

Not gonna happen Mark. Barely have time to fly. The RV could get a recorded power wash just before going into sea container. :D
 
Hop Off Point for Tassie

Hey Vlad, got the perfect place for the hop off point to Tassie, bed, hangar, beer and food. Very special discount (free) for much travelled ruski.
google buckley international bnb.

cheers Pete
 
Vlad,
AJ beat me to it with his offer, and Mal mentioned White Gum Farm in his post, so I'll make it three if you get to the Perth area (number 11 on your map). Serpentine airfield - the home of homebuilders in this part of the world. Great grass (and sealed) strip, 100 hangars, about 140 aircraft (flying and projects) and hospitality assured. http://www.sabc.org.au/
 
Hey Vlad,

We were talking about you today, :)

I think your going to have lots of the RV family ready and willing to help out.

When you get your dates sorted let us know, there are a bunch of us that want to fly around Australia, so it would be a blast if you could join us.

Cheers
 
Vlad. Your map at the start of this post looks a bit optimistic to me. All that dashing around in the outback will consume a lot of fuel and possibly not have a great enough return.
The South West around Perth and down to the caost has a lot of good areas to explore and is home to many RVs. I would recommend the North Wast of WA, the Kimberley area, really interesting country good places to stay. El Questro being one. Eastern Australia from Ceduna or Whyalla all around the coast and up to Cairns is where the majority of Aussies live, plenty of variations of country. All up from Victoria inland through NSW and Qld is different again.
Getting fuel can be a problem, dirt strips, grass strips will be common,
Let me know when and I can most probably give accomodation 500km North of Brisbane, nice grass strip. If you get to this area in late May we put on one of the best fly in, airshows in the country at Old Station, just SW of Rockhampton.
 
Thank You Paul McVitty!

I didn't fly today. It takes forever waiting for a deice truck. I went to see a Star War movie instead. Rogue 1. By the time I got home there was a nice present from Paul McVitty. I dusted off my old abacus and did some calculations :D

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Hey, a Russian slide rule. That's classic, but you won't need that for flight planning down here Vlad. You can get modern calculator batteries at most of our outback towns these days. :D
 
Australian Aviation Insurance

What insurance companies are you guys using in Australia? Is there a minimum liability required to land on certain airfields? If you visit Tasmania do you purchase additional insurance?
 
Hey Vlad, if you're going to fly around Australia, you might as well head across the Tasman to New Zealand also :) It'll blow your mind...
 
What insurance companies are you guys using in Australia? Is there a minimum liability required to land on certain airfields? If you visit Tasmania do you purchase additional insurance?

Insurance in Australia appears to be simpler than the US. We pay an annual premium, there may be some limitations, such as minimum pilot experience on type, there is an excess if we make a claim, and that's about it.

Haven't heard of airfields making demands in relation to insurance and Tassie is just another part of Australia.

QBE Insurance has had a long relationship with SAAA. Not sure if N reg would be a complication. I will PM some contact details (after we done flying today ;))
 
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If you get me a good deal on the LED's I would be open to it.... and I guess I need to start flying ASAP. First I need to sight see the east coast, one state at a time.
 
Vlad
Insurance is voluntary here. Can be 3rd party only, or that plus hull insurance.
Given the unusual circumstances of your insurance (limited time needed) maybe get a couple of insurance brokers to give quotes and options.
There are only a small number of insurance companies that do aviation here.
Contact the SAAA (Sport Aircraft Association of Australia), our EAA so to speak, for advice and maybe a broker recommendation.
I use a broker here who is an American expat - he seems ok.

http://www.saaa.com

John
 
Australian AOPA has just started an insurance scheme too.

I can't recommend it because I haven't investigated it at all (I renew in February), but it might be worth checking out.

- mark
 
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