Diary of an aviation nut: Crossing the continent

Over the last few days we’ve completed the crossing of this big, dusty continent. The route “through the middle” crosses some of the most remote areas of Australia and fuel and flight planning is important.

One of the longest legs on this trip is the 457nm flight SE from Halls Creek to Ayers Rock. In zero-wind this requires a flight time of 4.2hrs with few options to land (at places where you could takeoff from). A slight headwind was forecast for the day we completed this flight which, if you’re not careful, can quickly exhaust the fuel reserves. Aviation law requires that flying of our type includes a planned fuel reserve of 30mins. Australia has recently introduced a rule that requires you to declare an emergency if you begin to consume your fuel reserve. Declaring a fuel emergency is the last thing we would want to need to do as there’s likely to be a mountain of paperwork and some hard questions asked.

Simon flew this leg and we departed early from Halls Creek to take advantage of the smooth flying conditions and as the forecast winds were more favourable at the lower altitudes earlier in the day. After about 30 mins we passed Wolfe Creek crater which is impressive from the air and then set heading for Ayers Rock 400nm away.

During this leg we chatted away, had long periods of silence, consumed Minties and muesli bars. For the first half of the leg the horizon is dead flat for 360 degrees. However, it’s far from boring and I never tire from watching the land slide by lost in my own thoughts. “Magnificent desolation”.

During the second half of the leg rocky outcrops start to appear on land that is otherwise billiard-table flat. Of course, as we’re tracking toward Ayers Rock, every bump on the horizon looks like The Rock! About 70-80nm miles out the real Ayers Rock starts to come into view but it’s not the largest bump on the horizon. I’m no geologist, but I understand much of Australia was at one time underwater. As the land rose and/or the water receded, erosion of the softer soils occurred leaving a number of big rocks. Ayers Rock (Uluru) is only one.

We snuck into the Ayers Rock airport between a couple of jets, fuelled up, grabbed a coffee, swapped drivers and we were off again in less than an hour. If you park an aircraft any longer than an hour at Ayers Rock Airport they charge you $50. Simon is still grizzling about not being able to finish his coffee before I herded him toward our aircraft.

There’s a prescribed route you must fly around Ayers Rock and the adjacent soaring rock domes that are the Olgas. This ensures all scenic flights get a good view and remain separated. Due to the prevailing wind conditions and runway in use at Ayers Rock Airport, as we taxied toward the runway we were asked by the Unicom operator (who coordinates but doesn’t control) air traffic if we would fly the scenic route in reverse. Uh - OK (shit)! A hasty re-reading of the procedure, turning it on its head all as we entered the runway. Thank goodness for two pilots. However, all was well as we flew the route with Shelley ahead in her Cessna 182, three helicopters and a parachute drop plane. It was mid-afternoon and the lowering sun cast some great shadows which showed Ayers Rock and the Olgas in a great light.

Leaving Ayers Rock we flew about 40 mins onto Curtin Springs Roadhouse for a well-deserved beer after a long but satisfying day of flying.

The following day we were dropped off at the Curtin Springs airfield by a staff member about 9am and quickly entered the drill of packing and pre-flighting our aircraft. We’re getting good at this now.

Curtin Springs airstrip is quite stony and so once the aircraft is started you keep it moving so the prop doesn’t pick up stones which can damage its leading edges. We run up and down the runway a few times while the engine warms and do our checks on the run. On our 3 or 4 trips up and down the runway we quickly realised we were sharing it with a good sized bull who’d got through a fence somewhere and was standing beside the runway watching with some curiosity. We kept a careful eye on him! Bull vs aeroplane would not end pleasantly.

On the Curtin Springs cattle farm and a short distance away is Mt Connor. This is actually bigger than Ayers Rock I think and looked impressive with the early morning sun on it as we slid past in smooth air. We had a great tailwind at 3,500ft and a steady ground speed faster than Shelley & Pete 2,000ft above in their Cessna 182.

Our next stop was William Creek for fuel and lunch. Andrew (my son) spent two seasons based at William Creek flying tourists over nearby Lake Eyre when he was a newly-minted Commercial Pilot. I’ve called into and stayed at William Creek numerous times but it’s changed significantly since I was last there in 2009 when I visited Andrew. It now offers a sealed runway and the one pub “town” (stretching the definition of town) supports 40 pilots and associated support staff.

Leaving William Creek we headed east to Lake Eyre North which still had some water in it. Lake Eyre is the lowest point of the Australian Continent and, although is huge, is very shallow. It can dry up for years on end and, when it fills, is a major tourist attraction with people driving days into the outback to see it. With that tourist attraction out of the way we then set heading for the next - the Maree Man.

The Maree Man is the stuff of outback legend as nobody knows who created him. “The Man” is a huge outline of an Aboriginal Man holding a spear. It was created by person or persons unknown years ago - who knows why as it's in an isolated area. Last time I flew over the Maree Man years ago you had to use your imagination to see him as the outline had eroded. In the last few years “person or persons unknown” recreated the Maree Man and now he looks great. The second incarnation of The Man is particularly well-endowed which must be particularly pleasing to those ladies fortunate enough to fly by.

We’ve now got two nights at Arkaroola which is one of my favourite places to visit. That will be the subject of my next post ...

Leg Summary:

Route: Halls Creek (YHLC) - Ayers Rock (YAYE)

Distance: 457nm (846km)

Time: 4.3hrs

Alt: 3,500 & 5,500ft

Route: Ayers Rock (YAYE) - Curtin Springs (YCSP) excl Ayers Rock Scenic

Distance: 44nm (81km)

Time: 1.4hrs

Alt: 4,000 & 4,500ft

Route: Curtin Springs (YCSP) - William Creek (YWMC)

Distance: 325nm (602km)