Diary of an aviation nut: Sydney & the East Coast

Parkes is not that far from Sydney and so we decided to fly the 152nm (281km) to the east coast and then fly the Victor 1 routes along the Sydney coast and, if we could, get a clearance to fly into Sydney Harbour and past the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. These routes are in close proximity to Sydney Airport and, as you can imagine, there is strict and exacting procedures to follow to avoid conflict with a commercial aircraft taking off or landing at Sydney. The route along the Sydney Coast involves flying at 500' and not a foot lower or a foot higher! You're so close to Sydney airport the Victor 1 South route contains the following warning:

The wake turbulence standard of 1000FT vertical separation from heavy aircraft may not always be achievable when flying in Victor 1 South. Under normal circumstances, aircraft arriving and departing Sydney airport will be at least 500FT higher than the CTA step (500FT higher than traffic on Victor 1 SOUTH). However, there is always the possibility of an aircraft departing Sydney airport experiencing impaired performance and, under these circumstances, the 500FT vertical separation design buffer might be infringed. Pilots flying in Victor 1 SOUTH should be aware of the possibility of this occurrence, and of the requirement to see and avoid all other aircraft.

In addition we were planning to stay at Coffs Harbour and, after we left the Sydney area, we'd need to fly past the Williamtown military base which also has precise procedures to follow to avoid you being shot down.

We diligently spent an evening with publications and charts swotting up on the procedures to follow. That was also complicated by much of the Sydney airspace changing just a few days before with the opening of the new West Sydney airport. We had to be sure we were studying the right version of the various documents and charts.

A flight from Parkes to the Sydney area involved crossing the range of hills that keep the populous people on the coast from escaping into the Australian outback. That range encompasses the Blue Mountains with peaks that rise to a dizzying 4500'. Although us Kiwis sling off at Australia's impotent "mountains", this range which runs almost the length of the east coast does influence the weather.

On the morning we planned to leave Parkes and head for the coast, the forecast was decidedly below average with rain and poor visibility predicted over our route. Unless we tracked miles to the south there seemed to be no way onto the coast. Dejectedly looking at the forecast and our charts over breakfast, John suggested that, rather than tracking south of Sydney and north along the coast, why not track to the north of Sydney to the small Warnervale airfield, land, regroup and then fly the short distance south to fly the Sydney Coast and harbour. Brilliant idea. That's what I love about these types of trips. Problem solving to achieve an objective safely.

We set off from Parkes and headed for Warnervale. We needed to climb high and do some ducking and diving around cloud to get over the range but after that, the "coast was clear".

After a coffee and a chat with the locals at Warnervale we took off and headed for the coast to track south toward Sydney. As we would be flying at low levels in a confined area, I let Andrew get a 20 min head start on me so we didn't conflict. As I tracked south, I heard him talking to Sydney Centre and requesting the "Harbour Scenic". His request resulted in a terse "Unavailable" response. Oh no. He carried on south past the Sydney beaches which he was able to do at 500' without a air traffic control clearance and did get some photos of the skyline. However it was bumpy and difficult.

As I approached the reporting point where you request a Harbour Scenic, I too was denied.

We’d come a long way and planned so thoroughly, so missing out on a harbour flight felt like a real let‑down. It would’ve been a bucket‑list experience. Yet the documentation is unambiguous — Harbour Scenic operations are only permitted when traffic, controller workload and weather cooperate — and on this day, they didn’t.

I reversed my track and headed north up the coast and briefed myself (again) on getting through Williamtown's airspace.

As it happened Williamtown was quiet and the approach controller simply cleared us overhead the airfield and north to Coffs Harbour. It wasn't necessary to follow the Coastal Route with its various restrictions.

After clearing Williamtown's air space it was a nice flight in late afternoon conditions up to Coffs Harbour.

I left Coffs Harbour the following morning and went back to Archerfield to stay with a friend for a few days before we tackled the Tasman on our trip home. Landing back at Archerfield which we'd left 21 days before completed my lap around Australia.