G'day Folks!
I’d like to share this trip report, which I wrote quite a while ago, but never got around to finishing and posting until now. There’s a few also in the queue to be finished for your reading enjoyment! This report is written from a licensed pilot's perspective and uses alot of lingo!
Introduction
On Christmas Eve last year, I was kindly invited by fellow message board member Matt_L to come for a ride as he hired and flew Piper Warrior III VH-TAK from Bankstown to Canberra and back for the day. Being my first day back in Sydney after several months away, I was more than delighted.
I had only just got my CPL weeks earlier. Months before that, I got my PPL, also in a Piper Warrior III with the full Avidyne Glass system, and two Garmin 430 GPS units, and indeed this aircraft set-up was my version of a Merry Christmas! Matt booked and hired VH-TAK from Sydney Aviators at Bankstown Airport, and after a short lunch and some planning, we were out moving planes around to position his out on the apron and he conducted a pre-flight on it.
Off we go!
Not long later, after we got in and buckled up, the delightful sound of the 160hp Lycoming engine fired up, and we were taxiing towards 29R. Everything about this aircraft, and its procedures I was quite familiar with, having pretty much amassed most of my hours on this same type, however, today anyway, I was just happy to sit back and enjoy the scenery and clouds.
At 1330, we taxiied onto 29R, and upon receiving clearance, Matt opened up the throttle, and at 55kts, pulled the aircraft into the sky for our afternoon trip down to Canberra. As many of you who’ve flown out of Bankstown are familiar with, we kept underneath the CTA (Control Area) steps and upon clearing the significant CTA, made a turn towards Camden which would take us down towards Canberra, although Dead Reckoning was the main navigation way to get there, we also had the aid of a Garmin 430 as well as many VORs around the place.
Enroute
YSBK (Bankstown) - YSCN (Camden) - YMIG (Mittagong) - YGLB (Goulburn) - Lake Bathurst - YSCB (Canberra)
Matt had planned our track to go from Camden, to Mittagong, Goulburn, then towards Canberra entering via the Lake Bathurst VFR reporting point. Initially to Camden, we were maintaining 2500ft, which gave enough clearance below all the big and nasty CTA steps, than once having tracked overhead Camden Aerodrome and clear of their airspace (And clear of any of those invisible gliders all over the place!) climbed up to a further 6500ft, which still provided adequate clearance from all the scattered cloud around.
This was the leisurely part of the flight, as once the aircraft was trimmed, it was simply sitting back and enjoying the passing scenery below of the Southern Highlands, scanning for other aircraft about (Or lack thereof due to the day we were flying on) and having much a discussion about aviation, cricket, life, ex-girlfriends, Boeings vs. Airbus, and the like.
This was infact the first time I ever flew above the Southern Highlands. I drive up and down on the Hume Highway very regularly, but was surprised to see the deviations the highway took from the towns alongside it, particularly the big dipper section between Mittagong and Moss Vale. Likewise, how the deviation completely curves around the town of Goulburn.
Mittagong
Somewhere
Some random ALA at Carrick, North-East of Goulburn
Goulburn