Schedule of Events - UPDATED 11 MAY

[Kurt A]

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS BELOW


YSSY TRIVIA CONTEST IS NOW CONFIRMED !!
B747 SIMULATOR SESSION IS NOW CONFIRMED !!

Come along for a fun packed Saturday and Sunday and win some great prizes!!



FRIDAY 11 MAY

3pm - 5.30pm
Airport Meet and Greet, 34L Beach Car Park Wall - All ages Map Ref
An informal gathering will take place at the 34L Beach Car Park wall where those who arrive early to the Spotting Weekend can spend the afternoon catching up and taking a few afternoon photos.



7pm
Sydney City Meet and Greet, Bungalo 8 Sydney Harbour - Adults only Map Ref
For those of you who will be unable to get out to the Airport on the Friday afternoon because you'll be stuck in the office, that's ok, we'll come to you. The plan is to meet up at Bungalow 8, King Street Wharf, Sydney City. We plan to have something to eat before we leisurely let the night slip away with a few ales and plenty of stories and good memories. Bungalow 8 is an easy stroll downhill from Wynyard Train Station toward King Street Wharf and is located along the waterfront in a luxurious setting. Table is booked for 15 under my name, see you at 7pm,. Venue and food.





SATURDAY 12 MAY

6am
Aircraft Spotting, Shep’s Hill (Good for 34L/16R Intl Movements) - All ages Map Ref
The majority of aircraft spotting will take place at Shep’s Hill. Be sure to bring your deck-chairs, plenty of suncream, all your camera gear, and your sense of humour. After lunch, aircraft spotting will then take place from the 34L Beach Fence line.




8am-11am
Airside Tarmac Tour. Hammond Place, Sydney Airport - Adults only Map Ref
This is your chance to get as close to the action as possible inside the airport boundary fences, driving in a bus right alongside the runways and aprons, as you take a first hand look at how the airport operates behind the scenes.
You'll also have the opportunity to spend some time outside the bus in a controlled environment airside where you can take photos of massive aircraft landing and taking off right in front of you.
For all the detailed information, please click here.
To register for your seat, please click here.




2pm-6pm
Afternoon Spotting. 34L Beach Fence Line - All ages Map Ref
After lunch, aircraft spotting will take place from the 34L Beach fence line. Accessible from the Old Control Tower Car Park.




6pm
Annual Spotting Weekend Dinner - St George Rowing Club – All ages Map Ref
Dinner is being held at the St George Rowing Club from 6pm. This is a great opportunity to meet lots of new faces and catch up with old friends. Meal ordering will be your own responsibility and meals can be purchased from the Kitchen area. You’ll have enough time to eat before we kick off our YSSY Trivia Contest at 7.30pm. For dinner, we have reserved seating from 6pm on the Rowers balcony, outside to the right hand side, Airport side (bring a jacket).

Mark Taylor will also set-up the latest Kinetic Avionics ADS-B SBS-3 receiving equipment, so you can monitor the progress of flights in and out of Sydney. Mark will be able to explain how ADS-B works, why it is used, and how you can setup your own ADS-B equipment. The ADS-B receiver connects via USB or Ethernet to a laptop or desktop PC to display aircraft tracking on a radar screen, showing relevant data including aircraft location, altitude, speed, id, etc. Mark will also show how the SBS-3 interacts with PlanePlotter and how such a feed can support Pinkfroot's Plane Finder application and the FlightRadar24 network. It will be surprising to see the high proportion of aircraft that are currently using ADS-B. You will be free to see the many facilities and drive the SBS-3 yourself, by changing range, centre location, and choosing to follow particular aircraft etc... (This is a great add-on for all those people who want to know more about what Grahame is discussing in this thread)

7.30pm
YSSY Trivia Contest - Paddles Room, (Downstairs) St George Rowing Club – All ages
The YSSY Trivia Contest will once again feature at this years Spotting Weekend. It will be held in the Paddles Room downstairs at the Rowers Club following the dinner from about 7.30pm. So come along and be a part of the fun. You never know, you could be taking home some cool prizes.





SUNDAY 13 MAY


6am
Aircraft Spotting, Mill Pond (Good for 34R/16L Domestic/NZ Movements) - All ages Map Ref
Today's morning spotting location will be a spotting weekend first. We're headed to Mill Pond. Access Mill Pond from Foreshore Road. Known to many of the YSSY locals as the ultimate morning hot spot for it's very close sweeping views across most of RWY34R/16L. It's perfect for those early morning shots just burning to be taken. Come and experience a new and exciting location at Mill Pond for an early Sunday morning treat of Domestic and Trans-Tasman aircraft. Be sure to bring plenty of suncream and all your camera gear. Feel free to retreat to Shep's Hill if you're after the heavy's..... though don't forget to take a break and join us at the DOG Pub for a hearty meal and much needed rejuvenation. And then, after lunch try your skillful hands at the controls of a Boeing 747 Sim.




12pm-2pm
Lunch at the DOG, Duke of Gloucester Hotel, Clovelly Rd (cnr Frenchmans Rd) Randwick - All ages Map Ref
Lunch is being held at the Duke of Gloucester Hotel, a Shep favourite. This is the perfect opportunity to bid farewell to all your current and new friends from the Spotting Weekend. It also gives those long standing forum members a chance to have lunch in Shep’s honour at the Pub that he enjoyed spending most of his time at with Aircraft Spotters from all around the World. If you need a lift to get there, just let me know via PM.




2pm til late
Boeing 747 Flight Simulator Day – Courtesy of Joe Corrigan (Address will be distributed upon confirmation) - All ages
Feel what it’s like to take control of a Boeing 747 from the Captain’s seat.

Joe Corrigan has spent the past 11 years cobbling together old parts, computers, monitors and any other relevant parts he could get his hands on as part of his longest, hardest and most rewarding undertakings. The construction of a full 747-400 simulator.

The complete Simulator is built in and around a real 747 cockpit from a 747-200 that flew for various airlines including Pan Am. The aircraft overran the runway in 2005 and was written off. Joe’s goal one day was to have a simulator resembling a real 747-400 cockpit. As you can see from these photos, well, he’s pretty much fulfilled that dream.



So, whether you’re an aviation enthusiast, a frustrated would-be pilot, an adrenalin junkie who likes a challenge or a complete novice, come along to a fun-filled afternoon and try your hand at flying the beast. Your senses will be fooled into believing you are actually captaining a real 747. For $25, there’ll be a sausage sizzle, soft drinks, beers, and everyone will get at least 20 minutes at the controls too.

All proceeds will go towards supporting the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

3 seats currently booked
Cost: $25 per person
Bookings essential: yssy_moderator@yahoo.com.au


In case of inclement weather:
- Friday afternoon meet and greet will take place from the Sydney Airport Observation Deck Map Ref
- Friday night meet and greet in Sydney City will still go ahead as planned at Bungalow 8
- Saturday Airside Tarmac Tour will still go ahead as planned
- Saturday afternoon spotting will take place from the Sydney Airport Observation Deck Map Ref
- Saturday evening Dinner at St George Rowers Club will still go ahead as planned
- Sunday Lunch at the DOG will still go ahead as planned
- Sunday Flight Sim session will still go ahead as planned


There will also be plenty of transport available during the weekend too, so if anyone already knows they'll need a lift to/from hotels/airport etc, please PM me now and I'll get something organised.




The goal of the weekend is to enable an opportunity to introduce new people to our hobby, put faces to familiar names and catch up with people we may not often see, but rather only communicate with, "online".
So, for those of you who have never been along to a Spotting Weekend in the past, or even to one of our Message Board gatherings at local restaurants, let us warmly welcome you to join in and come along to Sydney Airport during 11th - 13th May 2012.

And if you're still after that little bit more inspiration to come along, check out some of the videos and photos from past events held at YSSY right here.
Enjoy!!

[Bob C]

Not me because of the unfortunate clash with Mothers' Day. Family matters have to take precedence.

[Maikha Ly]

I'm in the process of moving to Adelaide at the moment, so I suspect like many others, it all depends on work rosters. I'll yet to register.

[Nigel C]

I'll be inside the penitentiary on Saturday but it looks like I've got a leave pass for dinner afterwards.

[Lee G]

If the penitentary is airside and as it is the official spotting weekend, can we join you? (Answer already known! .... )

[Nigel C]

Chris, congrats on post 1000.

Originally Posted by Lee G

If the penitentary is airside and as it is the official spotting weekend, can we join you? (Answer already known! .... )

Answer may not be known...


Yes, I'll be airside, but whether you can join me is dependant on the outcome of the airside tour request Kurt has mentioned in another thread here. If the powers that be give the request the thumbs up, then we may very well meet up airside. If they don't then I'll just wave and say hello from the other side of the fence.

[Lee G]

Wow Nigel! .... Now you've sparked my interest! .... Saturday may well be doable for me!

[Mick F]

Unfortunately due to a very busy few months, plus a major event already happening in Central QLD that weekend, I won't be able to attend.

Shame, because I could have helped quite significantly to contribute to the bottom lines of both Castlemaine Perkins and Jim Beam that weekend, .

Mick

[Darren T.]

Sounds like a good weekend ;o)

[Philip Argy]

Difficult weekend for me with kids' school sport, annual fete and Mothers' Day commitments all converging but will try for the Friday/Saturday evening events and Sunday morning spotting.