Okihara

Hi Sophie, thanks for answering. I checked out your 2016 tour, just awesome. And congratulations on buying your plane. I like it that you folks are setting an example by buying a plane before a house or a car ☺️ Will let you know should we fly out towards Sydney (actually, we've got something in the works that would involve a stop at YSBK plus some scenic flights there later in March/April, more on that later). Likewise, please tell me if you're coming again towards Melbourne. You two definitely seem a happy pair to be around. Cheers

Great trip, thanks for sharing!

Ha! Good strip. In my country airstrip guide Maralinga is noted as "closed". Is it well and truly open then?

True there's not much giveaway on your picture. It looks sealed and not gravel though.

That's it! YRYK. Yours is a tough one. Hint?

Nice little strip...

That's it! It is YYRM. Next airstrip following...

I realise that it may be too hard to guess without additional hint so here are two: 1. CTAF 126.7 (?) 2. WAC 3470

Cheers.

The ERSA is your best friend if you need YSSY frequencies.

What are you flying in?

Here's the next aerodrome. Unfortunately that's my only picture taken when departing downwind.

Good guess. It is YREN. Next airstrip following...

I don't know what your mileage is when it comes to requesting airways clearances from ATC, but the best piece of advice I ever received from one of my (many) instructors was not to worry too much about the exact wording (as long as it's complete) or procedure (which frequency to contact first and when) and to remember to sound self-assured and determined. Of course you still have to do your homework and that's no excuse to be sloppy. At the other end, he said, there's a bloke just like you who'll want to be sure they're granting permission to someone who knows their schnitzel inside and out. And my (limited) experience has so far corroborated this. I think I often gave them the impression that I'm seriously not from around here. But then again, isn't the fun in flying about going to new places? On that topic, I have a question for any ATC reading this. Do you have playback options in your arsenal of tools? Sometimes I find ATC takes 5-6 seconds to respond which seems an eternity. I surmise that you're playing back the last couple of seconds during that time. Is that so?

YLED = Lethbridge YPAG = Port Augusta

That one shouldn't be too hard.

Good guess. It is YPAG. Next airstrip following...

Here's another one. Landing on RWY 15.

Touché! It is YLED. Next airstrip following...

Correct.

One with a sealed and a grass runway. Here landing on RWY 28.

Hi folks, I'm new here. Strictly speaking, I'm a GA pilot. Here's a message I posted on PPRuNe. Maybe I'll find some folks over here. (background) Typing this up on one of those sunny Saturdays Sundays where my girlfriend managed to drag me to the beach, just a stone throw away from YMMB. Obviously, I'm more interested in all the planes above than taking a dip, pondering where I'd be flying on this day. (If you see a bloke browsing flightradar on his Mac, that's me). (the idea) This brings me to my point: is there anyone out there who'd be interested in sharing flying duties on a 10-12 hour nav (over 2 days) departing one the Melbourne aerodromes? Just a plain vanilla flight on a single engine to explore, e.g. the north of VIC and some Outback aerodromes in NSW, landing at many places and swapping seats at each leg. Places of interest might be, eg. Swan Hill, Broken Hill, White Cliffs, Tibooburra, Louth. The inspiration came from http://www.flyingtheoutback.com.au/. A word or two about me: I'm not from Australia but have made Melbourne my home for the last two years, my limited circle friends doesn't include many pilots unfortunately. I don't know how much longer I'll be staying but I'd like to make the most out of it. And being able to fly in this country is such an overlooked privilege that I'd like to have no regrets when the time finally comes to pack my bags. Specifically: mid 30s, male, from Europe, engineering background and private pilot, dry sense of humour and interested in a wide array of topics including but seriously not limited to aviation, geopolitics, the AFL, good beer, good wine and good food. If you know and like XKCD (https://xkcd.com/), we're probably a good match. If you know and like Wulffmorgenthaler (Wumo), we should definitely meet. You can be: anything really as long as you are good company and enjoy a good banter and take a not too serious view on life and its meaning (see previous links), then I look forward to reading your message and planning that nav. Now back to planespotting...