Mat Farrell

All good thoughts folks, thank you. Bosi72, yup, that's my big constraint. I thought the only way i could fly into CTA, fundamentally is to have a CASA license (RPL or PPL. working on that...) I know there are a few odd exceptions (such as approved school ops), but am I missing a trick here? As i understand it my AC is good for it (24 reg, VHF and transponder), but i'm the limiting factor.

Oh, and as to picking my days - sort of. I do freelance work, so I don't get to pick them as such. Rather I take work when it comes up, and would make the call on whether I can fly or drive on any given day.

Cheers folks. Garfly - yup, Riddells wins wrt distance to a train, though to your point, I don't know a lot of these strips, so haven't really assessed suitability (wet weather ops, can leave the plane tied down for a couple of days, etc). YMBT is a wonderful place to live. Driving the Hume to Melbourne gets old fast, though - hence figuring out the flying options. Ross, Tyabb does sound good. My initial reaction was that it's a ways out of Melbourne, but then again, the other options I've tabled are no closer, really.

Hi folks, I'm an RAA licensed pilot, flying a Jabiru J230. I live in north east Victoria (Mount Beauty), and am looking into convenient ways to commute to Melbourne. At this point in time, avoiding airspace is a necessity. Ideally I'd land somewhere within walking distance of a train station to get into the CBD, then out from there as needs be. It would be possible to leave a car at an airstrip somewhere, but ideally I'd rather not - I'm open to either idea. For my thinking, Lilydale/Coldstream is one option (and having family around Greensborough/Hurstbridge is a bonus), but Riddells Creek also look tempting, with only a 2.5 hike to the train station. Thoughts or other suggestions?