SFT August Flyaway - One of the Best Weeks of my Life!

I’ve just had one of the best weeks of my life on a “Flyaway”, and trust me, I have a lot of them to choose from. 

In early August, a group of 11 pilots, 3 instructors and 3 friends, over 6 days, had the privilege of flying out of Bankstown to as far north west as Birdsville (via Parkes, Cobar & Thargamindah). We then headed east all the way to the coast at Bundaberg, stopping en-route at Longreach and Emerald. Our final two days took us south, first to Harvey Bay, K’gari {Fraser Island}, then Noosa, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Byron Bay and Coffs, before a leisurely Sunday passing through Taree, then over Newcastle and the Central Coast. 

We flew two legs each day, providing everyone the opportunity to both pilot and co-pilot, in a mix of 6 aircraft (Warriors, Cessnas, Cirrus and the twin). All up trip time was about 30hrs, with most pilots taking ~15 hrs into their log book. Technically that was 2,500NM’s or 4,500km including some ‘secret envelope scenario’ diversions. Whilst few people knew each other beforehand and the group meeting only twice for planning purposes before we left, a sense of camaraderie, shared mission and good spirit developed quickly. Over flights, airports, breakfasts, lunches & dinners, fuel stops, country motels, some great jokes and funny stories, the ‘odd scooter ride’ and post flight activities, that connection developed further. 

The journey was EPIC and superlatives just don’t do it justice. On so many fronts, it was fun, an adventure and a learning opportunity. First, it was a great way to practice new skills. We were a mix of both RPL’s, PPL’s and two students who were very close to sitting their flight test. Landing into and flying out of a mix of busy and remote airports was challenging and exciting. 

Having the time, headspace and freedom to relax into the plane and push all the buttons was also practical and educational. Flying such huge uninterrupted distances was also a first for me. For others, being at 501ft may have been a hit, others as high as almost the transition zone. 

Thankfully our skies were clear and the weather supportive, but it was flying over ‘country’, real ‘country’ that was my highlight . Not ‘the’ country like we normally describe it, but country the way indigenous peoples do. Beautiful, vast, open, alive, spirited, scarred, wet and dry, quiet, scrub, sand, paddocked, green, brown, blue, red and every colour in between all with a light that danced in a million different hues. 

One of the many high points to was a dusk/evening Birdsville SFT impromptu synchronised 4 plane low altitude air show over ‘Big Red’ for the champagne sippers taking in the sunset on the dunes below. Even landing at night and taking in the stars on that remote strip was unique. 

Flying out of Bundaberg over Harvey Bay to Fraser Island and then down the Queensland Coast was just stunning. Eyeballing penthouses at 1,000Ft over the beach at Surfers Paradise and doing Circuit work over Byron Bay & Seal Rocks lighthouse another. 

Out of the sky we ate and dined like kings on country chicken schnitzels and local steaks as well as seafood on the coast and a memorable ‘victory dinner and last supper’ in Coffs Harbour. We toured the Bundaberg rum factory and saw the Qantas museum in Longreach with its 747, Connie and Catalina. We stayed and selfied at the Big Banana. We even met one of CaptainKayla’s fans, so impressed was this “grown man” {aka - serious real life commercial pilot with genuine cargo plane} with his random airside good fortune, it felt like we were amongst the Beatles or a Taylor Swift experience. “We love you too Captain Will”. 

I had few expectations going into the trip and was, in hindsight, probably nervous, actually very nervous. Were my skills up to it, how about my co-pilots, what of the weather, remote aerodromes, controlled airspace, did I really have to wear a flanalette shirt, who was I rooming with and could I live with just 10kgs of luggage in the hold? Most embarrassingly, would I earn one or more wooden spoons in front of my peers due to my poor airmanship? 

With my feet back on the ground I can’t wait to do it again. I have made new friends and pilots I hope to fly with again. I experienced a magic that was years in my making but was all the more because I shared that experience with others. I can’t imagine having ever gone that far or wide on my own, but it has given me a new confidence in my skills and a thirst to keep exploring. For anyone considering or ever presented with the opportunity - Just GO do it ! 

To my fellow pilots, young and old alike, I learnt as much watching and participating with you as co-pilot as I learnt flying the plane myself - thank you. To our instructors and leaders, Kayla, Kate & Richard - thank you - it was an absolutely spectacular experience which will live with me and the others forever. Your calm, friendly, warm, relaxed but knowledgeable level heads made it all the more enjoyable. To SFT, its owners and directors, as well as our flight captain Peter, thank you for making a company and business that made it all possible. 

Tim Mortimer - August 2025

(P.S. Yours truly did indeed ‘earn’ a wooden spoon for submitting a flight plan that had me landing a top a TV antennae and not Archerfield (I blame the iPad). Perhaps, not quite as impressive as flying with the door open or ignoring Melbourne centre, but impressive none the less). 

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