SFT's 6-Day Flyaway: From Bankstown to Birdsville and Beyond

Last month, Sydney Flight Training embarked on a 5 night/6-day adventure with 3 Instructors, 8 student pilots, and 3 passengers spread across 6 aircraft. We tackled country and remote flying, scenic coastal flights, low level hops at 500ft AGL, lots of controlled airspace, and navigating the vastness of our beautiful country.

Day 1 – Bankstown to Cobar

Our adventure began from Bankstown early on Tuesday 12th August, heading North-West for Parkes for our first refuelling stop, regroup, and pilot swap. Departing Parkes our first scenario envelope was revealed – a diversion to Nyngan for a touch and go before proceeding to our first overnight stop in Cobar.

Once in Cobar we began the production of refuelling and tying down aircraft which took everyone a bit of time to get used to, but we managed to get a good production line going which would pave the way for efficiency across the rest of the trip. Dinner that night was sourced from the local butcher and the team had an opportunity to bond and share stories of the day.

Day 2 – Cobar to Birdsville

Our first leg on Day 2 took us North across the QLD border to Thargomindah for fuel and lunch. The further North-West we travelled, the more the red Earth started to shine through. On the ground in Thargomindah, we visited the Hydroelectric power station, the third in the world to supply electricity for street lighting after London and Paris. After lunch and refuelling we departed North-West again for Birdsville, this time crossing the South Australia border before landing back in Queensland.

That evening we all squeezed into four aircraft and headed out into the Simpson desert for a sunset flight over Big Red. The way the colours danced off the outback and changed dramatically as the sun set was truly spectacular. Dinner and drinks were consumed at the iconic Birdsville hotel, where we chatted to a few locals about country town life.

After dinner the real magic happened – a few of us headed back over to the airport away from the light pollution and stargazed. Being able to see the spiral arm of the Milky Way with the naked eye was absolutely breakthtaking.

Day 3 – Birdsville to Longreach

Day 3 was an early start for our next leg eastward to Longreach. Today’s scenario was a “who am I?” where pilots were given a number of clues and had to work out which aerodrome they were referring to, then conduct a diversion there and complete a touch and go.

The airport in question was Windorah, where pilots swapped over and continued the journey North-East to Longreach where we headed to the Qantas Museum – a highlight for all avgeeks on the trip! Our tour guide Marc spoke to us about the history of Qantas and all the aircraft, including the DC3, Catalina, Constellation, Boeing 707, and Boeing 747. We spent time that evening to bond as a group, sharing jokes and stories of aviation as well as recapping the day.

Day 4 – Longreach to Bundaberg

Day 4 marked the halfway point in the trip, but the adventure was far from over. We continued our journey East for the coastal city of Bundaberg via Emerald. Today’s envelope gave pilots a poor weather scenario where they had to navigate low level between Longreach, Barcaldine, and Alpha – a favourite for some! At Emerald we encountered a queue at the fuel bowser – with our 3 warriors lined up, followed by a group of two Cessna 185’s, as well as our 182 and the Cirrus.

Refuelled and on our way, we continued East, where the terrain started to become more lush, green, and mountainous as we approached the coast. After arrival at Bundaberg, we headed to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery for a tour – when in Rome!

They showed us rum production right from the sugar cane and molasses produced at the sugar factory across the road, through to the fermentation, distillation, ageing, blending, and bottling of the rum.

At the end we sampled two rums of our choice, enjoyed in the beer garden with a hot dog. After 3 days of outback towns and no seafood, being back on the coast we decided to try a local seafood restaurant – Grunske’s by the River.

Day 5 – Bundaberg to Coffs Harbour

Day 5 was our designated Hawaiian shirt day where the group all wore Hawaiian shirts to fit with the coastal vibe. We began our journey Southward for Coffs Harbour, navigating the stunning Australian Coastline past Hervey Bay, Fraser Island, Noosa, and the Sunshine Coast with a great view of the glasshouse mountains then inland to Archerfield for our refuelling stop.

After a pilot swap, break, and refuel we departed South again past the iconic Coastal silhouette of the Gold Coast, through Ballina, and into Coffs Harbour for the evening. Today was not only a long day for pilots but also challenging having to navigate the controlled airspace of Maroochydore, Archerfield, Gold Coast, Ballina, and Coffs Harbour – a very different challenge compared to the last few days of outback flying, CTAF aerodromes, and not much traffic to deal with!

Being our last night together, we had a team dinner in town to celebrate the trip. We all shared many stories, laughs, and everyone spoke about their favourite memory from the trip.

Day 6 – Coffs Harbour to Bankstown

Our final day started with a group picture at the iconic Big Banana before heading to the airport to pre-flight and have brunch in the terminal. We were then faced with our first real challenge of the trip when one of our Warriors had a fuel leak and was unable to be flown back to Bankstown. Our pilots had to think quickly on their feet about how to transport an extra two people and their bags back to Bankstown with not a lot of room – both weight and space wise! The Cirrus ended up coming back into Coffs to pick up one of the pilots and their baggage, whilst the other jumped in the Seminole.

All safely on our way with one warrior left behind, we continued our journey South via Taree for a pilot swap, then continued through Williamtown airspace via the coastal route at 500ft before making our way back into Bankstown via Brooklyn Bridge and the lane of entry.

Reflections

Although the trip was only 6 days long, everyone learned a lot and made enough memories to last a lifetime. The pilots that came along on this trip now have a wealth of experience, confidence, and stories to take with them on the rest of their pilot journeys – whether that is through to a long career at the airlines, as charter pilots, flight instructors, or just in their life as private pilots. It’s safe to say that this flyaway will be a highlight of everyone’s lives, remembered and talked about for years to come.

If you EVER have the opportunity to go on a multi-day trip, we cannot recommend it enough because the experiences you have, the people you meet, and the places you see are incomparable. Australia is such a beautiful, diverse, and vast country and there is no better way to see or experience it than from a light aircraft traversing from airport to airport with like-minded individuals.

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