Last December I was asked by my employer whether I would be willing to spend three months in Sydney, Australia as a system specialist for a project we were trying to get. It took me about one millisecond to decide for myself, and after checking with my very, very understanding wife and family I happily agreed. After a 6 day trip to Sydney in January for a presentation to the customer (1 full day of flying, 4 days on site, another day flying again, not recommended…) we won the project at the end of February, so the thing started to get real. It was initially planned to start in Sydney middle of March (it finally got second half of April), so there was not much time for preparation.

Of course I immediately had the idea to do some flying down under, so I started investigating the Australian licensing requirements. After some internet research and some mail exchange with the “CASA Licensing And Registration Centre (CLARC)” of the “Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia (CASA)” I found out that I could either get:

• a full Australian licence, requiring an Australian Medical, flight exam etc. (too complicated, expensive)
• a Special Pilot Licence, which would allow me to fly with my European JAR licence as long as that one is valid, but requiring a background security check that would take two to three months to be completed (not enough time for that)
• or a Certificate of Validation, which again would allow me to fly with my European JAR licence but only for three months, which does not require a background security check.

Due to the limited time available I had to go for the third option, so I tried to apply for it. First I had to apply for an Aviation Reference Number (ARN) however, which you need to apply for a licence. I sent the ARN application still from Switzerland on the 19. March, but did not receive any feedback until the 10. May, when I was already in Sydney, and only after I contacted CLARC myself. Only after that I could apply for the Certificate of Validation, which I finally received on the 12. June. Not waiting for all of this to be completed I was starting to look for a place to rent a plane.

05.05.2007

After an internet search I found a company called Airborne Aviation at Camden Airport. There would have been alternatives at Bankstown Airport, which would have been a bit closer to where I lived, but Bankstown is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world (320’000 movements in 2006, meaning an average 875 a day!) with operations on three parallel runways, and that seemed a little too much for me.

After some mail contact with a young flight instructor called Ben Hinton I went for a visit to Airborne Aviationon the second weekend of my stay in Sydney. On the way to Camden Airport I realized that it was already autumn:

Camden Airport (YSCN) is located approximately 45 km south-west of where I lived. Airborne Aviation is located in an old hangar at the airport. 

Next to an assortment of Cessna’s and a Pipers Warrior they also have a Chipmunk and two Tiger Moths! Unfortunately the Chipmunk was going through a major overhaul, otherwise I would have considered getting a conversion training on it. 

After some discussion with Ben we agreed that I would come for a check ride on the following weekend, after that they would let me rent their planes as soon as I have my licence.

13.05.2007

The morning of my check ride I was just having breakfast on the balcony of my apartment when I heard the sound of a radial engine. It was a Beaver on it’s way to the Rose Bay seaplane base, where it would perform sightseeing flights. Rose Bay is just a few kilometres east of the famous Sydney Opera, around 4 or 5 seaplanes operate from there.

In the afternoon I drove to Camden. Ben was already waiting for me and apologised for the sad state of their Warrior. Obviously most Australians prefer Cessna’s, I was the first one to rent the Warrior in about a month or two.

After takeoff we first did some familiarisation with the surroundings, after that we did the usual four of five landings, including a power off landing, and all the usual aerial work. Ben signed off my check ride and I was set to wait for my licence.

As it was a check ride I could not really take out the camera and take pictures, but at least I made one of the Warrior after landing. 

12.06.2007

I could not believe it. I finally received my licence, more than four weeks after the check ride and nearly three months after applying for it (and after a number of phone calls and mails to CLARC)!

In the meantime the weather got even more like autumn however, or even winter, which meant that not every day was a flying day. 

24.06.2007

That was the day I had waited for. After a decent weather forecast I called Airborne Aviation to make a reservation for the Warrior. Nobody had flown it since my check ride…

I had planned a flight from Camden east to the coast, then north along the coast through the CTR of Sydney International Airport using the special VFR corridor, then up to a nice place called the Entrance, which I had visited some weeks earlier, then into the Blue Mountains, past the famous Three Sisters and back to Camden. 

As one can see on the map only the way up worked as planned. I had to return past Sydney rather than through the mountains, as the weather there was just not good enough.

Below a few pictures taken during my flight. I took off from Camden and flew straight south-east to the coast, past some of the many reservoirs of Sydney. They are used to store drinking water, not to produce electricity as the ones in Switzerland. The lakes were about half full, and that after a few weeks of heavy rain. Before that they were nearly empty, so some restrictions on the use of water were imposed.

I reached the coast north of Wollongong and turned north-east to follow the coastline. 

Here a view of the famous Pacific Highway, which is largely built like a bridge along the cliffs.

Then I continued along the cliffs of the Royal National Park…

…where the strong wind produced quite some waves. In some places I could even seen surfers! Nice to know that there is somebody to pick you out of the water in case you are having some engine problems, especially as there are sharks… 

Then I continued past the entrance of Botany Bay, where the first settlers landed in Australia. Just behind the bay lies Sydney International Airport, the maximum altitude allowed on the coastal corridor is therefore limited to 500 ft (150m)! Crossing the coast line is strongly prohibited, as one would immediately get into conflict with the approaching jets. The minimum vertical distance to the jets on the coastal corridor is 500 ft (150 m), and it is quite impressive to see an airliner from that close. They even warn you not to pass directly behind an airliner, as the wake turbulence can be quite strong. 

On the following picture one can see (or try to see) a Boeing 737, which passed in front of me…

Below the first view of the city. The strange spot in the middle of the picture just above the coastline is the cemetery. It is one of the reporting points along the corridor and even marked on the map. 

Below the world famous Bondi Beach, it looked a little deserted however due to the winter weather..

Here the cliffs of South Head, which marks the entrance into Sydney Bay. Behind one can see the harbour bridge and the opera house. There is a procedure to fly into the bay up to the harbour bridge, as this in the approach to one of the main runways of Sydney International Airport one need a prior permission however.

I then proceeded along Manly Beach, the second one of the famous beaches of Sydney…

…towards Woy Woy.

Below a view of some of the houses in Woy Woy, not bad as each of them has it’s own beach access.

The spot below is called “The Entrance”. There are so many pelicans in that area that they call it the pelican capital of the world. 

Due to the bad weather I had to turn back along the coast instead of flying into the mountains. I passed a spot called Brooklyn, which I had visited some weeks earlier by car. 

Then I proceeded back past Manly, where I turned inland passing Sydney on the north side and then proceeding south back to Camden. 

Here a view of North Head, the northern limit of the bay of Sydney,

…and a last view of the city. 

The flight lasted approximately 2 1/2 hours, the plane was the same one that I had used for my check ride (Piper Warrior, VH-LES).

Conclusion:

Even though it took me nearly three months to get a licence and I could only use it once, it was worth the effort (ignoring the price of those flying hours). Flying on a new continent was quite an experience, especially if you are flying all alone.. 

Bernhard Stamm