05NOV21 | FIFO Friday - Fitzroy

Paris I - 1352160 · November 1, 2021

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November brings us back to the renowned Queensland coast for FIFO Friday! Fitzroy is home to some of Australia's most famous mining towns such as Moranbah and Emerald, both of which are supplied by FIFO flights to a range of destinations across Queensland. You can also travel up to Longreach and spend the day at the Qantas museum, or continue up to Winton to discover where the flying kangaroo was founded. Fitzory truly is the heart of Queensland and we welcome you to fly there as part of this month's FIFO Friday.

So join us between 0700z-1000z on November 5th as we attempt to staff up the entire Fitzroy region, with full TMA's at Townsville and Brisbane, as well as enroute sectors online across the region. No matter which aircraft you want to fly, we welcome you to Fitzroy.

Routes:

The below map highlights some of the routes available in the region:

With ATC aiming to cover the entire region, pilots are free to fly in whichever direction and between whichever airports they choose. For the more popular airport pairs, we recommend the following routings:

YBBN - YGLA:
BN V308 SAGLI W231 GLA

YBBN - YEML:
BN Q484 MORRO Q421 UNVAT EML

YBBN - YMRB:
BN V308 SAGLI W231 GLA W636 RK W518 NIPOM

YBTL - YMRB:
TL W613 NIPOM

YBBN - YBAR:
BN Q484 RUDEY W369 OK W270 UNVAT W364 MOVBA

YBTL - YWTN:
TL Q30 ANRUB Q71 DOBGO W469 TAXUM

YWTN - YLRE:
TAXUM W644 LRE

Remember that routes not listed here can be found using the VATPAC ATC Assist tool.

Special Procedures:

Fitzroy is home to a whole array of magnificent regional airfields for you to explore. Being too small for full control services, OCTA services will be provided by enroute controllers to assist you. Below is a guide to help you with these services:

Departure:

Taxi Call:
The taxi call informs ATC of your intentions and that you are taxiing at your respective airfield. In response, centre will provide you with a traffic statement and a squawk code.
Example:
SKP71: "Brisbane Centre, IFR Dash 8, SKYTRANS 71 taxies runway 14 at Pormpuraaw for Cairns"
BN-ARA_CTR: "SKYTRANS78, no reported IFR traffic, squawk 4782"
SKP71: "Squawk 4782, SKYTRANS 71"

Departure Call:
Once you have departed, the departure call allows ATC to identify you and to provide you with your airways clearance to your destination.
Example:
SKP71: "Centre, SKYTRANS 71 departure"
BN-ARA_CTR: "SKYTRANS 71, centre"
SKP71: "SKYTRANS 71 departed Pormpuraaw at time 49, tracking direct MASHA, passing 4500 for FL190, estimating MASHA at time :02"
BN-ARA_CTR: "SKYTRANS 71, cleared to Cairns via MASHA flight planned route, climb FL190"
SKP71: "Cleared to Cairns via MASHA flight planned route, climbing to FL190, SKYTRANS 71"

Arrival:

Descent:
As you approach your destination, the centre controller will advise you that you are cleared to leave controlled airspace on your descent. They will provide you with a clearance, traffic statement, and the local QNH.
Example:
BN-ARA_CTR: SKYRANS 53, leave control area descending, no reported IFR traffic, area QNH 1015"

Termination of SARWATCH:
Once you have arrived at your destination, inform centre that you have landed and expect them to respond with a termination of your SARWATCH.
Example:
SKP53: "Centre, SKYTRANS 53 landed Aurukun, time 38; cancel SARWATCH"
BN-ARA_CTR: "SKYTRANS 53, Aurukun SARWATCH terminated, time 38"

Communication with Other Aircraft:
When you are not in communication with the overlying enroute controller, you must announce you intentions on the published CTAF frequency, as well as monitoring UNICOM on 122.800.
For more information, see here:
https://vatpac.org/help/tutorials/ctaf-unicom-and-vhf2-monitoring/

ATC:

During FIFO Friday, ATC positions are rostered. The below list indicates the positions which will be available for booking during this event:

Identifier	Radio Callsign	Frequency
BN_GND	Brisbane Ground	121.700
BN_TWR	Brisbane Tower	120.500
BN_APP	Brisbane Approach	124.700

TL_TWR	Townsville Tower	118.300
TL_APP	Townsville Approach	126.800

BN-INL_CTR	Brisbane Centre	134.200
BN-KEN_CTR	Brisbane Centre	120.150
BN-ISA_CTR	Brisbane Centre	125.200