Rob H - 811428 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Hi All, Only a few days to go now until VATPAC's first large-scale event of 2007: Rolling Thunder. Starting Friday 23rd February around a dozen controllers will setup shop out at Bankstown airport in a centre-style setup and provide ATC coverage over the course of the weekend. As you will see, there is something for everyone! Here's what's happening and when: Friday Night ? Sydney Overload 1700 ? 0000 (AEDT) / 0600 ? 0100 (UTC) Get ready to kick the weekend off with a bang with ten controllers providing full and complete ATC coverage in the Sydney TMA and all surrounding feeder sectors. We?re pulling out all stops on the ATC side and will be running multiple Centre, Arrivals, Approach, Departures and Director frequencies to cope with high levels of traffic. Pilot opportunities (IFR): Milk runs, hops to and from New Zealand, and flights between Sydney and NSW towns such as Dubbo, Albury, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth and Wagga. Ensure you carry holding fuel and are ?current? on your holding patterns. Some good confliction opportunities here to test ATC! Pilot opportunities (VFR): A good opportunity to try flying up and down the lane of entry, and of course, the famous ?victor one?. Or perhaps tour the Northern Beaches of Sydney: depart Bankstown for Parramatta and fly up the lane at A025 to Patonga. Then cut across to Barrenjoey headland and contour-fly at low level down the beaches. If you want to try a Sydney Harbour scenic flight, put in a flight plan and request a clearance to enter controlled airspace in the Long Reef area ? we?ll be glad to have you. Depending on staff availability Sydney Radar (124.55) may also be in operation, otherwise this role will be combined with other services. If in doubt of who to call ? just ask! Saturday ? Fun In The Sun 1000 ? 0000 (AEDT) / 2300 ? 0100 (UTC) On Saturday morning ATC will resume in Queensland. Full ATC will link Cairns to Brisbane as well as a handful of underlying regional towers such as Hamilton Island, Rockhampton and Mackay. You haven?t experienced online flying until you?ve flown in this great slice of airspace. As we progress later into the evening, services may be concentrated towards Brisbane in accordance with workload and operational needs. Pilot opportunities (IFR): For heavy metal drivers, a great opportunity for a Brisbane ? Cairns line flight (or vice-versa) with end-to-end ATC coverage. Alternatively, a training flight shooting approaches at the various aerodromes along the coast would be great fun! Pilot opportunities (VFR): This is a special opportunity for our VFR flyers. So many possibilities, but none so good as departing a CTAF (such as Innisfail) and flying up to Cairns and entering controlled airspace via one of the VFR corridors via Gordonvale. All you have to do is put in a flight plan and call up Cairns Approach prior to entering CTA for a clearance! Alternatively, for a longer flight, try Hamilton Island to Cairns and get some flight following enroute. The Cairns and Brisbane VTC is available online at the Airservices website. Sunday ? Southern Connection 1000 ? 2100 (AEDT) / 2300 ? 1000 (UTC) Sunday morning will see ATC linking the route between Adelaide and Melbourne with surrounding Centres available too. As the afternoon progresses, ATC may be concentrated to Melbourne to defend the fort against the onslaught of evening flyers. Pilot Opportunities (IFR): Hops between Adelaide, Tasmania, Melbourne are recommended for the iron drivers. Alternatively, whip out the bug smasher and try a few flights between regional centres such as Mount Gambier, Mildura, Devonport and Essendon. Pilot Opportunities (VFR): Some good visual flying to be had around Port Phillip Bay. For a longer segment, try contour-flying the cost between Moorabbin and Parafield. General Advice Whilst ATC will be brining their ?best game? this weekend, the overall aim is to have fun. We invite everyone to get into the action. If you are an experienced pilot you will enjoy the subtle realism that full services provide. If you are new to online flight, ATC will be available to assist you. Some general tips for the weekend: ? Carry any holding fuel recommended by ERSA ? Expect delays and be patient ? Listen before you transmit and wait until all conversations and read backs have been completed before jumping in ? If flying VFR, submit a flight plan and obtain clearance prior to entering controlled airspace Here's a PDF copy of the program if you want to print it out or put it on your VA's forum. See you Friday. Official_Program.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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