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Old 17th Jun 2009, 05:04
  #5 (permalink)  
PlankBlender
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Great idea, go for it, take some friends, camp under the wing where you can, take lots of photos and videos

I did a trip around the continent last year with a group of like-minded pilots, and it was one of the best experiences ever! The variety of sceneries, people, and experiences is awesome, something you won't forget!

If you have the time and money, do the whole lot and go through the Nullabor and over to the Kimberley's, which is probably the top spot scenery-wise from the air, together with the Whitsundays. Up the top coast, some great coastline to fly over there, down to the Rock, over to the East Coast with all its variety, not least some dense airspace to navigate. Don't miss flying over the Reef and into Chute Harbour -- fantastic spot! On the way down the coast, fly over Mount Kosciuszko if the weather allows, can't beat it!

Invest in a GPS at least as a backup, some of the legs will be over featureless terrain and will be very difficult to navigate visually. Try, however, to do exactly that on some of the longer legs, the training effect will be great!

Make sure to be prudent and plan properly, there will be fuel critical legs, and don't be silly, log flight plans, especially if you haven't got anyone else flying with you. Take enough water, an EPIRB/ELT and a NextG phone. If you have the dough, get a laptop/tablet PC with AirNav software, saves you hauling around all those maps and gives you a (backup) moving map GPS, that way you can also get up to date weather and radar pictures on the go.

If you have an ADF, take a list of ABC frequencies (PM me for the one I compiled a little while back if you like) so you can listen to news and sports on the long legs.

That's my 2c off the top of the head