Flying in Australia

[Small Pilot]

I'm off to Oz in January for 3 weeks (Sydney area). Does anyone know if its possible to do any flying over there on my UK PPL(A)?
If so can anyone recommend anywhere, offer advice etc?
Thanks.

[PeteB]

You most certainly can fly on your UK PPL. You will have to go into the CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) offices at Bankstown airport (That's the big GA airport just west of Sydney). Answer a few questions and show them your PPL and logbook, pay your $50, and you get a lifetime Australian endorsement that's valid as long as your PPL and Medical are valid.
There's lot's of different clubs to fly with at Bankstown, I flew briefly with Basair, and found them to be very friendly and professional. Australian GA is incredibly well organised (Could teach the UK at thing or two) so you shouldn't have too much trouble picking things up. Have fun!

[MLS-12D]

Flying in Oz is indeed great. :D

Check this website for info on getting a CASA special pilot license (SPL) on the basis of your UK PPL(A): www.casa.gov.au/avreg/fcl_lic/overbr.htm Most Australian flying schools can help you with the process, if necessary.

[alphaalpha]

A couple of years ago I hired from Basair at Bankstown Airport, the Sydney GA field. They did the neccessary ground training, local area familiarisation and checkrides and took me over to the nearby CASA office to get my Oz licence. The basic licence is VFR only to which you can add complexities such as retractable, vp prop etc if you need them. UK IMC and IR privileges are not allowed on the back of your CAA licence and getting any instrument privilege at all is hard work and expensive, I think. However that situation was changing and may well have changed.

Basair do have a website, I don't have the url but a search should reveal it. Try emailing Darrin Ward, CFI at
[email protected]
.The webisite is the latter part of the e-mail address @basair.com.au (http://www.basair.com.au)

You need a full day for the ground study and checkrides, because the airspace around Bankstown is very complicated and busy. Navigation is also checked because much of the country has very few features.

Nevertheless, excellent flying. make sure you do the Sydney low level coastal vfr route and fly around Sydney Harbour -- getting ATC permission is usually easy.

I remember prices were a nice surprise compared to the UK.

Email me if you want any more info

[sharpshot]

Look up
www.yellowpages.com.au

All the flying school links in there!

[Rory5]

I was in Oz this summer & rented a Warrior from Airbourne Aviation (http://www.airborne-aviation.com.au). I found them very friendly & eager to help.

I eventually got an endorsement from CASA that covered me for flying for a month. Note they are insistent on 2 hours instrument time logged, before they (CASA) will allow you to fly solo more than 20K away from the airport.

Camden is slightly further out of town than Bankstown (about 45min car trip from central Sydney). Camden like Bankstown is a GAAP airport & as such has its own style of approach.

Have fun.

[smithgd]

I know it's not exactly applicable but I recently spent a month flying out on the West Coast, excellent fun.

However two points I'd like to mention from previous comments:

Rory5: never heard of that one and I went 500nm from base!

PeteB: lifetime endorsment? You sure? Mine cost AU$70 and was valid for a month (length of stay). As I recall there was another certificate available but it cost a lot more that $50.

Having said that, at the end of the day it's very easy to convert what-ever CASA ask for, exchange rate is excellent as is the flying and the scenary!

Enjoy :D

smithgd

[PeteB]

Yup, lifetime PPL endorsement for 50 dollars.
I also get an Australian safety magazine for free every couple of months (although they have recently asked me for $25 for international postage). This was three years ago, maybe things have changed since.
I remember when I went into the office, the CASA guys mentioned an endorsement valid for a month, but as the lifetime one was only $50, I couldn't see the point. If it wasn't $50, It certainly wasn't much more as I was fairly broke at the time (Still am....).
The things the CAA could learn from AUS.....

[rnobson]

I;ll be in Ozz Jan & Feb too maybe see ya there

[Alan339]

Rules have changed. It is correct re the 1 month on a uk/ppl.No restictions on distance provided the operators are happy.However,if you want a oz ppl/uketc. Then you now need to take a ground exam.(Air Law) Multiple guess on a computer.

[bcfc]

Confirm what Alan has just said.

I got back from Oz 10 days ago and CASA are only issuing temporary certificates that last about 2 months (mine started on the 8th Dec and ended 31 Jan) and to validate this, I needed to just take a check flight with an instructor. Next time I go back, I have to do the whole thing again.

Basair were very good BTW, but their check out included a Nav trip. Another FBO in Victoria were less concerned and simply wanted the usual check-out.

The only other alternative is the full Oz PPL.

I ended up taking an instructor from Basair to do a flight around the Harbour Bridge (a must) and then went in-country to Victoria and a small FBO did my check-out and I pootled around there.

Flying there is probably more stress-free than the states and a C150 was about £40ph wet.

Have fun!