Remote area flying
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Remote area flying
Hi all, will be doing some remote area flying where there will be no phone or naips. Once airbourne do i call centre for weather+/- flight details. Thanks
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No HF. Not sure on how to go about SAR. Do I just nominate a time once airbourne maybe? I have always just used the flight note method on the fridge in times gone by, however I want to improve this. Just need to do it more often
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If there's "no phone or naips", are you sure that there's VHF coverage at a height you care about ?
You can call Flightwatch for weather and flight details, and it is their job to take it, but you won't make any friends if you do it regularly on VHF.
If you're planning to fly where there's truly no other coverage, it's time to buy a satphone. Don't even think about complaining about the cost - it's mission-critical, safety-of-flight equipment.
You can call Flightwatch for weather and flight details, and it is their job to take it, but you won't make any friends if you do it regularly on VHF.
If you're planning to fly where there's truly no other coverage, it's time to buy a satphone. Don't even think about complaining about the cost - it's mission-critical, safety-of-flight equipment.
I assume you are private? Do you have an ELT?
If you are starting from somewhere without VHF, Landline or Mobile coverage I would recommend a satphone, you can rent them from 4WD/camping places. If this is a one off private trip that will work out cheaper and easier than HF. If you plan to regularly do this sort of flying though HF or your own satphone may be worth the investment.
If you are starting from somewhere without VHF, Landline or Mobile coverage I would recommend a satphone, you can rent them from 4WD/camping places. If this is a one off private trip that will work out cheaper and easier than HF. If you plan to regularly do this sort of flying though HF or your own satphone may be worth the investment.
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This will be a private one off trip. It will involve flying from remote areas to Adeliade/Parafield. Will be ferrying items to and fro for about a week. So was wanting to find the best way to submit flight plans and weather etc.
Depends how remote you are going. Many stations and outback pubs have broadband, or at least telephone via microwave. ELT is a must.
PS - You can submit flight plans days ahead (but that doesnt help with weather).
PS - You can submit flight plans days ahead (but that doesnt help with weather).
Moomba / Innaminka is not as remote as it seems. There is a good spread of stations. The VHF coverage is very good. There is also a fair number of overflying International aircraft (Woomera is frequently used as a fuel alternate to allow recalculating reserves), so there is typically someone to relay a call if there is any difficulty. There is also RPT to Broken Hill, Olympic Dam & Coober pedy. Unsure of Leigh Creek traffic, I think its pretty much just mining company aircraft. Plus of course Wrightsair and other Lake Air scenic flights. Many NDB beacons have long ranges (eg Woomera is in excess of 100nm). The Salt lakes & Flinders ranges give pretty good visual clues and the land has many good forced landing opportunities. Make sure you carry plenty of water - ie 10 litres per person. You do need to think about survival issues. You also need to manage your own hydration levels. Its not Kansas anymore Dorothy.
The Stations all have good internet and landline phone services. There will also be better Telstra NextG service than you might expect. But you need to have one of the better blue tick phones plus an external antennae. I carry a Sat phone (because I own a couple), but they can be difficult / expensive to hire. I wouldn't regard it as essential. A CB and a list of the station repeaters in the area might an alternate option. If you are forced down, the fastest person to get you will probably be a station.
You can seek weather / submit plans on area freq. But depending on workload they can get a bit prickly about it. I tend to use a phone away card from a landline, then call in the air. Don't be afraid to set some ops normal times, or create some reporting points. If for no other reason than getting to cool air, I'd be cruising as high as possible (8,000 foot plus).
As has been extensively covered, fuel planning is an important area. Don't expect to rock up and have it on tap. Plan your stops, call ahead.
The Stations all have good internet and landline phone services. There will also be better Telstra NextG service than you might expect. But you need to have one of the better blue tick phones plus an external antennae. I carry a Sat phone (because I own a couple), but they can be difficult / expensive to hire. I wouldn't regard it as essential. A CB and a list of the station repeaters in the area might an alternate option. If you are forced down, the fastest person to get you will probably be a station.
You can seek weather / submit plans on area freq. But depending on workload they can get a bit prickly about it. I tend to use a phone away card from a landline, then call in the air. Don't be afraid to set some ops normal times, or create some reporting points. If for no other reason than getting to cool air, I'd be cruising as high as possible (8,000 foot plus).
As has been extensively covered, fuel planning is an important area. Don't expect to rock up and have it on tap. Plan your stops, call ahead.
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Thanks Old Akro, good tips taken on board. Fuel is my major concern and will be refuelling at Centres Like Pt Augusta or Broken Hill just to give me the extra Buffer (Have a C182) even thou I may be fine with normal holdings. I am aiming to be more savvy with long distance flying as compared to just doing circuit flying as my norm. Time to leave the nest!
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LEC - OOM is good for VHF above 8000 but you may lose it a little bit before the change from 121.2 - 119.5 around Lake Blanche. Telstra 3G is also good out of LEC for a while and then coming into the OOM area. You will lose VHF into INN around 2000ft so SAR could be cancelled in a high circuit although a sat phone call on the ground is your safest option...
Cheers PA
Cheers PA
You will lose VHF into INN around 2000ft so SAR could be cancelled in a high circuit although a sat phone call on the ground is your safest option...
Just for interest, we have been experimenting with Next G phones recently and still can't better the old LG TU550 with an external aerial. We bought a couple of the current Telstra blue tick phones (made by ZTE) that take external aerials. The flip phone was a piece of excrement that lasted 1 day. The Hershey bar one with the pull up aerial is sort of OK, but pretty much won't connect to anything bluetooth other than a ZTE device. Consequently, we picked up some of the last new-old-stock LG units on ebay. Hopefully by the time our current fleet of LG phones expire Telstra gets its act together with better phones.
I like Port Augusta. Its an easy place to fly into, the Mobil swipe bowser is easy and the Whiting at the Augusta Hotel fabulous. The fuel guys at Olympic Dam are good to deal with, but you need to ring first to co-ordinate with the RPT.
I like Port Augusta. Its an easy place to fly into, the Mobil swipe bowser is easy and the Whiting at the Augusta Hotel fabulous. The fuel guys at Olympic Dam are good to deal with, but you need to ring first to co-ordinate with the RPT.
And if you don't have religion about monitoring 121.5 on the second radio you should. Basically all the overflying RPT will be monitoring it, so 121.5 is an important freq. in an emergency. Boyd Munro wrote a good article on the subject a few years ago and I think its still on the Airsafety website. There are threads on the subject here too.
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Old akro have you tried a Nokia 6720 (classic)? I have had one for work for about two years, it is also a blue tick phone and the reception is amazing. Flying around NSW, I am very rarely without coverage on Telstra!
PS: No external antenna required!
PS: No external antenna required!
We primarily use our phones on the ground. We bought the predecessor to the Nokia 6720 and we put up with it for about a week before we gave it to the office book keeper. We can get 75km range from a base station in a car on the ground with the LG TU550 plus a magnetic mount antennae.
I've become slack and now only carry the iphone (plus sat phone when remote), but with the LG TU550 and a pencil antennae attached, I only had a couple of black spots flying between Melbourne and Port Augusta, then would have reception about half the time to Woomera.
I've become slack and now only carry the iphone (plus sat phone when remote), but with the LG TU550 and a pencil antennae attached, I only had a couple of black spots flying between Melbourne and Port Augusta, then would have reception about half the time to Woomera.