GAAR 2021 Leg9 YPMQ to YSPE
GAAR-Briefing number 9 in the garden pub at Port Macquarie Airport. The time limit, approximate route and the destination are known, as is the touch-and-go airfield at Coffs Harbor! The weather man explains the general situation to us: Wind, mediocre in general direction from the north and a few individual clouds and fog along the coast.
Any questions?
Final checks on our planes!
Heads or tails? I won and I'm going to start first! But as I know Thom, he'll overtake me somewhere!
As our colleague Shorty has already described, many retirees and holidaymakers enjoy themselves here and so it is not surprising that the small airfield has some flight movements over the year!
On the way to runway 03
Now I know how the tire tracks are made.. Racy swing around in the direction of the runway!
Take off clearance received..
Vamos…
A nice aerial photo.. I can see Thom is still sitting in his parking lot. Maybe his cargo door will jam again..
Thom, a lot of oil to grease.
A small course correction..
.. and via the Hastings River..
.. and wafts of mist..
.. direct to the coast northwards. What a view!
On the route along the coast there are many villages and estuaries and that should be the village of Nambucca Heads with its striking sandy beach! The top of descent!
Can be seen from afar..
Coffs Harbor!
Bongil Bongil National Park, south of Coffs Harbour, has plenty to offer, including wild beaches, sweeping coastal views and peaceful streams.
I should actually concentrate more on the touch and go.. but it looks good.. at least what the PAPI says!
My Flighttimer shows 32.90.. a bit early.
I love that..
.. a low pass over the airport buildings, with full throttle! (Noise complaints direct to the GAAR management please)
Through a small valley, following the main road..
..and some zigzag..
.. back on course and altitude!
Hilly terrain in the beginning.. (must be a part of the Great Dividing Range)
.. but then, a wide open landscape is following with small valleys in between. Many national parks can be found here.
My plan is to fly an YSPE RNAV approach for runway 08 and in this region the MSA altitude is 5600 feet. Quite high!
Overhead my fix and turning final 08.. I knew it, Thom is already reporting short final 08
The usual way down..
.. but then, a perfect view of the runway and airfield!
The small rural town Stanthorpe was founded by tin miners. People came from many countries to mine tin from 1872. When the tin prices fell, many miners turned to farming and viticulture with encouragement from the local Catholic parish priest Father Jerome Davadi to produce altar wine. His Italian descent made grape growing and wine production a familiar pastime and the notion caught on in the area.
A somewhat turbulent approach with a crosswind from the left!
A few more seconds of full concentration.. because my target time would be within one's reach!
Forget it.. an eyelash too early!
A marquee with all kinds of delicacies..
.. and the friendly greeting, makes me forget the grief!
Voila, here we are. Conclusion: The wind on the route, especially the wind directions, were quite challenging. At 6000 feet, tail- cross- and head wind in all variations.. one hand always on the throttle!
But now it's BBQ- and companionability time and I'd love to try a sip of this Stanthorpe wine! Just a sip? I'm not sure about this!
Cheers from Stanthorpe