Tasmania Australia South Coast

[Finley Atherton]

I live near the East coast of Australia and have flown the 9A to the North coast the West coast and now the South coast of Australia.
A friend and I decided to walk the 9 day, somewhat challenging (for two 60 year olds) Tasmania South Coast Track. Naturally our transport there would be the 9A.
Left my home in Northern NSW, picked up my passenger in Orange and stayed overnight with a friend in Albury who is building an RV10. Then to Hobart the next day. Melbourne is the city (yellow) to the west of our track



Soon after leaving Albury, IFR at 9,000ft looking to the east towards the Snowy Mountains the highest land in Australia (7,310ft).



The Roaring Forties were working. We went over Bass Strait at 10,000ft with a moderate tail wind which increased into a 54kt direct crosswind down the East coast of Tasmania. No turbulence but we were in the lee of the Tasmanian Highlands and experienced extended periods of strong down draughts with the IAS dropping considerably as the AP held height.



"Hobart International Airport" after descending through about 5,000ft of cloud. Very friendly airport. The controller welcomed me to Tasmania and we had a discussion about the walk we were going to do.



The South Coast Track is in a National Park in a pristine World Heritage wilderness area. There are no roads and the only practical way in is by aircraft.

Melaleuca (Bathurst Harbour) airstrip 420 metres, at the start of the track. You may just see a parked Cessna 206.



Flew there in a Britten Norman Islander.



More to come!

Fin
9A

[Finley Atherton]

We were in a group of ten plus two guides. The South Coast Track goes through magnificent pristine wilderness and is considered one of the toughest walks you can do in Australia unless you are into mountaineering. Possible extreme weather, heavy packs, long days, big climb, treacherous path, leech capital of Australia and mud mud mud.
Below are some photos of the track. Not RV related but its such a unique part of the world that hopefully the moderators will indulge me!



Next landmass to the south is Antarctica.







In some places the mud holes were waist deep!







One of the guides got a gastric bug and was unable to continue. No roads so the only way out for him was the rescue helicopter. Single pilot IFR, autopilot etc. Dual 430w's soon to be replaced with GTN 650's.



Next flying the south and southwest coast.

Fin

[Finley Atherton]

The day of departure showed marginal VFR conditions so I filed a detailed VFR plan via the South and Southwestern coasts of Tasmania to Flinders Island with the comfort that I could upgrade to IFR if the weather deteriorated. Much of the area is sensitive World Heritage listed and there are Fly Neighbourly procedures that should be followed.



Hobart



South East Cape



The South Coast of Tasmania



Beach where the rescue helicopter landed. We camped near the river.



The "track" here followed the outside bend of the creek and was mostly underwater. All the creeks/rivers are a brown/ tannin colour from the button grass peat plains but the water is otherwise very pure and drinkable.



The 1,000 metre Ironbound Range that we climbed and a beach we walked along.





Next the South West Coast.

Fin

[erikpmort]

Thanks for sharing. We should start an Rv exchange program where you fly commercial to a remote part of the world and trade rvs with someone for a couple weeks

[Finley Atherton]

Southwest Coast

Looking inland. We had planned to track somewhat inland from the coast but it was non VFR so we followed the coast where the weather was better.



No chatter on the radio, no radar coverage and presumeably no ADSB coverage but I had Spidertracks (on the dash) activated.



The South West coast, like the South coast has no roads, buildings or people living there. The only sign of human activity is the occassional walking track for the really adventurous.



Approaching Macquarie Harbour with the town of Strahan a bit further on.
Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour was a penal station for convicts from England between 1822 and 1833. Very harsh conditions but no real worry about escapees as there was nowhere to escape to except the inhospitable and virtually impeneterable wilderness.



Strahan on the West coast. Well worth a visit if you are in Tasmania



Now heading NE and inland.



Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair national Park. Well worth a day visit and the start of the stunning 65 km, 6 day Overland Track.



Landing at Flinders Island just off the NE corner of Tasmania. We stayed here for two nights mainly recovering from the walk!



Over Bass Strait IFR at 10,000ft on the way home. OAT was -4 degrees C but I was able to stay above the cloud and the forecast and actual weather ahead was clear.



The 9A. What a machine!!



Fin
9A

[Captain Avgas]

Originally Posted by Finley Atherton

All the creeks/rivers are a brown/ tannin colour from the button grass peat plains but the water is otherwise very pure and drinkable.

Fin

Maybe not for the guide who picked up the gastric bug.

Jokes aside, great pix and good recounting of a memorable trip Fin. I have flown that Tasmanian SW remote area a number of times and no photos really do it justice. It's really quite an experience. It's also quite formidable and I found myself out of radio range at times. A few beaches aside, it would not be a good place for an emergency landing. I certainly wouldn't be flying down there with an auto conversion power plant. You need a good ol' Lyc to go into that place with any confidence.

I'm a bit interested in your "IFR" panel. My understanding is that in Australia you need have TSOd flight instruments to fly IFR. You can see CASA's requirements in CASA Project CS 13/01 (Clarification of certification requirements for instruments and equipment used in Australian Aircraft). See here:

http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dl...::pc=PC_101318

I think you might find that the Dynon Skyview is not TSO'd and therefore does not comply with current requirements for IFR flight in Australia.

That of course could have ramifications with the Regulator and possibly an insurer in the event of an insurance claim. Just a head's up.

[Richard Connell]

Great photos Fin,
I have spent a lot of time in Tassie walking, cycling and sailing, but not in the RV yet.. I'll get around to it.

Bob,
My understanding is that CASA project 13/01 is still active and hence there has been no amendment to 20.18 or directives regarding "approved" instrumentation.

I'd say that a good percentage if not the majority of experimentals in Aus with IFR CofAs don't have TSOd primary flight instruments, and they do not require them as the rules currently stand.

Hopefully sense prevails and the excellent safety case put forward by SAAA is taken into account in the final rule making. I see they used some common sense for (N)VFR and the use of EFIS with the last 20.18 rewrite.


Cheers

[Finley Atherton]

Originally Posted by Captain Avgas

I'm a bit interested in your "IFR" panel. My understanding is that in Australia you need have TSOd flight instruments to fly IFR. You can see CASA's requirements in CASA Project CS 13/01 (Clarification of certification requirements for instruments and equipment used in Australian Aircraft). See here:

http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dl...::pc=PC_101318

I think you might find that the Dynon Skyview is not TSO'd and therefore does not comply with current requirements for IFR flight in Australia.

Hi Bob,
Who knows what CASA is thinking. My understanding is that the CASA Project is a "works in progress" and a final determination/clarification/recommendation has not been made.

My RV was put into the IFR category well after the CASA Project was announced. The well known and respected AP that put my RV into IFR discussed the instrument requirements directly with the appropriate person from CASA who specified that I must add a TSO altimeter and ASI. I have a second non TSO EFIS so I now have three altimeters and three airspeed indicators!
So I have met the requirements as specified by CASA and I have a reliable system with backups that I won't be changing till CASA tells me otherwise.

Fin
9A

[mchargmg]

Fin,

What a great writeup, and the photos are tremendous. Looks like you guys had a great time. I have always wanted to visit Australia and Tasmania. Your writeup really renewed my interest. Keep the reports coming.

Geoff

[rgmwa]

Great trip write-up and photos. Looking forward to making a trip to Tassie myself one day. It's a long way from WA, but it would be a great experience.