VFR flight planning

[martinc]

Hi folks,

        Got a question re flight planning that crosses between real world and what we'er doing with VFR and ORBX. You,ve just got a request to fly a single pax in a C172 from Moorabbin to land at Ceres....looking at the Melbourne VTC, how do you go about planning this?. Can a C172 safely be flown Moorabbin oubound via Carrum across the bay and under the Avalon CTR (assuming its active)?, to Geelong then up to Ceres.

Or do you need to go outbound from Moorabbin north up the coastal route then between the top of the Avalon CTR and the bottom of the Melbourne CTR and down to Ceres. This is all assuming you dont have a clearance through Avalon. How would you plan this route?.

Cheers

martin C

[falknis]

I would fly north at an altitude of 2000ft via Point Ormond, Station Pier, Altona, across to Laverton then through Werribee tracking 262 degrees until I got past the 2,500ft altitude step located about 15.5 miles past Laverton airfield then I would track 190 degrees south for 20 miles which should place me in the general vicinity. CHEERS 

[akaluke]

Boy have I got a lot to learn.

[Tweaker]

If Morrabbin is a GAAP airfield (can't remember if it is or not) then there should be several VFR routes marked on the VTC to enable you to navigate around the controlled spaces.  From memory, the CASA site has a detailed description of GAAP routes and procedures for all the GAAP fields.  They also released a free DVD for all GAAP airfields showing an actual flight of all the relevant approaches pointing out the relevant VFR features.  Very useful resource for use with the right VTC charts. ERSA also has some descriptions of arrival and departure procedures. 

Hope that helps some.

[cello.ch]

Hi

Check this site:

http://www.casa.gov.au/pilots/pilotgde.htm

There is a "Melbourne Visual pilot guide"! Very intersting to read all the different approches and departures for Moorabin and other airstrips around Melbourne.

Regards,

Marcel

[Maurice_King]

Essentially you can fly anywhere you want to providing it does NOT contravine any NOTAM or ATC Directive nor CASA Regulation.

[martinc]

Hiya Tweaker,

                Yeah, got the VTC....and brought a copy of the DVD/CD from Airservices...its pretty good. Lot of info packed into TWO CD's including all the procedure PDF's so you dont need to go downloading them.

The VPG for Moorabbin GAAP is "unnerving" a pretty deep read and a lot to remember....

[Matthew Webb]

Essentially you can fly anywhere you want to providing it does NOT contravine any NOTAM or ATC Directive nor CASA Regulation.

There goes my license...   

[Tweaker]

Great stuff Martinc!  Glad you found the info useful. 

Mostly I just get in and fly wherever I feel like, but lately (read since FTX!) I have been finding I am going back to the charts and actually planning my flights with more detail and precision.  It is now a real challenge to adhere to the flight tolerances of the CPL level test.  Makes for some rather rail like flights in VFR!  The tolerances I try to maintain are within:

5 degs total of calculated course

10 ft of assigned altitudes

within 1 mile of planned track

and within 5 minutes of calculated arrival times.

I will now have to go and grab the guide for Morrabbin and see if I can fly it correctly