More than 20 experienced pilots will fly 703 nautical miles to taking on Wynyard Aero Club’s two-day Circum-Tasmania-Challenge to test their navigational skills over four legs, stopping by St Helens airport on Saturday, February 25.
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Wynyard Aero Club president Craig Brooks said the idea came from wanting to attract mainland pilots.
Five pilots are coming from Victoria, three from New South Wales and one each from South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, while 13 pilots are from Tasmania. The aircraft speeds range from 85-160 knots.
“We have 24 aircraft participating, which is what we would call a capacity entry at this point, which is a fantastic result,” Mr Brooks said.
The pilots will fly clockwise around the state with the aim of the competition to test their navigational abilities.
“It’s very much about the calculation of time and distance and allowing for the wind and your speed over a specific amount of time to come up with nominated times with accuracy,” he said.
“For us that time is about understanding aviation and knowing your navigation skills and being able to test them in a challenge like this is really fun.”
In the days leading to the event, pilots will closely watch the weather forecasts.
“We’ll sit down over the couple of days prior and calculate it. But 12-24 hours out we will do most of our calculations,” Mr Brooks said.
“There is quite a bit of pre-calculating to do prior to taking off and then it’s about being able to modify that when you’re in the air.
“The flying will only be about an hour or an hour and a half per leg, but some aircraft could be up to double that.
“It’s a very wide range of aircraft, which is what is unique about the challenge. Everyone has to allow for there own times and distances.”
Mr Brooks hopes this event becomes annual, after having to turn many interested people away due to the limited aircraft parking at some small airports.
The pilots are expected to land at St Helens about 10am on Saturday, completing the first leg of the event. They will leave at about 2.15pm to spend the night on Bruny Island, before finishing back at Wynyard on Sunday.