Around Australia Record Flight

Matthew commenced flying with the Canberra Flight Training Centre some two years ago, gaining experience in Cessna 152s, 172s, and when he finally set off he had just 10 hours dual in the 172RG Cutlass. His navigation experience amounted to about seven hours of cross country work required for the PPL and remarkably, as he says, it was the first time that he had set out to get from A to B, relying on his own resources.

Although not instrument rated, he had flown the requisite instrument familiarisation flights required for the PPL and had completed his Night VFR training, however a radio failure on his night test prevented him gaining the actual endorsement prior to the trip. He felt confident, however that he could have coped with an emergency night instrument requirement should it have arisen.

Matthew commenced planning for the trip 18 months ago, with thorough map preparation, determined to make the flight in accordance with the standard VFR navigation techniques of map reading, time/distance, calculation of groundspeeds and ETAs etc.

I must admit that I had expected to find that he had placed considerable reliance on GPS, but such was not the case. He only used the GPS as an aid for ground speed checks, fuel calculations, and as backup to confirm ETAs and the calculation of last light. A lesson to those who rely heavily on GPS is that he found it frequently faded due to lack of satellite coverage. However the GPS did help on one occasion when flying between Cloncurry and Normanton when his groundspeed checks indicated he might not arrive before last light. A change in cruising level enabled him to confirm by GPS that he had picked up a more favourable wind. His reason for purposely not relying on the GPS is that he is to shortly complete his commercial licence and wished to use the flight to develop his navigational skills.

Matthew made the normal use of the VOR and ADF as additional aids to visual navigation and also carried a handheld VHF radio as a backup. Throughout the flight he relied on the aircraft’s fixed fitting ELT, except when crossing the Bass Strait when he carried a portable ELT and a liferaft loaned to him by Search and Rescue. It was on this section of the flight that he had his worst experience with the weather when low cloud and rain forced him to fly at 500ft along the coast, maintaining visual contact with some difficulty. Fortunately his map reading skills stood him in good stead enabling him to continuously fix his position until clear of the weather.

The Cutlass, which has a constant speed prop and retractable gear, has an endurance of approximately six and a half hours which gives it a still air range at its cruising speed of 125kt (232km/h) TAS of some 600nm (1110km). Matthew planned for 40 litres/hour fuel consumption instead of the normal 38. He also planned the standard 45 reserve plus 30 minutes holding. On several occasions he thought it prudent to check his fuel state by landing at an intermediate airfield and dipping the tanks; he particularly recalled landing at Lockhart River between Cairns and Horn Island to confirm his calculated consumption rate.

The average overall on each day was about four hours flying, with the longest leg in one day being Horn Island to Cloncurry, some six and a half hours which entailed landing at Weipa to refuel.

Fortunately the record attempt did not require that the flight be completed in a given time, which removed one of the greatest mental problems to conducting a safe record flight, the ever present “pressonitus”.

Matthew comes across as a very level headed young man who knew his limitations in terms of experience and was determined not to take risks. He carefully went through each day’s flight before setting off, reviewing his flight planning and the weather forecast in great and careful detail. If he was not happy with the conditions he delayed his flight until they improved. Although he had developed a good understanding of meteorology through study for his PPL and subsequent supplementary reading, he sought advice from those who had flown in the northern and remote areas. He also sought local knowledge before each leg of the trip from those who knew the country well.

In his mental preparation for the flight, on the advice of Jon Johanson he schooled himself to be ready for an engine failure, but not to expect it. When flying over heavily wooded areas with no suitable place for a forced landing, he would review his preplanned intention to stall onto the tree tops in the event of an engine failure.

I was surprised to learn that his only support throughout the flight was essentially that provided by his parents back in Canberra. On most occasions after landing he had to seek out the refuelling agent and also find accommodation. Some arrangements were preplanned but it says much for him that it was a genuine go-it-alone flight, without the heavy backup so often a significant part of prearranged record flights. Most encouraging in these stringent times, he was well sponsored for the trip by local Canberra firms and others.

Matthew now intends to make aviation his career, having given up his training as a watch maker and will shortly complete his commercial licence. He then intends to commence an instructors course, convinced that instructing is what he most wants to do.

When one hears so much about the younger generation not being motivated to make the most of their lives, it is most refreshing to talk to someone like Matthew Green who saw an opportunity and a challenge and took both.