HOT ON the heels of the Coonamble Ag Field Day, the Coonamble Aero Club’s Fly-in at Coonamble Airport this Sunday 25 March promises to lift the spirits of any would-be pilot or curious resident.
By partnering with the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA), the Club have been able to attract an exciting range of activities.
The AOPA are bringing no less than five flight simulators to provide hands-on ground-level experience for people wanting to test their flying skills and their Freedom to Fly aerobatic stunt team will thrill you with a display in the skies above the Airport at 11am.
The main theme of the day is to provide a taste of flying to anyone who has ever harboured dreams of getting airborne.
“Coonamble is a great place to learn to fly,” Aero Club member Angus Chadwick. “The weather is usually good and you get a lot more flying time under your belt than you do at the bigger airports.”
Achieve Aviation, who has been the Aero Club’s flight training partner for seven years, will be on site and Chief Instructor Garry Fraser will be happy to answer any questions or take you for an introductory trial lesson.
Central West Helicopter School will be there with two of their machines and you can get your hands on the controls by booking in for one of their Trial Introductory Flights.
Unfortunately, the Royal Flying Doctor Service have advised they are unable to attend on Sunday due to unforeseeable circumstance, however, they’ve already booked in for next year’s event with eager anticipation.
There’ll be a crop-dusting machine, the legendary Air Tractor, on site for you to check out.
Private pilots from around the region will be flying-in and will have their various aircraft available for you to look over and talk about. This includes seven planes from Coonamble Aero Club members, a similar number from the Walgett area and others from Coonabarabran, Pilliga and beyond.
Coonamble Lions Club will keep you fuelled starting with a cooked breakfast from 8.30am and running through to the 2pm end of proceedings.
The Aero Club will be running a raffle over both the Saturday at the Ag Field Day and at Sunday’s Fly-in with the grand prize a helicopter joyflight. The only catch is that you must be at the airport for the 12noon draw to claim and take your prize before 2pm. The winner won’t have long to wait!
So dust off your wings and get ready to take to the skies this weekend.