Lake Eyre Flooding
Picture courtesy Trevor Wright (Wrightsair, William Creek, SA)
The current flooding of Lake Eyre, a rare event, is creating air traffic congestion problems in one of Australia’s remotest regions, even if you don’t count the huge flocks of water fowl. Happily, most of these are more interested in feeding and breeding at surface level than in soaring like eagles, but they do make for wonderful aerial viewing.
That’s why up to 100 aircraft a day are now swarming to the northern section of the lake, whose surface is normally a salt surface that’s usually dry enough to accommodate light aircraft landings. Lake Eyre was even used back in the sixties for Donald Campbell’s attempt on the world land speed record.
Traffic over northern Lake Eyre has increased dramatically since the northern part of the big below-sea-level salt lake started to flood with water slowly flowing down the inland rivers from the North Queensland “Channel Country.”
Almost uniquely (except for events like Oshkosh) at Lake Eyre there’s now a significant mixture of aircraft types, flight rule (IFR/VFR) categories, air speeds and levels of pilot experience.
A huge variety of aircraft from Dash 8s, Fokker 50s and corporate jets to GA sightseeing aeroplanes and helicopters to RAA two-seaters are homing in on the lake every day from about 360 different directions all over Australia.
The traffic is focussed over the flooded northern part of the lake where the resulting waterbird flocks are active.
An event like this will always attract sightseeing aeroplanes, and that’s why some operators are worried that there’s not enough organised information-sharing to counteract hazardous congestion, especially because there are several flight information regions (FIR) involved.
But so far all that’s happened is a NOTAM warning of increased air traffic density over the lake. This translates to “look where you’re going” which most GA pilots do anyway, but it comes a weak second to the proactive way procedures are developed in other scenic flight regions around the world, New Zealand being a good example.
One Adelaide operator believes: “Special procedures should be developed and published in NOTAMs, that would result at least in a recommended common flow of traffic (clockwise or anticlockwise) in the area where traffic is most concentrated, and possibly a quadrantal rule that would provide vertical separation for opposite direction traffic. The procedures should also make some intelligent and workable recommendations about communications between proximate aircraft, but they shouldn’t produce un-necessary radio clutter.”
Scenic flight operator Trevor Wright, with four sightseeing aircraft flying from nearby William Creek, agrees that a bit of constructive input from our regulator might be helpful, especially between ground level and about 5,000 feet.
Most light aircraft are operating at quite low – but still legal – levels to provide their passengers an unforgettable experience, but even the odd Dash 8 and Fokker 50 has been spotted at around 3,000 feet.
Experienced bush flying operators tell us something we already knew. Significant numbers of “fare paying passengers” will now be visiting the Lake Eyre area for the next several months. The area of operations is small and it’s time our regulator and Airservices Australia tasked some of their intelligent GA-friendly people to sort this issue out over the phone with involved parties, and to come up with a set of sensible, supportive, and safe recommendations early next week.
“Green Papers” and “White Papers” are not an option. It’s a NOW issue.
I hope somethimg is agreed to soon as I am leading a group from my 4WD club in WA to come to Wiliam Creek, where 8 of us will be booking a flight over the lake. I did the flight back in 2004 when there was a bit of water at the north east edge of the lake. There wasn’t any congestion then of course.
Is this not a good case for the application of ‘OPERATION LIGHTS ON’ for these scenic flights?
See the information on the Airservices Australia web at:
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/flying/specopinfo/docs/lightson.pdf
Perhaps a reminder in the NOTAM may help in the short term and occassional broadcasts of this reminder by ATS on all the relevant FIA frequencies say ‘on the hour’ every daylight hour?
Just a few immediate thoughts that may help ‘seen and avoid’ situational awareness.
Regarding “light on”, did you know that the landing lights are designed to last for only 15 hours? If you fly around with them on all the time they probably will not be available when needed most, such as in the circuit are? I just put the strobes and rotating beacon on, and use the landing light sparingly.
I still don’t get the logic of using the lights sparingly. The best use of the lights is to make the aircraft more visible and daylight tour operation is not going to encounter much in the way of a night landing. There could be a bit of humor here and possible a cheaper method for making money – “The air is so smooth at night it is almost like we are on the ground”
The not using the landing lights reminds me of sailing and right of way with a large vessel – I was right dead right in the way
Anyway the landing lights are 18 times brighter than the aircraft anti collision lighting aside from the strobes and the strobes are 3 times as bright but for a short period of time.
By pulsing the landing lights – you can actually extend the time they are viable into the 50 hour range and a consistent scheduled maintenance plan would then remove and replace the lights at that time. This is present technology
Pulsed or modulated HID (not turned on and off) can extend that margin by a factor of 50. If you are looking at a system that turns a HID on and off – your results and lamp life will not be as good – see http://www.youtube.com – preciseflightor for an example of the former.
Tour Operators in the US use this system for the same reason
and it seems to work effectively – it is worth a shot
Paul and readers.
I was up there on the long weekend in June. The biggest problem is that everyone in using 126.7. Arkaroola, William Creek, Lake Eyre, Anna Creek Station, Marree … Everyone is over-transmitting each other and there is a heck of a lot of screeching going on. I shut the multicom down and stayed on area because it was worthless listening to it anyway! The people in the north don’t know that the people in the south are transmitting because they are out of range, but the poor sods in the centre can hear both and the frequency becomes unusable. When in flood, Lake Eyre needs a dedicated frequency to cut out all the multicom traffic and vice-versa.
Maurice Waugh
This might help
http://www.youtube.com/user/preciseflightOR
I flew over the lake in early June , I took the precaution of ringing Terry White, William Creek flights, before going there. He recommended
Clockwise flight at a declaired altitude with a stated entry point.
the comments about 126.7 are correct perhaps 119.1 dedicated to the area down to Maree Man would be helpfull but CASA must make a notam
asap then publish in ersa the procedure, as ayers rock is.
This does’nt need 32 bureaucrats just speak to the local operatots and it can be done by tuesday