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Cross the Ditch 27: 15th Anniversary Edition

15th Anniversary Edition

Fifteen years ago this December, VATNZ and VATPAC first invited the pilots of VATSIM to Cross the Ditch.

Since then thousands of pilots have logged tens of thousands of flight hours, and hundreds of controllers thousands of controller hours to bring you twenty-six unique events.

To celebrate this milestone, we're opening up multiple airports on both sides of the Tasman and encouraging you all to join us for Cross the Ditch 27: 15th Anniversary Edition.

What's it all about?

For sixteen hours this December, the skies over the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand will be filled with aircraft all on a mission to Cross the Ditch.

An example of that typical down-under understatement, this "ditch" is over 1100nm wide. The flight routes all range from two and a half to three and a half hours flight time.

Throughout the event, Oceania's two divisions – VATNZ and VATPAC – will be providing full gate-to-gate ATC coverage, in the Southern Hemisphere's premiere oceanic event.

This is a great opportunity to experience Oceanic flying without the need to commit to an eight-hour flight!

If you're new to Oceanic Flying, our reporting tool makes taking part a breeze.

Event Times

This sixteen hour event is timed to allow pilots from all over the world to join the fun:

  • UTC: Saturday 7th December 2024 17:00 - Sunday 8th December 2024 09:00
  • AEDT: Sunday 8th December 2024 04:00 - Sunday 8th December 2024 20:00
  • NZDT: Sunday 8th December 2024 06:00 - Sunday 8th December 2024 22:00

Big Four Route

Each division is opening two airports for the event. Pilots can pick any airport and then fly to either of the opened airports in the other division.

The four airports for Cross the Ditch 27 are:

  • VATNZ
    • Christchurch (NZCH)
    • Wellington (NZWN)
  • VATPAC
    • Melbourne (YMML)
    • Sydney (YSSY)

Note: Due to timezone differences, prior to 1930z departures will only be available from VATNZ airports.

Cross the Ditch 27: 15th Anniversary Edition Route Map

 

Calling all Pilots and Controllers

Flight plans are available from the Flight Plans section.

Book your flights now from the Flight Bookings page. Bookings made on this site help us plan for the event, and will also show up in vroute.

Controllers wanting to get in on the action can also apply now at the event's ATC Applications page.

Airports

NZCH Christchurch, New Zealand

NZWN Wellington, New Zealand

Positions

 CallsignRadio NameFrequencyFreq
CTRNZCH-S_CTRChristchurch Control129.300
 NZCH-T_CTRChristchurch Control123.700
APPNZCH_APPChristchurch Approach126.100
 NZWN_APPWellington Approach119.300
DEPNZCH_DEPChristchurch Departures120.900
 NZWN_DEPWellington Departures122.300
TWRNZCH_TWRChristchurch Tower118.400
 NZWN_TWRWellington Tower118.800
GNDNZCH_GNDChristchurch Ground121.900
 NZWN_GNDWellington Ground121.900
DELNZCH_DELChristchurch Delivery128.200
 NZWN_DELWellington Delivery128.200

Flight and ATC Bookings

We encourage pilots and controllers alike to book your intention to fly or provide ATC using vroute.

These bookings display on the VATNZ website and allow others to know when and where to expect pilots and controllers to be online.

VATNZ Events Mailing List

To keep up to date with all the events taking place in the VATNZ division, subscribe to the VATNZ Events Mailing List. Receive reminder emails before each event detailing what's happening and where.

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