Cross the Ditch 23
Summer 2022
December brings summer weather to the South Pacific, complete with scorching sun, soaring temperatures, and more than a few thunderstorms.
For VATSIM's pilots and controllers the answer is obvious: it's time to once again take to the virtual skies and Cross the Ditch!
Featured for Cross the Ditch 23
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New Airport: Newcastle/Williamtown, Australia
Situated at the mouth of the Hunter River, approximately 160km/100mi north of Sydney, Newcastle is the second largest city in the state of New South Wales.
Newcastle Airport shares a runway with RAAF Base Williamtown and is a growing transport hub with services to most other Australian centres as well as international flights to Auckland.
We look forward to Newcastle taking pride of place as the destination for this event's final Wave.
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Busy day on N750
We always try to plan the Waves in Cross the Ditch to maximise the amount of opposing traffic, in order to provide pilots with plenty of encounters, and the controllers with a bit of a challenge.
This year we've outdone ourselves with all but one of the Waves routing via or across the N750 airway, in what is sure to be a busy day for the Tasman's Oceanic controllers!
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simBrief Integration
The Flight Booking page has been extended to allow pilots to export their Cross the Ditch flight plan and slot information directly into simBrief.
All the information you have entered when making your booking will be forwarded to simBrief, along with the event flightplan. Your departure and arrival slots will be included in the dispatch settings and displayed in the Dispatcher Remarks on the generated OFP.
What's it all about?
For twenty 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 twenty hour event is timed to allow pilots from all over the world to join the fun:
- UTC: Saturday 3rd December 2022 17:00 - Sunday 4th December 2022 13:00
- AEDT: Sunday 4th December 2022 04:00 - Monday 5th December 2022 00:00
- NZDT: Sunday 4th December 2022 06:00 - Monday 5th December 2022 02:00
Waves
This season's event is organised in waves. Each airport will have a three-to-four-and-a-half hour departure window, during which time flights will be able to leave for the next destination. As the window closes, the departure window will open at the next destination.
Given each of the flights is 3 - 4.5hrs in length, the previous wave's flights will be arriving at the same airport as the next wave departs, maximising the amount of traffic at each airport.
NOTE: in order to ensure that you have ATC coverage throughout your flight, you MUST fly the wave route that is active at the time of your departure.
The individual routes are designed to ensure as much opposing traffic enroute as possible.
Each flight passes from one Oceania division to the other, and the result is six mini-flyins over the course of twenty hours!
The Waves for Cross the Ditch 23: Summer 2022 are:
| Wave | Flight | Departure Window | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC | AEDT | NZDT | ||
| 1 | Wellington, New Zealand (NZWN) to Brisbane, Australia (YBBN) |
1700-2000 | 0400-0700 | 0600-0900 |
| 2 | Brisbane, Australia (YBBN) to Dunedin, New Zealand (NZDN) |
2000-2330 | 0700-1030 | 0900-1230 |
| 2a | Brisbane, Australia (YBBN) to Christchurch, New Zealand (NZCH) (Large Aircraft Alternate) |
2000-2330 | 0700-1030 | 0900-1230 |
| 3 | Dunedin, New Zealand (NZDN) to Canberra, Australia (YSCB) |
2330-0300 | 1030-1400 | 1230-1600 |
| 3a | Christchurch, New Zealand (NZCH) to Canberra, Australia (YSCB) (Large Aircraft Alternate) |
2330-0300 | 1030-1400 | 1230-1600 |
| 4 | Canberra, Australia (YSCB) to Christchurch, New Zealand (NZCH) |
0230-0630 | 1330-1730 | 1530-1930 |
| 5 | Christchurch, New Zealand (NZCH) to Newcastle, Australia (YWLM) |
0530-0930 | 1630-2030 | 1830-2230 |
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.
