Cross the Ditch 6: Autumn 2012
The sun has headed north of the equator and it's time once again to take to the skies of the South Pacific as we Cross the Ditch!
New for Cross the Ditch 6
- New Caledonia
This season we're adding a new destination to the Cross the Ditch roster: Noumea (NWWW) in the French tropical island territory, New Caledonia. - Scenery
To enhance your flying experience during the event, we've added a list of recommended scenery for FS9 and FSX, freeware and payware, for each of the event airports.
What's it all about?
For eighteen hours this May, 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, the Oceania region's two divisions – VATNZ and VATPAC – will be providing full 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 eighteen hour event is timed to allow pilots from all over the world join the fun:
- UTC: Saturday 26th May 2012 18:00 - Sunday 27th May 2012 12:00
- AEST: Sunday 27th May 2012 04:00 - Sunday 27th May 2011 22:00
- NZST: Sunday 27th May 2012 06:00 - Monday 28th May 2012 00:00
Routes
This season's Cross the Ditch returns to the three-airport structure that proved so popular last year. Pilots can fly in either direction between Noumea (New Caledonia) and Christchurch (New Zealand), and Christchurch and Sydney (Australia).
Each flight should take roughly three to three-and-a-half hours to complete, allowing pilots time to easily complete multiple sectors.
Note: despite the early start time, Sydney will be available for arrivals and departures from 21:00 UTC/07:00 AEST. Christchurch and Noumea will be available for the entirety of the event.
The Routes for Cross the Ditch 6 - Autumn 2012 are:
- Noumea (NWWW) to Christchurch (NZCH)
- Christchurch (NZCH) to Sydney (YSSY)
- Sydney (YSSY) to Christchurch (NZCH)
- Christchurch (NZCH) to Noumea (NWWW)
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.
