Cross the Ditch 27
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.
Featured for Cross the Ditch 27
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15th Anniversary Format: Big Four
Cross the Ditch is mostly known for its Wave Formats, but it wasn't always this way.
In honour of fifteen years of ditch crossing, this December we're returning to one of our early event formats: a Big Four.
Simply put, VATNZ and VATPAC will each be opening two of their most popular airports and staffing them throughout the day. Pilots can fly out of any city to either of the airports in the other division. (Note: the VATPAC airports will open at 6am AEDT, two hours into the event at 1900z.)
VATNZ will be operating Christchurch (NZCH) and Wellington (NZWN). VATPAC will be operating Melbourne (YMML) and Sydney (YSSY).
All eight routes cross the Southern Alps on the New Zealand end of the trip, allowing spectacular views of the largest mountain range in Oceania (weather permitting!).
The Australian end of the journey features two of the busiest airports in Australasia serving Australia's two biggest cities.
Determined pilots could potentially make it to all four cities over the course of the event.
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.
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.
