Cross the Ditch 16
Winter 2019
The days have grown short and winter has returned to Australasia.
From New Zealand's snow-covered South Island to the beaches of Australia's Gold Coast, from wild and windy Wellington to cosmopolitan Melbourne and bustling Sydney, aircraft everywhere are taking to the skies to Cross the Ditch!
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 four hours flight time.
Throughout the event, the Oceania region's two divisions 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 15th June 2019 18:00 - Sunday 16th June 2019 14:00
- AEDT: Sunday 16th June 2019 04:00 - Monday 17th June 2019 00:00
- NZDT: Sunday 16th June 2019 06:00 - Monday 17th June 2019 02:00
Waves
This season's event is organised in waves. Each airport will have a three-to-four 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 2.5 - 4hrs 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 16 - Winter 2019 are:
| Wave | Flight | Departure Window | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC | AEST | NZST | ||
| 1 | Christchurch (NZCH) to Sydney (YSSY) | 1800-2030 | 0400-0630 | 0600-0830 |
| 2 | Sydney (YSSY) to Queenstown (NZQN) (B753/A321 and smaller) |
2030-0000 | 0630-1000 | 0830-1200 |
| 2a | Sydney (YSSY) to Christchurch (NZCH) (Wide-body aircraft only) |
2030-0000 | 0630-1000 | 0830-1200 |
| 3 | Queenstown (NZQN) to Gold Coast (YBCG) (B753/A321 and smaller) |
2330-0300 | 0930-1300 | 1130-1500 |
| 3a | Christchurch (NZCH) to Gold Coast (YBCG) (Wide-body aircraft only) |
2330-0300 | 0930-1300 | 1130-1500 |
| 4 | Gold Coast (YBCG) to Wellington (NZWN) | 0300-0630 | 1300-1630 | 1500-1830 |
| 5 | Wellington (NZWN) to Melbourne (YMML) | 0630-1000 | 1630-2000 | 1830-2200 |
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.
