R.F.D.S. Landing Sites
Submitted: Monday, Apr 16, 2018 at 13:05
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Idler Chris
As a regular outback traveller of advancing years one is always looking to make ones travels easier and safer. Being in the Idlers 4WD club where all members are retired, with many older than I am, anything that helps me is likely to help my fellow travellers.
Because of our age demographic health issues are front and centre in our minds and of major consideration in trip planning. It is not unusual for us to be several days driving from any assistance of any type. We can also be
well beyond the range of helicopters.
The question is what are our plans should there be an accident or some medical emergency among our group? We carry comprehensive
first aid kits, sat phones, PLB's, Spot devices etc, many of us have done
first aid courses, we have members who in there working life were nurses, doctors, vets, etc who maybe on the trip, and because of our ages we are very risk adverse.
Is there anything else we can do? I think there is. In the outback medical issues are usually responded to by the R.F.D.S. If they are going to help you other than by sat phone they are going to come by plane. For safety reasons they will not just land anywhere, they will only land on runways that have been certified that they are safe.
Therefore I see great benefit in having a list of authorised R.F.D.S. landing strips on all our outback trips. Should we have a medical emergency requiring the R.F.D.S. we would be able to tell them when we ring on the sat phone which landing strip we maybe able to get to, and an estimate of the time to get there. Anything that saves time may save a life.
I have googled trying to find this information but without success.
Does anyone know where there is a list of accredited R.F.D.S. landing sites?
Further, this information should be of value to outback travellers at large and maybe it should have a spot on the ExplorOz web site.
Chris
Reply By: Member - Boobook - Wednesday, Apr 18, 2018 at 05:51
Wednesday, Apr 18, 2018 at 05:51
Chris, while I get your intentions and it kind of makes sense, I think finding the closes
airstrip is bread and butter for the RFDS. Provided you have a decent GPS map I think the right people to make the landing location is the RFDS.
It could be that the plane they are sending has to use a particular type / size of runway, or a runway is out of service or in use for other reasons etc etc. There is no way you can determine that but RFDS will know all the issues.
The trick is to be able to navigate to the runway they tell you as effectively as possible.
The idler group may consider investing in a defibrillator. Expensive but probably one of the most useful things for an older group.
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Reply By: Ron N - Thursday, Apr 19, 2018 at 00:47
Thursday, Apr 19, 2018 at 00:47
The pilots know pretty precisely what airstrips are available to them.
What is probably more important is carrying a radio and finding out from the RFDS, the frequency to use to communicate with the pilots, and how to assist in guiding them in, when conditions are less than satisfactory for landing.
A lack of communication between people on the ground and pilots is dangerous and creates problems.
Pilots will want runway advice, and people on the ground can warn of hidden dangers.
Livestock and wildlife are runway problems that pilots don't need, so there's a need to drive them away from the runway.
Runways need to be physically checked for damage, surface condition (important in deteriorating weather), and obstructions which may pose a major threat to landing and taking off.
Pilots need on-
the spot wind reports for landing, so they can select the correct direction in which to land.
A lot of remote strips lack windsocks or functioning windsocks.
If the landing is an emergency night landing, there is a need for flares for the runway outline, or vehicle headlights to light up the runway thresholds, with the headlight lighting at 45 degrees to the runway (pointing away from the landing aircraft) at each end.
Flares can be made from Sunshine milk tins filled with sand, wet with diesel and then set on fire.
The flares must be set 30M apart on the edge of the runway, and preferably at 90M intervals.
A good site to ask more questions is the Recreational Flying
forum site, where you will get advice from people who fly regularly.
Cheers, Ron.
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