Darwin

At the very beginning of the trip, I mentioned that Darwin was one of the main highlights of my planned route and a stop I was really looking forward to touching down in. However, with the Northern Territory’s wet season being in full swing, finding a window into Darwin was proving difficult. As a person not from the Territory, and having avoided storms for the trip so far, I didn’t want my first wet season experience to turn into a negative one, so I took a break from flying myself and hopped on an Air North flight into Darwin, spending two nights there.

Whilst in the NT, I was taken care of by the wonderful Trent Robinson, who showed me (and drove me) around town. I deeply respect him as a pilot with extensive experience in the aviation world, and I learnt so much just by getting to spend a day with him. I backseated a lesson with Trent and another student in a C210. Even though you’re not holding the controls, witnessing a lesson from an outsider’s perspective invites new observations and takeaway point, as it’s great to watch how things like weather, airspace and even general handling are managed from a third person perspective. I learnt so much and was grateful for the experience!!

I also had the incredible honour and opportunity to pay a visit to the Darwin Air Traffic Control Tower! As a pilot it’s always interesting to see how things operate on the other end of the radios, and it was very informative. But as an av-nerd and the granddaughter of a military ATC, it was so much fun just watching everything happening, and maybe nerding out over the aircraft taking off and departing!

I had one more thing lined up on return to Katherine, which was the opportunity to go on base and see the military side of Tindal Airport. The visit was a wonderful experience and I was so honoured to be shown around, especially as I am aspiring to make a career as an Air Force Pilot. The highlight of the day in Tindal was very much when I got to go outside and see the F35s, including one that did a low pass over the buildings before going to land. The engine has an incredible noise (not like a little 172 at all), and I will literally never forget witnessing that!

I’m so grateful for everyone who made the past few days possible, including Trent and everyone at 452 Squadron and 75 Squadron.