NEW AIRCRAFT MAKES AMAZING JOURNEY FROM CANADA TO AUSTRALIA A new Cessna Citation V (C560) became the latest aircraft to join the NSW RFS fleet in May 2021. The plane, to be operated by Coulson Aviation on behalf of the NSW RFS, will perform lead plane work for water-bombing aircraft, conduct line scanning and transport crews. The plane had to take a very long and scenic route from Coulson Aviation’s headquarters in Canada to get to Australia, as the aircraft is unsuitable for the straighter cross-ocean journeys routinely taken by commercial jets. The four-day journey was flown by Coulson Aviation pilots Michael Hayes and Jamie Whatman. Michael shares his experience below. After completing annual training in California and receiving a negative COVID-19 test result, we made our way to Coulson Headquarters at Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, Canada, where our NSW RFS Citation was waiting. Our journey to bring the plane home would include an exciting four days of flying with three nights in various ports.
Departing Anchorage the next day, we managed to see clear skies for the first half-hour of the flight with views over Lake Clark and Katmai National Park before the clouds set in again. Our track took us all the way down the Aleutian Islands and into our next stop of Adak, a settlement in the Aleutian Islands about halfway between North America and Russia.
We were cleared to leave Canada and begin the journey back to Australia once we received our third negative COVID-19 test result for the trip. Stunning scenery greeted us as we departed out of Port Alberni for Anchorage, Alaska.
The weather in Adak was a chilly four degrees, with high winds and heavy rain – a beautiful day, according to the local refueller. Following a quick fuel stop in the cold and wet, we were off across the Bering Sea towards Russia.
This was unfortunately short-lived as we climbed through 16,000 feet and sat on top of overcast cloud for the remainder of the flight, missing out on all the beautiful scenery that British Columbia and Alaska offer.
This arrival was vastly different to the last. Flying over completely snow-covered mountains and volcanoes for miles all around, the arrival took us into Yelizovo Airport on the eastern tip of Russia. Taxiing on the ground we got some views of the Russian Mig fighter jets only ever
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