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.

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.

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.

The NSW RFS Cessna Citation at Anchorage on the first day of its journey.

Photo by Michael Hayes.

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.

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 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 seen in the movies. Due to the tight security restrictions and armed military personnel greeting us, we were not able to take any further photos.

Russia was expected to be the hardest leg of our trip to manage in terms of services provided and approvals to enter. However, it ended up being the easiest and most streamlined out of all ports.

The next leg took us over the Sea of Okhotsk and into Japan, flying over some of the best ski fields in the world around Sapporo City before landing at New Chitose airport. Yet another COVID-19 test was taken, and a two-hour wait in the aircraft to receive the results, before we could clear Customs and Immigration and head to the hotel for the night.

The four-day journey taken by Michael, Jamie and the Citation, from Port Alberni in Canada to RAAF Base Richmond.

We were greeted with thick fog the next morning for the shortest leg of the trip to Fukuoka, with our route taking us alongside North Korean airspace. After a quick turnaround in Fukuoka we were off to Laoag in the Philippines, overflying Okinawa and Naha on the way. Laoag Airport is surrounded by tropical scenery and coastal waters, and was a humid 32 degrees on the ground.

Our last leg of the day had us bound for Manado, Indonesia. We flew down the mainlands of the Philippines straight over Manila when we encountered some forecast thunderstorms associated with a Tropical Cyclone. The thunderstorms had tops reaching up to 60,000 feet, which made for some spectacular sights. After some significant deviations off track to avoid the weather, we finally set course back into Manado.

The next day was our final day of the trip. The cyclone had shifted further off the coast and cleared the skies to Darwin. We had a nice easy arrival over Bathurst Island before landing on home soil again after fourand-a-half weeks abroad.

As expected, yet another COVID-19 test awaited us on arrival, and after a quick check of our passports and paperwork we were off to Alice Springs. We had views of the Asia/Pacific aircraft storage facility as we arrived at Alice Springs, with 200-plus aircraft temporarily discarded right beside the runway. It was a very sobering view, and highlighted the devastating impact this pandemic has had on the aviation industry. I am thankful to be out of the airline industry and now part of the NSW RFS aerial firefighting team.

Our final leg was a smooth and comfortable flight over the rich red sands of the Simpson Desert and over the Blue Mountains to the aircraft’s new home at RAAF Base Richmond. For Jamie and I, we were one step closer to home. But we weren’t quite there yet, with 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine to be endured – our second round of quarantine within the past six months.