February 12, 2021 was a mild summer day. More like autumn really. A good excuse for a flight to Boonah. I’d never landed there before but knew it was likely to be on the route for my CPL (Commercial Pilot Licence) test in the coming weeks. Nestled in amongst the hills of the Scenic Rim, Boonah is a beautiful spot. It’s home to a few light aircraft and gliders. I took off from Redcliffe and flew to the west of Brisbane, “threading the needle” between the Brisbane airspace, Archerfield airspace and Amberley airspace. I knew that one of the other club students had recently failed her CPL test because she almost inadvertently flew into Amberley airspace without a clearance so I wanted to make sure I knew all the visual cues to help me avoid making the same mistake. Flinders Peak is one such landmark, so I identified that and stayed well clear of it.

I could then head straight for Boonah and enjoyed the rolling hills as I approached.

Boonah appeared, I joined downwind, did a 500ft overfly to check the condition of the strip and then did a second circuit and landed. Pulling off to one side I shut down and prepared for the next leg.

Taking off to the north west it was on to the Lockyer Valley and over the top of Gatton. Lake Wivenhoe appeared to be fairly dry for the time of year. February is nearing the end of the wet season in Brisbane so normally the lake, which is Brisbane’s largest water storage facility, should have more water in it.

Soon we passed over Esk and I was pleased to see the water level in Lake Somerset was reasonably high. We needed more summer rains but the country was still looking pretty amazing.

From there it was short hop back to Redcliffe. Good practice for the upcoming test.