After moving from Brisbane to Pottsville on the New South Wales far north coast in December 2024 I joined the Murwillumbah Aero Club, a somewhat smaller affair than the Redcliffe Club but still a group of passionate aviators. The Murwillumbah airfield is located close to Wollumbin (Mt Warning) that is the remains of a massive volcano. Wollumbin is the volcanic plug that is the core of the surrounding caldera.

The club owns a single Cessna 172 with call sign VH-RYC that is housed in a hangar adjacent to the airstrip.

One of the first tasks after joining the club was to do a check flight with one of the club’s instructors. Gary Clarke, a commercial pilot currently flying for REX, was the lucky one who accompanied me on that first flight on 2^nd January 2025. We took off and heading south, practised a few steep turns abeam Mullumbimby, then continued to Ballina for a touch n go. From there we followed the coast past Byron Bay and Pottsville to Gold Coast international where we did a full stop. After waiting at the run up bay for a couple of jets to land we headed back to YMUR for a flapless landing and glide approach.

Six days later it was a beautiful morning for a flight so first thing, accompanied by Marty Jackson, I took RYC up for another familiarisation/scenic flight out of Murwillumbah past Mount Warning, Nimbin, Mullumbimby and Pottsville. First we passed over Murwillumbah and the Tweed River.

Soon we were passing over Clarrie Hall Dam heading for the Nimbin TV Towers.

From there we carried on over Mullumbimby with a great view of the coast down as far as Cape Byron.

Next was Brunswick Heads where we turned north and followed the coast.

We had a great view of Pottsville as we flew past.

Then it was back to Murwillumbah and the Tweed Valley.

On 29^th January it was time for a third flight, this time accompanied by Bruce Gard. We headed west this time with the plan to reach Mount Lindsay. Passing Wollumbin we made a heading to the western end of the caldera and soon were flying over Kyogle.

Unfortunately clouds had built up to the north and it was basically 8/8 cloud right down to the mountain tops so we decided it would be smart to return to Murwillumbah. It was still an enjoyable albeit short flight. 

Sunday 2^nd February was the monthly club breakfast where members compete in a spot landing competition. Basically you do three circuits and try to touch down within a marked area. The closer you are at touch down to the central mark the higher your score. It was my first attempt and I did the three landings, one standard, one flapless and one glide approach. Needless to say I was nowhere near as good as the more seasoned members. The approach from the north requires a dive down to the threshold after passing over some industrial sheds so you pick up some speed that causes you to glide a lot further than you otherwise would. That was my excuse anyway. I’ll need some more practice!

So in conclusion, these flights confirmed that the Tweed Coast is a magnificent area to fly around. The hinterland and the coast is simply spectacular. We look forward to many future flying events out of “Murbah”.