Hi folks,
Yes, before anyone says anything, I do know that Feb. 22 is a Sunday. There's a reason for this. Our IIS friend, MattT, asked me if this date could be made available for using the Airfield as he will be in Sydney that week, and will be bringing his monster refractor AND that Gaunt mount! Sunday 22nd is the only time available to him to make it to the Airfield, and he really wants to give his beast a work out.
I do understand the time restrictions this puts on people. I too need to go to work the following day,
. So I hope you are able to come if only for a few hours.
I've been corresponding with Matt for a weeks over this since he sprung this visit on me. His biggest challenge has been to fit the scope and mount in his car!
So, if you see a little Suzuki Mightyboy chuffing up the highway, with its undercarriage dragging on the road, kicking up a fury of sparks, that'll be Matt!
I am hoping for a clear night for this visit of Matt's. Might be another IISer from Canberra coming up for this too. Can't wait to see Matt's beautiful creation.
This session is not only about Matt!
It is also about viewing the stars. If you haven't been to the Airfield before, you are most welcome to join us.
Access to the Airfield is via Medlow Bath, the next village after Katoomba heading west. At Medlow Bath's only set of traffic lights turn into Station Pde, and then turn left into Rutland. Rutland is also known as Grand Canyon Drive. The Airfield is 4km from this intersection with the last 3km being unsealed. Being unsealed it can experience erosion that can create nasty ruts in the road surface, so take it easy.
The Airfield is totally BYO power, food, drinks, etc. Loos are available for kids and ladies. There are sofas in the office building we can get some kip in too. The office building also has a combustion heater that becomes the centre of the universe during winter. There is also no actual finish time. It is up to you when you've had enough or need to head home. But we are welcome to stay overnight if we like.
This is an informal gathering. We all share the cost of a gift to Rod of his preferred brew. The hat gets passed around for this.
These get togethers are a great chance to ask questions if you are new to astronomy. Folks who come up bring a wide variety of instruments and gear, and their interests vary just as widely from visual through to imaging (and even sketching... ). The Airfield's elevation at 1000m also makes it not only one of the highest observing sites close to Sydney, but also its elevation makes a big impact in reducing the influence of Sydney's light pollution,
Heading to the Airfield
Note that some natsav systems call this site "Katoomba Airport", and won't show Katoomba Airfield.
On entering the Airfield's gates, keep to the left hand track - there is no access to the observing field using the other two tracks. Drive past the "no entry" sign and turn right up the hill past the various buildings. The setup slab is on the left once you reach the main runway.
The first pic below shows the route to the Airfield coming from Katoomba. The second pic shows the way to the observing slab on the main runway.
If you have a telescope, bring it along! If all you have are binoculars, brilliant! Bring them! Binos are a fantastic astronomy tool. I always bring my pair. If you don't have a scope, no problem either, we like to share the views through ours.
See you soon,
Alex.
alex, and Co.
I'll bring something that will baffle everyone in the astro world... I little portable mount that can take a camera and a scope to do wide field and astrophotography aswell.. should make people smile
Anyway hope to see you all on the 22nd looking forward to seeing this monster refractor too 
aswell... 
to IIS Edward 
