Hi all,
The Airfield is kindly being made available to us on the 29th of March.
It's been a while since we've had access to the Airfield, so I'm hoping for a great night too.
If you haven't been to the Airfield before, you will be most welcome to join us. If you don't have a scope, no problem either - it is a great chance to see many different types of instruments, small and large, simple and complex, and what the heavens look like through the different scopes.
If you feel that your scope is 'inadequate', please do not hesitate to bring it! The sky here is brilliant (1000m above sea level, making the Airfield one of the highest observing areas close to Sydney) and it will be a great chance to give that scope a good workout. You learn a lot from the people there and you'll be learn how to get the most out of your scope and gear.
Even if all you have is a pair of binos, come and bring them too! Binoculars are a fantastic bit of gear, and their wide field of view offers views that large scopes just cannot give for all their aperture grunt.
This is also a good chance to suss out the condition of your gear before the IIS Astro Camp next month. Blow out cobwebs, re-familiarize yourself with your gear, iron out bugs, whatever, so you are not left out of sorts at the Astro Camp.
Access to the Airfield is via Medlow Bath, the first village west of Katoomba. At Medlow Bath's only set of lights, turn into Railway Parade. Then it's left into Rutland Rd that becomes Grand Canyon Rd. The Airfield is 4km from the Rutland Rd turn off. Note that the last 3km is unsealed and rain can cause nasty erosion of the road surface. While the road is occasionally regraded, it is still advisable to take it easy along here. It is an easy 2WD road, just use caution.
On entering the Airfield, turn into the left hand track and follow it past the 'No Entry' sign - there is no access to the observing area by going straight ahead. From here, turn right up the hill past the various buildings to the observing area. The pictures below show area maps and the location of the observing slab on the main runway.
The Airfield is totally BYO everything. There is no power available. There are loos for the ladies and kids. The office building also has a combustion heater for those freezing winter nights. We are also welcome to stay overnight - there is no quitting time, that is upto you when you've had enough. But we can use the office building for some shut eye as there are a few sofas there to crash on.
Just some notes: Come rugged up! It gets very cold up there, even during summer. Bring plenty of layers - if you've got them you can shed them, if you don't have them you will freeze. Bring a red-light torch. Red light causes the least amount of disruption to our dark adapted eyes. If you don't have a red-light torch, two, three or four layers of red cellophane over the torch face will do the trick. Cellophane is readily available from $2 shops, newsagents and even florists.
Last note, the hat gets passed around for the slab of Rod's preferred brew as a gift to say thanks for using his Airfield.
Any questions, just ask,
Mental.
looks like a really good spot to set up. Will bring the 12" if all goes well. 
