Hi all,
Wow, first post time. Hope I get this right...
I've had the idea for a while of taking a few people and some equiptment to a country location for a one night only viewing. Trick is that I'm a pilot and my idea is to jump in a plane at Essendon after work or early afternoon on a weekend and head out to a smallish airport somewhere north of the range and set up at the airport. Most airports are not lit unless a plane turns them on and they're also usually a fair distance from whatever town they're near. Also, most have horizion to horizon views as a bonus.
Typically I can get about 130-140nm (240-260km) in an hour in the plane and this costs about $220 each way. Between 4 people thats about $110. Not cheap I know, but you get to leave late afternoon and come back whenever you want (2-3am?).
Equiptment would be limited to SCT's, refractors and smaller reflectors due to space / weight limits in the plane, but the sky's be dark and the trip short...
Would anyone be interested in coming with me one night in the new year?
Cheers,