Get Away with Dre – Skyhigh activities in NSW
On the 21st May 1927, Charles Lindbergh, became the first pilot to complete a solo non-stop transatlantic flight, from New York to Paris. On the same day 5 years later in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Safe to say the 21st May is a day of breaking records in aviation.
Let’s celebrate the wonders of aviation and explore different skyhigh activities anyone and everyone can get “up” to.
Scenic flights
There are different ways you can enjoy a scenic flight in NSW. The first is on fixed-wing plane, or sea-plane, with 30-minute rides you can enjoy in the harbour, the eastern suburbs and northern beaches.
Another, more popular method, is via helicopter around the Sydney Harbour, however you can also choose from chopper flights in the Blue Mountains, and Newcastle. There are private chopper flights, but you can shave $400 off the price tag by opting for a shared flight.
Alternatively you can enjoy a scenic flight via hot air balloon. These are usually 1 hour flights, but some packages can include a winery visit or breakfast after the flight. There are a few flights in the Macarthur Region, Hunter Valley, Canberra, Orange, and Byron Bay to choose from.
Booking any scenic flight can be cheaper during weekdays.
Acrobatic flights
If you have the need for speed, then an being in an acrobatic flight joy ride would be more your taste.
With speeds of up to 300 kmph, the feeling of G force in your body and some manoeuvres made just 500ms above the ground, an acrobatic flight is a feeling you’ll never forget.
There are plenty flights you can try if you search online. One in Newcastle is a 20 minute joy ride in a Yak-52 War bird. Another is in a Red Baron’s Pitts Special biplane from Bankstown airport. It’s a 45 minute ride of loops and rolls, hesitation rolls, spins, snap rolls and tail-slides.
Learn to fly
Why not learn to fly? You can do a 1 hr lesson in flying a fixed wing aircraft in Camden and Bankstown. That hour can be logged to go into your actual pilot licence if you’re seriously contemplating on becoming a pilot.
If a chopper is more of your choice, you can book yourself a 30 minute or 1 hr intro trial flight with an instructor.
Skydiving
If you like planes, but you prefer jumping out of one, doing a tandem skydive is one to try.
You can do a 15,000 ft flight and jump in Picton, Wollongong, Newcastle or Byron Bay
Paragliding
If you prefer being a plane, than being in one, there are a few 20 or 30 minute tandem paragliding experiences you can choose from.
Flight simulators
If you prefer both feet on the ground, a 1 hour flight simulators might be more your jam. You can be the captain of a Boeing 737-800 and perform your own taxi, take-off and land in your choice of over 22,000 airports around the world. You can even choose the weather conditions you want to fly in.
You’ll have all the instruments and controls to manage your airspeed and altitude and you’ll be guided by an experience pilot.
iFly indoor skydiving
Ever wondered what it feels like to skydive? Indoor skydiving replicating the feeling of skydiving at 14,000ft right before having to deploy your parachute. You’re in a glass tunnel for all to see, and it lasts 50 seconds, which feels a lot longer than you think.
