HAYDEN MCDONALD COMPLETES HIS LAP AROUND AUSTRALIA
In Edition 107, you might recall that we followed Hayden McDonald’s solo circumnavigation of Australia. Hayden left his home in Esperance in September and flew towards the East Coast of Australia. He then flew up the East Coast to Bundaberg, all the way across to Kununurra, stopping along the way to talk to community groups and schools about his passion for flying while advocating for inclusion for people on the autism spectrum.
Unfortunately, due to the residual smoke haze caused by bushfires in the Kununurra region, Hayden was forced to put his journey temporarily on hold. Hayden reluctantly left his beloved Jabiru 7315 in Kununnura and returned home to Esperance in early November. However, his determination to finish his mission saw him return to Kunanurra a few weeks later to resume his journey. Although it had only been a few weeks, his beloved 7315 looked like it had been abandoned for years and was in much need of some TLC. After some thorough cleaning and removal of a pesky ant nest, he was ready to take off again.
His first leg was Kununurra to Halls Creek for a quick fuel stop then on to Derby which was a 6-hour day without any proper break. After a month without flying, Hayden says he was completely exhausted and went straight to bed. He had a 3:45am rise the next morning with a 5:30am engine start in order to make it to Broome before the tower opened at 8am. For those who aren’t aware, after 8am the Broome airport becomes Class D controlled airspace and as Hayden is not endorsed to land in controlled airspace, he would not be allowed to land. Hayden was hoping for his favourite over-water approach coming into Broome, but the winds didn’t allow it. Other than a helicopter that didn’t hear his call and crossed the hold short line, the landing was smooth and he landed with an hour to spare.
Hayden had the perfect plan for leaving Broome – up at 4:45am, taxi at 6am and leave by 7am as he was flying into more controlled airspace at Port Hedland International Airport. Hayden had not prepared himself for the fact that phonelines for the Broome taxi service do not open until 6am and the taxi did not arrive until 7am, leaving him an hour behind schedule. To comply with the controlled airspace rules, Hayden had to be out of Broome by 7.30am at the latest, so he sprinted to his plane, did his run up and take-off checks in record time and took off with only minutes to spare!
Port Hedland does not sound like the location for an international airport, but it actually serves as an important hub for FIFO workers coming and going from the Pilbara region. Hayden says it is still Class G airspace, but has the services for an Air Traffic Controller with advice being provided by the Airport Flight Information Service (AFIS). Hayden describes Port Hedland as being a controlled airport but uncontrolled. Luckily there were tail winds the whole way from Broome, so he did not need to refuel at all.
Another early departure from Port Hedland was required to comply with the controlled airspace regulations and then onto Karratha with 10 minutes to spare as Karratha has the same airspace rules as Broome. Talk about a tight schedule! Hayden had to spend an extra day in Karratha due to being clouded in and then had to leave early bound for Onslow. Onslow does not have Avgas, so Hayden made sure he had extra reserves in his fuel bladder so he could make it safely to Carnarvon. Carnarvon was gusty and had wind shear by the time he arrived, but Hayden says he managed okay! Hayden flies without autopilot, so when the batteries go flat on his headset he has to think quickly. But people do help along the way and Hayden seems well-prepared and calm when making his flying decisions. He is also very self-aware, quick to admit his mistakes and learn from them.
The next leg was going to be Hayden’s longest and most complex leg for the entire circumnavigation — Carnarvon to Geraldton, then tracking along the coast around Perth at under 2000ft to comply with their Class C airspace regulations, on to Murrayfield then to Bunbury for the night. There was lots of preparation involved – checking, rechecking and having to wear a lifejacket while flying over the water with 20 knot headwinds to boot. Hayden said that Perth was very busy and has four different routes depending on which restricted airspace was active, so he had to check and recheck which route to take. He was aware that if he was even a tiny bit out, he would have been in all sorts of trouble.
Hayden says in his blog, “On these long days you tend to think a lot. What if I make a mistake?… Where do I go if this is all for nothing? What happens if the project fails? Where is the best place to force 7315 down if my engine quits?”
Hayden says after six hours of flying he made an inbound call to Murrayfield and was made aware of a student flying in the area. He says instinct took over and he took a steep descending turn to avoid the beginner pilot. No call, no warning and no apology from them. It was complex flying that took some quick decision making, but Hayden took it all in his stride.
After landing in Murrayfield and refuelling, he pushed on to Bunbury where he landed at 5PM, exhausted and with a headache, but relieved to have landed safely.
He then departed Bunbury for Albany and climbed up to 9,500ft, but a weather report came in that there were clouds and wind at 4,400ft which called for a quick descent to 3,500ft. There was a bit of confusion upon landing in Albany, so it sounds like a rest was in order after a few very long days. Hayden sensibly spent some days resting and getting his mojo back, ready for his final leg. It was a late departure from Albany to Esperance and when Hayden was about to land on Runway 21 in Esperance, there was an “All Stations Esperance New NOTAM” for his runway which meant he had to set up for Runway 11, with a 10kt crosswind. When he landed, he was told that the NOTAM was for the next day. Hayden takes the positives out of everything and said “Well, better safe than sorry and I needed the crosswind practice!!”
There was one final landing at Myrup which he says was a smooth but an emotional landing. Hayden wrote in his blog, “Let’s just say it took some time for me to leave the cockpit. I was the first autistic pilot to fly around Australia (unofficially).” Hayden is very humble about what he has achieved. Other than circumnavigating the country on his own, he has spoken to countless groups about his journey, became an ABC trailblazer, spoken at Parliament House and met Dick Smith. Although he has achieved the flying part of his mission, he is by no means done. Hayden is absolutely determined to work with CASA to sort out a pathway for autistic pilots. RAAus are proud to be able to facilitate the dreams and passions of aviators from all walks of life and have reflected on Hayden’s journey.
“After hearing of Hayden’s story through the ABC Trailblazers, we were so thrilled to see our organisational value of ‘inclusivity’ being demonstrated. RAAus exists for everyone and anyone that has a passion for aviation. From RAAus’ early days we’ve been a platform for pioneers. Be it building aircraft, flying aircraft against the odds or enabling those that otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to spread their wings, RAAus enables many people to live out their dream of getting amongst the clouds.
Hayden is a pioneer and has been supported wonderfully by his family and community to make his dream of being a pilot a reality. RAAus is a community of people just like this and therefore it’s only natural that we support Hayden delivering his message around the country, because it is a very worthy one.”
We are sure that this will not be the last we will hear from this remarkable young man, so stay tuned.
