Moruya-based South Coast Seaplanes has started regular joy flights from Narooma and is using the Quarterdeck restaurant as its base to pick and drop off passengers with Forsters Bay being the watery runway.

South Coast Seaplanes, operated by pilot Tim Gilbo and aircraft engineer Nutsy Fairweather, started commercial operations in October flying out of its home base on the Moruya River.

For now, the plan is to do a series of joy flights from the Quarterdeck on Sundays and last weekend there were several flights, with locals and tourists going flying.

The Quarterdeck’s Chris and Robyn Scroggy are excited to have the seaplane based at their restaurant and have worked closely with Tim and Nutsy.

“Robyn and I have wanted to get the pontoon refurbished so we could get South Coast Seaplanes based here to offer something not only for tourists but also locals to see the town from a different perspective – 1000 feet up,” Chris said.

“It’s going to be fantastic on Sundays looking out at the boats and other activities on the lake and now watching a seaplane taking off and landing.”

The pontoon at the end of his jetty was repaired and re-installed by Narooma local Bill Dudley. Quarterdeck staff will play hostesses assisting the seaplane docking and boarding.

The guys at South Coast Seaplanes are flexible and can even do special trips such as picnics to remote lakeside spots reachable only by plane.

The ultimate long-term plan would be to have additional aircraft based at other South Coast locations from Ulladulla to Eden, opening up the whole coast and potentially bringing customers down from the Illawarra.

Pilot Tim said the area really lent itself to flight seeing with so many natural attractions from Montague Island and the stunning beaches to Gulaga Mountain.

And being the land of many waters, there was a landing strip at every turn.

“It would be great to bring down more people to explore spots around the coast and it’s all so close when you’re up in the air,” he said.

The new air service has been featured on a number of travel shows and publications, including most recently Sydney Weekender on Channel 7, who apparently were blown away by the flight around the coast and over Montague Island.

​

Taking off from the lake with SC Seaplanes

THE Narooma News was fortunate to head up into the sky on Friday to experience first -hand a flight with South Coast Seaplanes.

Joining in on the ride in the four-seater aircraft was intrepid world traveller Chris Wynton from Canberra who owns a holiday house at Dalmeny.

Chris just happened to be having breakfast at Quarterdeck when she inquired about the seaplane that the diners couldn’t miss before them decided on a spur-of-the-moment joy flight.

Pilot Tim Gilbo said the fishing boats on the lake didn’t worry him as much as their wakes and he kept a keen look out to make sure the coast was clear, so to speak.

The aircraft, a Maule M5 Lunar Rocket, has remarkable short take-off and landing or STOL capabilities with plenty of power.

A standard 30-minute flight from Moruya takes in Montague Island, but Narooma is that much closer that the island can be over flown in a 15-minute flight.

The flight departs Narooma after banking right over the bridge and flying over the Narooma bar crossing before making beeline to the island.

“I tell people it’s the safest way to get across the bar,” Tim joked over the headsets that all passengers wear.

On this occasion, the plane circled the island several times, low enough for the seals to be spotted basking on the rocks below.

Tim then took us over Mystery Bay, down to Bermagui for several laps over the harbour then back north over Walllaga Lake, Tilba and Gulaga off to the left and then Glasshouse Rocks to the right before circling Wagonga Inlet for a smooth landing back on Forsters Bay.

For those tempted to see their town and surrounds from 1000 foot, prices vary according to numbers but start at $99 for 15 minutes or $160 for 30 minutes.

The plane, the pilot

PILOT Tim Gilbo has led fascinating life with South Coast Seaplanes just the latest adventure.

He has been a banker with the World Bank and an electrical engineer, even being working in Pink Floyd’s London studio, and has worked for non-government organisations in Africa.

He learned to fly while living in Washington DC in the United States and then spent six years living in Malawi and Botswana in Africa, where he took his plane on safari checking out the African wilderness from the air.

His plane is an US-made M-5-235C Lunar Rocket fitted with a 235-horsepower Lycoming engine, of which there were more than 379 built.

He found the plane in Alaska, flying it back through freezing Canadian conditions.

He converted it to floats with the help of aircraft engineer and the other half of South Coast Seaplanes, Nutsy Fairweather, who had owned his aircraft servicing business in Moruya for the last three years.