Welcome to CTAF(R)

CTAF(R) is a blog covering private, recreational and GA news, opinion and inspiration for Australia. Here you’ll find the latest updates about products, news about regulations, trip reports and regulars like destinations you can go and our used aircraft of the week.

About the Author

After a lifetime of dreaming, I started flying recreational aircraft just a few years ago in 2008. Taking a year to get my license, I managed to become the owner of an Evektor SportStar along the way. I try to get up in the air most weekends and do some longer two or three day trips several times a year. In real life, I am a computer programmer, entrepreneur, husband and father of twin toddlers. Yes, I will need a PPL and a four seater before long. I’m working on it.

Aside from this blog, I also organise the AeroScene Flying Group; getting together pilots from South Australia to fly to interesting places. I also irregularly appear on the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast and you can follow me as basscheffers on Twitter.

Can’t do it without you!

This blog exist to provide a good source of info about private and recreational flying down under and I would love to hear from you. Anything interesting going on at your airfield or club? Let me know! Or maybe you spotted a real bargain for our used aircraft of the week. And if you’ve been somewhere interesting, I’d love to hear about it for a destination brief or trip report. Send anything you have to bas@ctaf.com.au.

And don’t forget to you can comment on any post and provide your feedback direct and for anyone to see.

About the Name

Unless you are a pilot from Australia, Canada or the US, the term “CTAF” may not mean much to you. It stands for Common Traffic Advisory Frequency and it goes a little something like this: “Aldinga traffic. SportStar 4467 10 miles north east, inbound. Estimate airfield at 07. Aldinga.”, “Aldinga traffic, Lima India Echo, joining left crosswind runway 32. Aldinga.”

They are standard phrases used at non-towered airfields so other pilots know where other aircraft are and maintain separation. This is done on the UNICOM frequency 126.7 or, at busy airfields close to others, on a frequency just for that airfield. In principle, this is voluntary, but at some airfields it is required and is written on the charts like: CTAF 127.15(R). So now you know where the (R) in the name comes from too.

I thought it not a bad name for a blog that brings private and recreational aviation news.