A young pilot from Coonabarabran has taken out the inaugural Arthur Butler Trophy winning the Winging it Down the Castlereagh air rally on Saturday 20 May in his first-ever flying competition.

Nineteen year old Max Phillips self-navigated the route along the Castlereagh River over Binnaway, Mendooran, Gilgandra, Gulargambone and Coonamble before returning to base at the Tooraweenah Aerodrome.

His passenger was a university friend who had never travelled in a light plane before.

Max flew his father's Fuji FA200-160 Aero Subaru aircraft, a low wing four seater plane. 

"It's airframe was built by Subaru in Japan," Max told the Coonamble Times. "It's an aerobatic plane so it's built tougher than the average but it's nothing special."

He did his first flying lesson at the age of 11 and had passed his flying exam at age 13 before he started flying lessons.

He completed his first solo after turning 15.

A much younger Max in the cockpit of the uji FA200-160 Aero Subaru with his father Michael. PHOTO SUPPLIED.

"I always wanted to be an airline pilot until I did my pilot's licence," said Max. "Then I learnt about all the restrictions and paperwork."

He is now two years into an Aerospace Engineering degree at the University of NSW.

"I'll take any job in the industry," he said. "I'd prefer to work on small aeroplanes but it's not the biggest industry in Australia so I'll just have to see what's out there."

To win the coveted title Max beat off a dozen older pilots from around the state in a range of other light aircraft.

"There were a lot of ultralight types, a handful of Cessna 182s and there were Foxbats A22, five all up," said Max.

"The Foxbat is a very popular station-type aircraft that can be used for everything, from carrying cargo to flying slowly to check your troughs."

"The biggest was a Beechcraft Bonanza," he said. "It's a six seat, very comfortable and fast 'doctor plane' - a lot of doctors use them to fly out to the regions."

Spectators wait at Tooraweenah Airfield for the rally to begin

Flight planning pro

However the air rally was not a race based on speed.

Each entrant had to carefully calculate their expected flight time around the course, accounting for wind speed, altitude and the weight and capacity of their aircraft.

As well as being judged on how close they came to their estimated time, the entrants were judged on the quality of their submitted flight plan.

Max edged out Mr McKenzie in a Bonanza and Phillip Brown of The Oaks, near Camden in a Vans RV-9.

"The Van is a low wing, fairly new model," said Max. "It's a two seater, very sleek looking, fast aeroplane."

The aeroplanes took off in a staggered start, based on cruising speed and ordered so the fastest plane left first and the slowest cruiser left last.

"That way there was never any chance of overtaking," said rally judge Mark Adams. "Safety was the by-word for the whole event - no one even stubbed their toe at the village fair."

Part of the crowd viewing the Winging it Down the Castlereagh air rally and open day at Tooraweenah. PHOTO: Maddison Pawley

The volunteer committee provided five co-ordinators on the day with other society members assisting.

"The first aircraft took off at 12:01:32 and the last plane left at 12:20:29," Mr Adams said. "So it averaged out at about one every minute.

"The event flowed so well the last plane was back by 2:20pm," he said. "The fastest took 75minutes and the slowest took 129 minutes."

Max exceeded his estimated flight time by two minutes and his nearest rival missed his estimate by just thirty seconds.

"It was the technicalities in their flight planning that split first and second," Mr Adams said.

"Max even calculated the fuel needed for take off, and the time and distance it would take to reach cruising altitude, which are things a commercial pilot would have to take into account.

"It was impressive how professional his flight plan was, it accounted for fuel usage and how important it is to have it loaded correctly so the aircraft is properly balanced and not overweight."

A great day out at Tooraweenah Airfield

Mr Adams says Winging it Down the Castlereagh was "a resounding success, due in no small way to the support and efforts of the Tooraweenah community."

The pilots and their passengers were among an estimated crowd of around 400 people who enjoyed the village fair, shopping at a dozen or so local market stalls and watching the aeroplanes.

Among the aircraft were the oldest registered Cessna 180 taildragger in Australia and a 1940s two-seater Taylor craft from Narromine.

The event kicked off with a Welcome to Country conducted by Ralph Naden from Balladoran on behalf of the Gamilaroi Nation.

It was officially opened by Member for Barwon Roy Butler, who also acted as starter for the rally.

Member for Barwon Roy Butler enjoyed his official starter role.

The local community were in full support.

SES volunteers were on hand in case of disaster, the Tooraweenah Public School loaned a stage, a public address system, wheelie bins and chairs; the town hall supplied tables and the Show Society offered their ablution block.

"It wouldn't have happened without the support of ARTC (Australian Rail Track Corporation) Inland Rail as a our major sponsor," Mr Adams said.

"All the pilots thought it was a whizzer. Hopefully, they'll come back, stay in the local accommodation and explore the Warrumbungles from Tooraweenah."

"I give the day a solid nine out of ten," said Max Phillips. "On the flight there was a way point every twenty to thirty miles so it didn't get too dull and it was nice to follow the river."

Arthur Butler is credited with establishing some of the first regular passenger air services in regional Australia from his base at Tooraweenah.

The Arthur Butler Aviation Museum and Airport Committee will continue to work hand-in-glove with the Coonabarabran Aero Club to run their event on alternate years to the Wings Over the Warrumbungles Air Show which is due to run again in 2024.

"We've got a lot of work to do with our Arthur Butler Museum," Mr Adams said. "We're looking for any memorabilia that can be donated or loaned."

"The main thing is to obtain a grant for Gilgandra Shire Council to disassemble the original hangar, which is currently a storage shed at the shire depot, and return it to the Tooraweenah airfield."