Departure
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MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Newcastle Airport (ICAO: YWLM, IATA: NTL), also known as Williamtown Airport, is a joint military-civil aerodrome co-located with RAAF Base Williamtown in the Port Stephens area of New South Wales, north of Newcastle. It offers a single long, hard-surfaced runway with an ILS, making it a straightforward and well-equipped destination for a simulated VFR or IFR arrival in the region.
Newcastle Airport, generally known locally as Williamtown Airport, sits alongside RAAF Base Williamtown and serves as the main air gateway to the city of Newcastle and the wider Hunter and Port Stephens region of New South Wales. It is a shared military-civilian field, hosting front-line RAAF operations alongside domestic airline services, which gives it an interesting mixed character for a simulator pilot: a single very long runway, an ILS approach, and full tower and approach control typical of a busy regional international airport.
The airport lies at Williamtown, about 15 kilometres north of Newcastle city centre (roughly 27 kilometres by road), within the Port Stephens local government area. As a joint-use facility with RAAF Base Williamtown, the field is served by its own approach and tower control (Willy Approach and Newcastle Tower) rather than being a simple uncontrolled strip, and traffic is worked by Brisbane Centre for enroute flight service.
The airport has a single physical runway, 12/30, of hard surface construction and lit for night operations. Runway 30 has a declared length of 10,030 feet, while Runway 12, which is equipped with an ILS, has a declared length of 7,287 feet. Field elevation is 20 feet.
Radio services include Williamtown Approach (Willy Approach) on 135.7 MHz, an ATIS broadcast on 31.61 MHz, a clearance delivery frequency, ground on 121.8 MHz, and tower/CTAF on 118.3 MHz. A further control frequency is listed on 130.35 MHz, and Brisbane Centre provides flight service coverage on 125.7 MHz. Runway 12 is equipped with an ILS for instrument approaches.
The airfield originated as a Royal Australian Air Force base, and commercial operations began at Williamtown in 1947 when the federal government opened the existing RAAF airport to civil aviation. Scheduled airline services commenced in February 1948, with Trans Australia Airlines flying Douglas DC-3 aircraft on a Sydney-Newcastle-Brisbane route. A new passenger terminal was built in 1975. During the 1970s Masling Airlines operated Cessna 402 commuter flights between Newcastle and Sydney, and in 1980 the airline introduced larger Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft and added a Newcastle-Canberra route. Passenger traffic grew through the 1980s with the arrival of new airlines and jet services, including Fokker F28s operated by Air New South Wales and Boeing 737s flown by Ansett. The airport remained under federal government control until 1990, when responsibility for its operation passed to Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council.
Newcastle Airport continues to operate as a joint civil-military facility alongside RAAF Base Williamtown. Jetstar, Virgin Australia and QantasLink provide scheduled services to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Hobart, Cairns and Bali, while FlyPelican and Link operate flights to Canberra. The largest commercial aircraft currently using the airport are Boeing 737-800s operated by Virgin Australia. The civilian operation is run under a lease from the federal government that runs until 2075.