– Steve Hitchen
People–including aviators–are a weird mob in that we like to change, but we don't like to be changed. That was my initial fear when told that Ausfly was moving to Wentworth and changing to 22-23 March. It had been entrenched in Narromine for so long that the name "Ausfly" was hard to find in the vernacular; people were talking about "going to Narromine." So it was a gutsy and necessary move by the SAAA to move the annual national fly-in away from their traditional home and to an airport very remote from both Sydney and Brisbane. I was betwixt and between applauding a refreshing move and lambasting the SAAA for removing themselves in flight sense from such large markets. But get this: both the underwing parking area and the exhibitor spaces are completely sold out for Ausfly. And as for accommodation in Wentworth, don't bother trying. It seems the aviation community is swaying toward the "refreshing move" side of the scales, which of course is a shot in the arm for the SAAA and their gutsy move. Naturally, I could be trumpeting before the emperor arrives; the final say on the success will be the number of wheels that hit the runway. In November last year, I said that the success of Ausfly depended on the SAAA providing compelling reasons to go, and it seems they may have done that. Hopefully, in years to come, we'll all be talking about "going to Wentworth".
Every time I read that the percentage of women in aviation is only 5% I become somewhat despondent; it hasn't changed in the 20-odd years I've been writing for Australian Flying. I will concede that this may be an old statistic that could be accurate no longer, but if it is, the change won't be startlingly significant. A look around any charter operation or flying school can tell you that. Over the years there have been scholarships awarded, schools programs and government programs, but Australia's women remain an un-tapped resource for aviation. I applaud Sydney Flying College's 25-by-25 target, and was surprised to read that they are already at 21% female in their student cohort. That's probably higher than many other comparable schools, although I wouldn't swear to that. But efforts like these, although commendable, don't seem to be reversing the ship. The current government recognises that, and after recent research has blamed male domination as the reason that women are eschewing aviation careers. This is severely problematic and might explain the reason why the 5% quoted statistic hasn't changed. The current government's Women in the Aviation Industry Initiative seems to give greater weight on attracting women to aviation, but really ignores the deeper issues that women have in any male-dominated environment. By their own measures, the problem lies not in attracting women, but retaining them once they are immersed in the male culture. That's where the energy needs to be directed: making sure there is enough female culture dispersed among the male matrix to ensure the strength of the system.
I was able to catch up with newly-minted RAAA CEO Rob Walker at Moorabbin Airport. Walker has a long history in aviation, and although he has his detractors, is generally seen as a white-hat who has industry smarts and competency to boot. One of the dominating discussions was how the RAAA was flexing to take in new and emerging industries. He told me with great pride how the RAAA had signed their first space operator, and how regional operators were themselves flexing to adopt new technologies such as eVTOLs. RAAA has not disguised their ambition to be the most influential association in the aviation community, and if they keep adapting the way they are, that's likely to happen organically without Walker and his board having to expend too much sweat. With their annual convention and regional roadshows now attracting AMDA Foundation support, the RAAA is well on their way to achieving their ambition, and they'll do so on the back of other associations not necessarily doing nothing, but arguably being seen to do nothing. Walker told me a lot of other stuff, too, but you'll have to wait for that.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch