I got a note this week telling me that the Tamworth Aero Club is under siege from the local council. From what I understand, the council is going to build Virgin Australia storage sheds right in front of the aero club, so the panoramic views over the airport are taken away from the aero club and given to the Virgin's ground-handling equipment. The aero club did their best to convince councillors that other options were available, but as if often the case Goliath has spat on David from a great height and completely disregarded that in favour of an expedient solution. The view from an aero club window is critical to the club atmosphere; we are about flying and flying is what we want to see. There are very few aero clubs around the country that don't have a view of the field (Canberra is one), and Tamworth built their aero club the way they did in 1957 for a reason. That reason still exists and it is shameful that the local council has elected to run roughshod over the club, which does seem to be the modus operandi for many councils.
After many years of anticipation (and some scepticism) the Icon A5 is here! An innovative machine from the very start, it promised so much early and now looks to have delivered on the promise. However, the backlog of 1250 aeroplanes is an issue, and something they'll have to work through quickly; customers will wait only so long, especially given that they've been waiting so long already. When will we see one out here? We can't answer that, but Australian Flying will be all over it once it does!
Speaking of innovation, it's good to see a couple of locals getting together to make their systems co-exist. Wingmate and Jacobson Flare are both companies that have put a lot of time and brain power into developing software and concepts. When you think of these two, plus OzRunways and AvPlan, they represent some serious smarts in aviation systems. I does make you think that Australia has the capability and drive to advance the aviation industry from home base; what's lacking is encouragement and support. Still, that was no barrier to these companies, and shouldn't be for other innovators coming up behind them.
Of course, possibly the greatest innovator of the last 20 years has been Cirrus. This week they celebrated their 6000th aeroplane over the last 16 years. That's a might effort for an aircraft that has been pitched at the high-end of general aviation, especially given that they've had to go through the great Global Financial Crisis on the way. Back in the late '90s, it seems that Cirrus smelled a need for change within GA. After the liability issues were settled, Cessna came back on stream with the same old designs, but Cirrus (and later Diamond) led the charge for new designs that took advantage of up-to-date technology and concepts. It really is no wonder the company has been such a success.
It had to come. The USA has had a long, comfortable ride without paying for services (except through fuel levy), but it looks like Congress is going to put an end to that. Most likely, the USA will go down the track of a privatised ATC organisation. The model is yet to be seen, so we don't know if it means a state-owned entity like Airservices or NavCanada, or a partnership with private enterprise like the UKs National Air Traffic services. It won't be an easy process for them; their AOPA is against any form of user-pays system, and with 450,000 members they are a very powerful lobby group. Ultimately, it will probably happen, but the road will be rocky.
Although just about every conceivable aviation adventure has been done, it's good to see there are still pilots out there making their very own adventures. Victorian pilot Michael Smith has just finished flying his Searay LSA from Williamstown, Victoria to London! It took him two clean months from 12 April to 12 June, following the 1938 Qantas Empire Flying Boat route. the journey's done, but you can read the story leg-by-leg on Michael's blog.
I will be in and around Sydney most of next week. On Monday Airbus Helicopters is introducing the new H145 to the Australian media at Bankstown. For the uninitiated, this machine started its life as the BK117 and has been developed further under Airbus (formerly Eurocopter). It will be interesting to see what the latest version can do. On Wednesday night I'll be a Parliament House for the announcement of the 2015 Australian Aviation Hall of Fame inductees, and Thursday at HMAS Albatross near Nowra checking out the Fleet Air Arm flying school there. There'll be a lot of good info coming out of that lot, so stand by.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch