Relocating the office...where to?

[kaz3g]

If RAAus took a decision to vacate Canberra and establish itself in a regional setting, where would you consider to be the most appropriate choice?

 

The GM raised this question in his column in Sport Pilot and it would be good if it were canvassed here.

 

I suggest it needs to be:

 

1. At or very near an all weather airport;
    
    
   
2. Associated with a regional town of some substance providing all the basic services necessary to support staff;
    
    
   
3. Connected to the capitals by an RPT service;
    
    
   
4. Located approximately equi-distant from major concentrations of the membership to give equity of access;
    
    
   
5. and in a progressive legal jurisdiction to facilitate re-incorporation.
    
    
   

 

 

 

How about a few suggestions? Any other considerations?

 

Kaz

 

 

[johnm]

A residential 4 bed brick veneer house with a 12 x 9 x 2.7h colorbond shed

 

Members can avail the house for accommodation at any time

 

RAA operations can be conducted from the shed

 

 

[Nick Evison]

Nowra Nsw good enough for the RAN FAA.

 

 

[facthunter]

You need BIG (Capital City) Airport to redu access but suburban access/costs. People who fly small aircraft are too subject to the vagaries of weather and when they have a fly-in don't want to ruin it with politics

 

 

[Nick Evison]

most RA types could be accepted in the Nowra area. I could even arrange free landing for association business flights at my own private strip. wages and cost of living are relativly low so why not?

 

 

[winsor68]

Regional airports may have airline access...but it is meaningless unless there is some competition to keep the prices down...Rex etc doesn't count as viable airline transport.

 

I am guessing Mackay is too far north BUT.. it has good access with completion from major airline nation wide...

 

This property would be perfect and already has an airstrip...and perfect flying weather...buy it outright for $1 million and make an income leasing the farm...

 

http://m.domain.com.au/listing/2010812300

 

 

[Bandit12]

Toowoomba would work. More than big enough, RPT as well. Easy drive distance from Brisbane for those who fly commercial and hire a car. Fly ins could also happen at Clifton or one of the other smaller strips around the area that don't require an ASIC.

 

 

[dazza 38]

I wouldn't call Nowra central.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Toowoomba would work. More than big enough, RPT as well. Easy drive distance from Brisbane for those who fly commercial and hire a car. Fly ins could also happen at Clifton or one of the other smaller strips around the area that don't require an ASIC.

Could work especially as the Huge Wellcamp airport will be opened in the end of the year. I was also listening to the ABC radio when I was at work earlier this week. The had on a Toowoomba councillor who was saying the existing airport on the outskirts of town is not only here to stay but also the council are spending money to upgrade the hard stand area and taxi ways.

 

 

[coljones]

Canberra sounds good to me - passenger aviation to the (almost) all of Australia, at the end of a good, high speed, road, regular rail transport. Polo Flats just up the road for those who want to fly or Canberra for those with CTA. Is there a good reason for departing from Canberra?

 

 

[graeme]

Canberra sounds good to me - passenger aviation to the (almost) all of Australia, at the end of a good, high speed, road, regular rail transport. Polo Flats just up the road for those who want to fly or Canberra for those with CTA. Is there a good reason for departing from Canberra?

NO. Training courses etc can be held at various regional centres that have the facilities as is done by the GFA, this system has worked very successfully for many years.

Graeme

 

 

[winsor68]

Toowoomba may as well be Birdsville for it's lack of proper RPT.

 

It is a shame AUF left Brisbane as there was nothing wrong with it being there.

 

 

[frank marriott]

"the Huge Wellcamp airport will be opened in the end of the year"

 

Watch for new airspace restrictions in the Toowoomba region - on top of the Amberley and Oakey CTA and restricted areas.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Toowoomba may as well be Birdsville for it's lack of proper RPT...

...but watch that space. In five years Toowoomba will have it all: International airport, tunnel under the range for quick access to Brisbane. That region already has many little airfields.

 

 

[dazza 38]

How about Nth NSW some where like Evans Head ?

 

 

[rhysmcc]

Brisbane, RPT access, multiple ga fields within 1hr.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Lets keep west of the divide. Better weather.

 

 

[M61A1]

most RA types could be accepted in the Nowra area. I could even arrange free landing for association business flights at my own private strip. wages and cost of living are relativly low so why not?

In the next few years, when the Air9000 helicopter training kicks off, Nowra is going to get a lot more military traffic.

I'm still not convinced that we need an office with an airstrip though.

 

 

[Gpshaun]

Would Temora work?

 

 

[coljones]

NO. Training courses etc can be held at various regional centres that have the facilities as is done by the GFA, this system has worked very successfully for many years.Graeme

If RAA was in the training business, which it isn't, it should be a movable circus going to where the members are. It is unlikely that the Tasmanians or Western Australians will fly their planes, or even travel, to training in North Queensland.

We need a well developed vision and plan for what RAA should be doing before we can even contemplate where it is at.

 

We are struggling with the most basic of services at the moment and we need to sort that out. AOPA takes it's stuff on the road, very successfully.

 

 

[kaz3g]

The only way there will ever be a consensus is if people start thinking about an equitable outcome for the great majority, not just what would be good for them.

 

Yes, it needs all the attributes listed by the GM in his Sport Pilot article but it has to be acceptable to most. That probably means it shouldn't be located in a capital city and if that means the Board flies Rex well the airline needs all the help it can get right now and so do people living away from the big cities.

 

I looked at Griffith which is not a bad flight for anyone living along the most densely populated part of the eastern seaboard. Neither is it much of a trip from Adelaide. It's about equidistant from Melbourne and Sydney, and from Adelaide and Brisbane. It has all the basic facilities for business and families and it has really good airport with an RPT service but a council who separates the passenger terminal from the GA area to avoid ASIC Issues, etc.

 

Have a look on your Ozrunways WAC, Google the town and look at what it offers and think about what is fairest for everyone. I reckon it' a chance.

 

Kaz

 

 

[coljones]

The only way there will ever be a consensus is if people start thinking about an equitable outcome for the great majority, not just what would be good for them.Yes, it needs all the attributes listed by the GM in his Sport Pilot article but it has to be acceptable to most. That probably means it shouldn't be located in a capital city and if that means the Board flies Rex well the airline needs all the help it can get right now and so do people living away from the big cities.

 

I looked at Griffith which is not a bad flight for anyone living along the most densely populated part of the eastern seaboard. Neither is it much of a trip from Adelaide. It's about equidistant from Melbourne and Sydney, and from Adelaide and Brisbane. It has all the basic facilities for business and families and it has really good airport with an RPT service but a council who separates the passenger terminal from the GA area to avoid ASIC Issues, etc.

 

Have a look on your Ozrunways WAC, Google the town and look at what it offers and think about what is fairest for everyone. I reckon it' a chance.

 

Kaz

But do we need an airport to operate our business?

 

 

[DonRamsay]

But do we need an airport to operate our business?

Col,

It's true that we didn't have one in Fyshwick and things still happened - well sort of.

 

The beauty of being located at an airport is that everyday the Staff come to work they are reminded exactly why RA-Aus exists.

 

Members being able to fly-in reinforces that the HQ is there for the members.

 

We could, in time, establish both training facilities and bunk house accommodation for fly-in pilots and maintainers.

 

We could have a permanent home for NATFLY. Think how much easier NATFLY would be to stage if the Staff were headquartered at the place where NATFLY happens. At the moment they have a 2.5 hour drive from Canberra to Temora and if NATFLY returned to Narromine, that would blow out to 4.5 hours. If NATFLY is at the same location as the RA-Aus Office, Staff don't have to be away from home for all of Easter each year.

 

But an airport is just one of many considerations and the type of airport has many sub-categories and features.

 

 

[facthunter]

Canberra is not on a through main road. Has crook weather often and is not the cheapest air priced destination and has no ultra light field. Holbrook has a museum of U/L's and is on the Hume (bypassed) but Albury is not a cheap airline destination. Holbrook has easy access by car from most places..Your capital cities are more likely to have direct flights, but accommodation is getting dearer all the time. so you might be better an hour or so out of them, hopefully with a good rail link. That makes Ballarat a possibility from Melbourne Airport. A 50 min drive but the rail is not too direct. We will probably stay in Canberra, I suppose. Nev

 

 

[DonRamsay]

Kaz,

 

Griffith is one I wouldn't have thought of, off my own bat, but an interesting possibility.

 

The principal criteria, but certainly not the only one, is that the new home base should be accessible to the greatest number of RA-Aus pilots. Obviously, it would be hard to meet that criteria if the Office were located in WA, SA, NT, TAS or North QLD. That leaves Southern Queensland, Central and Eastern NSW and Northern Victoria.

 

The most obvious (to me) candidates are Temora and Narromine. Both are reasonably accessible from anywhere in NSW and most of Victoria and Southern Queensland.

 

But there are heaps of other interesting places that would have their own claim like the historic Evans Head, Cootamundra and Maitland (NSW). And then there are airports in Southern Queensland that would provide convenient access to and from the CASA Sport Aviation Office if not to Victorians.

 

There is going to be no location that suits everyone and so we need to be looking for an "optimum" rather than an absolute "best" location.

 

Let's try to avoid being too parochial - kind of the opposite of NIMBY (not in my back yard) and see if we can contribute to the debate of where is the optimum location for RA-Aus and very importantly - WHY?