Places to land near Canberra

[Guest rxbrumby]

Hi every one, I'm off to temora for natfly at the end of the month. If the weather holds out I would also like to continue on to Canberra to visit relatives. Is there any airfields that are RAAus friendly near to there. I dont have an asic card so need it to be a non ad field.

 

Cheers Scott

 

 

[slartibartfast]

Hi Scott. Closest are Polo Flat to the south and Goulburn to the north. Both about an hour's drive from Canberra.

 

There's been a group formed to push for another airport, and one of the guys has even gone ahead and built one, but there's been no news for months. Perhaps forum member Airsick can add some info about that. He's on the committee.

 

I don't even know it the new field is serviceable at all.

 

 

[Guest airsick]

Ross,

 

I know Chris Clearihan has put in a field and believe it is serviceable but do not know any details, you'd have to contact him directly for more information. Our group (more on this below) has elected not to work with Chris for a number of reasons. The main reason is that there is no guarantee of tenure. We are aiming to establish a field that offers flyers the opportunity to erect hangars, hold events, etc. Chris Clearihan wants to retain overall control of his field (which is fair) so we could not offer our members any security in this regard. With this in mind we have elected to pursue other avenues.

 

The airfield group is called the Canberra Region Aviators Association Inc. We have a website at http://www.craa.org.au where people can sign up to receive more information about a new airfield that is aimed at recreational pilots (both GA and RAA). The main aim is to develop a new airfield outside of controlled airspace that is accessible to recreational and sports flyers along with community groups. CRAA is incorporated in the ACT under the appropriate Acts of legislation which means our members are protected by a range of mechanisms and laws.

 

In terms of actually developing an airfield there has been little movement of late but we are pushing hard with the local government to reignite some interest in it. A meeting is planned in early April with the Chief Minister to discuss the possibility of working closely with the government and we are putting together some detailed analysis of the opportunities that a new airfield will present. The analysis is still somewhat incomplete so I can't say much more at this stage in that regard but we are having a seminar at NatFly to let people know what is going on.

 

The seminar will be headed by one of our committee members, Dave Edmunds, with others being present. It is going to be held in hangar B (the same one as the pilot briefings) at 16:00 on Saturday. I would advise anyone who is interested to come along and have a chat with us and ask some questions.

 

Furthermore, I encourage everyone to sign up on the website and, ultimately, join our organisation. The joining fee will help support the development of a new field and, hopefully, mark the beginning of a new model to establish and run local airfields designed for the benefit of the broader community. You can sign up now and information on how to join will be added soon once we have opened up the appropriate bank accounts, put in the proper procedures, etc.

 

This is possibly one of the first times in Australia that a community group has been formed with the intention of establishing an airfield and pursuing the interests of aviators in terms of giving them a place to fly. Being run by a group comprising of aviators, the airfield will be protected from individual interests seeking to sell the property and develop it as we have seen happen in locations such as Hoxton Park and elsewhere. This will go a long way to ensuring the long term viability and security of the airfield into the future (although I am sure there will be pressure from others along the way no doubt).

 

Please keep in mind that this is something that is being done on a voluntary basis. Most of the committee members hold full time positions and are actively involved in other community based groups so our time is precious. There is a great deal of administrative, legal, financial and other tasks that need to be taken care of properly if this venture is to succeed so it may take some time. Moreover, we are beholden to the government for some aspects of the development and we have to work to their time frames where applicable. With this in mind some things are taking longer than we would all like but rest assured, things are happening!

 

Cheers,

 

Mick.

 

 

[Bidgee]

I've seen gliders operating on strip near Bredbo before. Not sure who ows/runs it though. Been a while since I've been through there.

 

 

[slartibartfast]

Bidgee, that's owned by the Canberra Gliding Club. I have landed there twice, but you'd need to check with them. Polo Flat is only another 10 minutes drive down the road, so not really a better option.

 

Mick, thanks for the info. I am signed up on the website, and have been to every meeting I knew about, but have received no information for a long time. Am I missing something, or just no news for a while?

 

I'll be at the Natfly meeting. That will be useful.

 

I suspected we wouldn't want to use Chris' field for the reasons you mentioned. Fair enough. I will ask Chris the status for personal use though.

 

 

[sain]

I believe thats the Canberra Gliding Club strip at Bunyan Airfield (about 10 mins north of Cooma).

 

 

[Guest airsick]

Ross,

 

There hasn't been a lot to report of late. Our main efforts are dealing with the administrative side of things at the moment and organising some meetings with the government. As I said above, we are doing a study into the regional impacts that a new airfield will have but this is incomplete. Once we have this and have had a discussion with the government there will be some news. Hopefully, we will have something positive to say in the next few weeks.

 

Cheers,

 

Mick.