Possum1

Aplund, instead of surfing the net, you should be burning some shoe leather and talking to some people about costs. Just say you are looking at purchasing a C172M/PA-28 and go and ask Ian Colville at Ian Aviation, Ron at Rapair and whoever owns Flight Maintenance, now that Peter has sold it(Jay will be able to help). All these workshop owners are approachable but busy people. Phone beforehand, make a time or ascertain a time that they will be there and ask them, what would it cost for an annual(100 hourly) plus fixing the things that they would typically find wrong with a C172M/PA-28? This year(2017) will be a particularly expensive year as everyone with control cables more than 15 years old will have to replace them. A normal year for us at Archerfield would be $5000. The worst was $10,000 - engine replacement costs and $17,000 - corrosion repairs involving the removal of both wings. Don't forget to also visit David Paynter at Brisbane Aero Engines for his input about the typical overhaul costs of a Lycoming O-320 engine. As a person working full time at a career as a professional, would you have the time or the skills to tackle the hours of owner-maintenance required for a RA-AUS aircraft? Many/most? of the owners of ultra-light aircraft are retired or semi-retired tradies with a solid background of workshop experience from their working lives, which equips them very well for keeping their aircraft maintained and flying.

Sorry to hear about the beehives. I caught up with the caretakers very recently but they said nothing about this. Since their long-term caretaker left in early 2015, there has been a high turnover of replacement caretakers and they have all become very secretive about goings-on at the airfield. I will enquire when I fly in next. BTW, as of today, Dunwich Airfield's sign mentioned in Post 13 of this thread remains unchanged.

With your quote from Alice in Wonderland eightyknots, you may have unintentionally hit the nail on the head as far as a description of the situation at Dunwich Airfield is concerned.

He used to do some lessons from Dunwich but I think Nick bases his lessons mostly out of Heck Field these days more for operational reasons and ease of access than any other reason.

I have decided to resurrect this old thread because the name “Stradbroke Air Park” has popped up again at Dunwich Airfield(YDUN), North Stradbroke Island after many years absence, this time in the form of a large sign out the front of their shed/clubhouse, rather than the old Aviation Trader ad of 2009 mentioned at the beginning of this thread. The only relevant listing that Google can find for “Stradbroke Air Park” is this old thread. Back then, this ad was created by someone who promised the non-aviation, non-business owner of the airfield that he would handle the promotion and sales of the airfield’s hangar sites. In the end there was only ever one ad and a brief listing on this person’s business’s website(now long gone). History has now repeated itself in that the same basic mistakes have been made with this new sign as were made in the original ad. Both feature a photo of an American N-registered aircraft tied down on a concrete/bitumen tarmac(which doesn’t exist at Straddie). In the Aviation Trader ad of 2009, the featured aircraft was an N-registered Aero Commander 112, and in the new 2016 sign, it is an N-registered Cessna 206. With over 500 professionally-taken photos of aircraft at Dunwich to choose from, why would they do this again??? The sign is titled, “Stradbroke Air Park Pty Ltd.” A quick search of ASIC’s website shows there is no such company or business name, nor has there ever been. While the name might give that impression, the airfield cannot be a residential airpark as its lease conditions and the local council’s planning scheme prevent this, not to mention the lack of mains power or water supply. The current caretakers have also recently started answering the phone, “Straddie Air Park.” Could the return of the title, “Stradbroke Air Park,” presumably an attempt to lift the image of the airfield, mean that Dunwich Airfield is being readied for sale once more since the last time in 2011?

Excellent report and pictures, Graham. I would just like to add that the wine and cheese($15) at the Art Gallery on the Friday night was a great do as well for the six aviators who attended. For those with stamina, the two corner pubs were pumping for afters. We also found Ken at the Golden Orange an excellent host and very helpful. Duncan

Great photos Graham and a perfect day for committing aviation. We flew back to AF via Murgon and Watts Bridge. Duncan