Canberra Aviation Club, Circa 2005

Fed up with the rising costs of punting that Cessna or Piper through the sky? Worried about where it is all heading? How for instance will flying training be conducted in a decade’s time? Then relax as Chris Mills takes you into the future with a visit to the successor to today’s aero club, a high tech emporium of virtual reality that places you in the pilot seat for a fraction of the cost of doing so today.

“Dad, will you take me to the Canberra Aviation Club,” Nicole asked, “lots of my friends are learning to fly there and they tell me its really cool. ” “Well, as it so happens, several of my friends are also learning to fly there, and they also tell me its really cool. I’ll ring up and make an appointment to see what goes on and how much it costs,” said Bill Ward, Nicole’s father.

Bill rang and made an appointment to see Natalie, the club’s marketing officer. Saturday came and Bill and Nicole drove to the airport, and then to a spacious three storey, north facing building standing on what used to be the General Aviation parking area. After passing the huge freight warehouses where Canberra’s thriving airfreight business made its parcel exchanges throughout the night, they parked and were met in reception. A number of silent video screens formed the back-drop, showing various flying sequences. On one screen a Cessna 172 was doing circuits, on another the world gyrated as a Pitt’s special went through an aerobatic sequence, a third showed a cockpit view of an air battle and so on.

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