Newsdesk- General Aviation

National Jet’s newly delivered Dash 8-300 at Adelaide, sporting a new corporate livery. The Dash 8 is now based out of Darwin where it flies scheduled services to Mt Isa and Macarthur River on the Gulf of Carpentaria under a mining contract, with the services also hosted in the Qantas reservations network. A profile on National Jet appears on p30 of this issue. (Robert Wiseman) 14 Australian Aviation June 1995

Woman Pilot Of The Year

The winner of the 1995 Sir Donald Anderson Award for the woman pilot of the year has been announced. She is 21 years old Donja Marlies Heemskerk of Boronia Heights Qld. Miss Heemskerk gained her Private Pilot Licence in June 1993 and is now in her third year of studying for a Bachelor of Science in aviation degree at Brisbane’s Griffith University and in conjunction with the Royal Queensland Aero Club, hopes to gain her commercial licence in the near future. Her ultimate aim is to be an airline pilot. The award is designed to encourage woman pilots to study for professional qualifications.

Surfers Strip To Close

The only light aircraft gateway to Surfers Paradise, the airstrip at the former Surfers Paradise International Raceway, will officially close on June 30 this year. The site has massive potential as residential land and has been owned by a Japanese concern for some years. It has allowed aircraft operators to use the strip on a monthly basis. Possibly the best known operator to fly from the airstrip is Bruce McGarvie, who has been conducting his popular Tiger Moth joy flights for more than 20 years. Meanwhile, a Tweed Heads community group has warned the Federal Government it should act now to alleviate worsening noise problems at Coolangatta Airport if it wants to avoid demonstrations and blockades in the future. The group has suggested realigning the main runway by 30 degrees to minimise the noise impact on residents. The Tweed Shire Council has recently approved the building of home units right in the middle of the noise affected area, a move which has been criticised by Transport Minister Laurie Brereton.

SA Police Sell Aircraft

The South Australian Police is to disband its three aircraft Air Wing to save money. An internal review of the Air Wing has revealed that less than 2% of its operations are for search and rescue or surveillance operations, while 68% involved general transportation which in the vast majority of cases could be performed by commercial operators. The Wing’s seven pilots will be retained and will fly privately owned aircraft. The first aircraft to be sold will be a Cessna 402C worth about $250,000. On a historical note, this writer remembers the SA Police Air Wing causing a few raised eyebrows and sniggers back in the 1960s when it operated a Piper Twin Comanche which carried the registration VH-SEX!

United States Marine Corps aircraft have arrived at RAAF Darwin for a regular two month training deployment to northern Australia. Although based at Darwin, the aircraft will exercise in combat and strike training manoeuvres over the Delamere Air Weapons range, 130km south west of Katherine. The US exercise, known as Southern Frontier, involves 12 F/A-18 Hornets, three EA-6B Prowlers and a KC-130 Hercules as well as about 230 USMC personnel. RAAF Hornets are also involved in the exercise. Future USMC exercises in the Northern Territory will be based at RAAF Tindal near Katherine because of noise sensitivities.

Updated Hawker 800

Raytheon has announced an upgraded version of its Hawker 800 (formerly BAe 125-800) corporate jet, the 800XP. The new variant features more powerful 4460lb (20kN) thrust TFE731-5BR engines and an improved environmental system. The new aircraft will be 14kt (25km/h) faster than its predecessor at 39,000 feet and exhibit improved payload/range, airfield and time to height performance in ‘hot and high’ conditions. First deliveries will take place in the third quarter of this year.

Bankstown Gets Full Time Medical Service

Sydney’s Bankstown Airport once again has a full time medical service available following the withdrawal of the FAC Rescue and Firefighting Service. Run by Sydney aviation medicine specialist Dr Graeme Madam, Aviation Medical Services will provide a comprehensive medical coverage service for the airport community. As well as routine aircrew and air traffic services medical examinations, there is provision for casualty and minor trauma service catering for workshop and hangar accidents, an aviation occupational health and safety service and a general medical clinic. Dr Madam holds numerous qualifications including a Diploma in Aviation Medicine from the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine. He is also a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the International Society of Air Safety Investigators.

Improved Headset Comfort

The David Clark company, manufacturer of aviation headsets, has introduced more comfortable headsets incorporating what it calls ‘Flo-Fit Gel Air Seals’ to its range of models. Partially filled with a silicone gel, the ear seal part of the headset is said to follow facial contours precisely and distribute the applied pressure of the headset evenly, designed to give a perfect seal and a high level of comfort.

Airservices Anonymous

It’s nice to see that even deep within the bowels of the aviation bureaucracy there’s room for some humour. When the Civil Aviation Authority ceases to exist on July 1 this year it will be partially replaced by a new entity, Airservices Australia or AA. One of our readers (who works for the CAA) has informed us that some unkind souls are already referring to the organisation as ‘Aviation Anonymous’ or ‘Airservices Anonymous’. He also suggests that the new (official) name was chosen at a high political level and that no-one in the CAA was consulted. Sound familiar?

One Stop Training At TAFE

Educational institution TAFE NSW is working towards setting up a ‘one stop’ shop for aviation training via its Aeroskills Centre which offers both aircraft maintenance and pilot licence theory courses through the Southern Sydney Institute of TAFE. Based at TAFE’s Padstow campus, the Aeroskills Centre also extends to Bankstown Airport where hands on training for aircraft maintenance students and a classroom for student pilots is provided. This is the first year TAFE students have been able to undertake Pilot Licence theory courses – the Associate Diploma of Applied Science (Aviation) and the Aviation Pilot Licence (Aeroplanes) Advanced Certificate – at the airport facility which is leased by TAFE NSW in conjunction with the University of NSW. In both courses, students learn the theory they need to sit for the Australian Commercial Pilots Licence exam as required by the Civil Aviation Authority. In their second year, Associate Diploma students complete the Air Transport Pilots Licence theory and study additional subjects such as Aviation Law.