Journalist of the Year 2007

Once Again the Guests Were Entertained by Napc President Steve Creedy and Australian Aviation/air Transport World’s Geoffrey Thomas With ‘the Year That Was’ Which Pulled Plenty of Punches and Raised Many Laughs as the Two Lampooned the Industry and the Seemingly Endless Delays in Aircraft Programs. But After the Entertainment, It Was Onto the Awards.

Winner of the Major Award of Aviation Journalist of the Year for 2007 Was Australian Aviation’s Managing Editor Gerard Frawley With This Magazine’s Contributor Geoffrey Thomas Shortlisted.

Aviation Journalist of the Year Was Sponsored by Airservices Australia and Cathay Pacific Airways and Frawley Won $3000 and Two Return Business Class Tickets to London or New York and a Magnificent Trophy. The Judges Lauded Frawley Saying That He “has a Long-established Reputation as an Astute Observer Across the Very Competitive Regimes of Both Commercial and Defence Aviation. ” the Judging Panel Acknowledged Frawley’s Global Reputation for Accuracy, Pursuit of Editorial Balance and the Recent Transformation of His Magazine.

Runner Up Was James Hall From Australian Financial Review.

Other Finalists Were: Denise Mcnabb, the Independent Financial Review; Scott Rochfort, the Sydney Morning Herald; Geoffrey Thomas, Australian Aviation & Air Transport World; and Roeland Van Den Bergh, the Dominion Post.

Previous Winners of Aviation Journalist of the Year Were: Tom Ballantyne 2000 Geoffrey Thomas 2001 & 2002 Ben Sandilands 2003 Steve Creedy 2004 Scott Rochfort 2005 Doug Nancarrow 2006

News Story

the ‘aviation News Story’ Category Was Won by James Hall, Who Broke News on the Front Page of Australian Financial Review of the Investor Revolt Which Ultimately Derailed the Private Equity Bid for Qantas in a Story ‘investor Threat to Qantas Bid. ’ Hall Won $1250 and the Boeing Trophy.

The Cash Prize of $650 for Runner-up in This Category Went to Roeland Van Den Bergh of the Dominion Post for His Story ‘air Nz Fares Rise as Demand Outstrips Capacity’, Which Tracked the Impact of Rising Consumer Demand and Capacity Constraints on Air Fares in New Zealand.

Commendations Were Awarded to: • Denise Mcnabb, the Independent Financial Review ‘world First: Flying High on Scum’.

• Derek Sadubin, the Australian ‘airasia X Joins Growing Low Cost Options’.

• Scott Rochfort, the Sydney Morning Herald ‘foreign Airlines Pressure Qantas’.

Feature Story

Competition for the ‘aviation Feature of the Year’ Was Hard Fought, With 49 Entries From Both Sides of the Tasman. The Articles Covered a Diverse Range of Topics Including the Structural Changes in the Australian Airline Industry, Introduction of New Air Traffic Management Procedures at Key Airports in Australia and New Zealand, Flight Training and Safety Standards.

The $1250 Cheque and Cathay Pacific Trophy for the Aviation Feature of 2007 Was Again Won by Tom Ballantyne of Orient Aviation Magazine for an Informative and Comprehensive Story Detailing the Fast-moving Evolution of the Australian Airline Industry, ‘revolution Down Under’.

The Cash Prize of $650 for Runner-up Went to Justin Wastnage of Travel Weekly for an Incisive Investigation Into Air Travel Tax and Fuel Surcharges in His Story ‘why Are Fuel Surcharges So High?’ Commendations in This Category Were Awarded to: • Gerard Frawley, Australian Aviation ‘costs + Opportunities’.

• Stewart Wilson, Aero Magazine ‘us Air Force Turns 60’.

• Geoffrey Thomas, Air Transport World ‘fyfe Rewrites the Tune’.

• Scott Rochfort & Kate Askew, the Sydney Morning Herald ‘tripping the Light Qantastic to Just Tripping’.

Technical Story

There Were 28 Entries for the ‘aviation Technical Story of the Year’. The Category Covered Greatly Divergent Subjects – From the Entry to Australia of New Aircraft and Materials, Global Maintenance, Navigation in a New Age of Electronics, and the Impact of Climate Change on Aviation. A Number of Excellent Stories Explained the Benefits of New Gpsbased Landing Systems. The Judges Said That Nearly All Writers Demonstrated Significant Understanding of Their Subject Matter and Again, This Category Illustrated the Depth of Talent in Aviation Journalism.

The Aviation Technical Story of the Year Was Won by Australian Aviation’s Gerard Frawley With His Authoritative Overview of a Largely Unsung Australian Aviation Success Story – the Gippsland Aeronautics Ga8 Airvan Which is Currently Produced at the Rate of Two Per Month. Frawley Won $1250 and the Rolls-royce Trophy.

The $650 Cash Prize for Runner-up Went to Paul Phelan of Australian Flying Magazine for a Well Argued Story in Favour of More Realistic Asymmetric Engine Out Training for Pilots in ‘safe Training?’ Commendations Went to: • Graeme Mollison, Pacific Wings ‘queenstown Rnp – an Air New Zealand First’.

• Denise Mcnabb, Independent Financial Review ‘aircraft Maker Flies Into Environmental Flak’.

• Macarthur Job, Australian Aviation ‘the Helios Disaster’.

• Geoffrey Thomas, Air Transport World ‘precision Landings’.

Defence Feature

a New Category for the Awards Program Was the ‘defence Feature of the Year’ Introduced to Better Recognise the Significant Excellence in Defence Aviation Journalism in Australia and New Zealand.

The Winner of the Inaugural Hawker Pacific Defence Story of the Year Was Andrew Mclaughlin of Australian Aviation With ‘fighter Battles – Replacing Australia’s Air Combat Capability’, Which Examined in Detail the Road to Replacing Australia’s Air Combat Capability. The Judges Said the Story Shone as a Beacon of Balance on an Often Controversial Media Subject Through the Year.

The Runner-up Prize of $650 Went to One of the Most Experienced Commentators on the Australian Defence Scene Trevor Thomas With His Story ‘three-way Fly Off for the Gold of Air 6000’ in Australian Defence Business Review for an Excellent Analysis of Australia’s Options for Replacing F-111 and F/a-18 Fighters.

Commendations Went to: • Gerard Frawley, Australian Aviation ‘into the Big League’.

• Stewart Wilson, Aero ‘future Raaf – the C-27j?’ • Paul Sadler, Australian Aviation ‘afghan Chinooks’.

Aviation Photograph

in Its Second Year, the ‘aviation Photograph of the Year’ Category Attracted 32 Quality Photographs Covering All Aspects of Aviation, From Light Aircraft, to Airlines and Defence Operations.

The Entry Parameters Were Deliberately Kept Wide to Include All of the Very Best Aviation Material Taken in the Last 12 Months by Photographers Based in Either Australia or New Zealand.

The Judges Said the Entries Did Not Disappoint and They Made Their Selections on the Basis of the Photograph “telling a Story, Its Originality, Composition, and Impact. ” and Impact Was Highlighted in the Winner’s Entry of an Air New Zealand Beech 1900d Performing a Successful Wheels-up Landing at Blenheim in New Zealand’s South Island. Derek Flynn, of the Marlbough Express Proved There is Nothing Like Being in the Right Place at the Right Time. Flynn Collected $1250 Cash and Trophy for This Photograph That Was Widely Published Around the World.

And Air New Zealand Picks Up the Gong for the “best Sport Award” for Flying Flynn Over to Sydney to Pick Up the Award.

Runner Up – and Winner of $650 – Was One of the Australia’s Most Versatile Aviation Journalists, Paul Phelan, Who Has a Proven Eye for a Story or Photograph, Even Looking Out His Back Window, and His Photograph of the Victorian Bush Fires Was Good Enough to Make the Front Page of the Australian.

Commendations Were Also Issued to: • Andrew Gorrie, Dominion Post ‘in a Spin’.

• Paul Sadler, Australian Aviation ‘hornet Flare’.

• James Morgan, Aap, Reuters, Afp ‘historic Super Jumbo Landing’.

Life Time Achievement

a Life Time Achievement Award Was Presented to Macarthur Job, One of the Quiet Achievers in Journalism and a Person Who Has Dedicated His Considerable Writing and Flying Skills to Furthering the Cause of Air Safety.

Mac’s Working Life Since the Early 1960s Has Focused on Helping Pilots and Others Better Understand Accidents, Why They Happen, and Most Importantly, How They Can Be Avoided.

His Work on the Then Department of Civilaviation’s Aviation Safety Digest Was Widely Acclaimed, Including an Award as Publication of the Year From the Us Flight Safety Foundation. His Later Series of Air Safety Books Has Made a Significant and Widely Respected Contribution to Safety in Many Countries and Many Airlines.

Mac’s Ability to Analyse and Dissect Accidents in Language That Pilots Understand is a Great Gift.

And Mac is No Desk Jockey Either: His Logbook Includes Hours Flown for the Flying Doctor in South Australia and With the Missionary Fellowship in Papua New Guinea. Mac Retains His Pilot’s Licence but He Says There Are Never Enough Hours in the Day for Enough Flying!

President’s award

a Special Award – the President’s Award – Was Introduced This Year to Recognise the Outstanding Contribution to Members of the Media Over Many Decades, and in Particular, to the National Aviation Press Club by Boeing’s Highly Regarded Director of Communications Ken Morton.

Napc President Steve Creedy and Geoffrey Thomas Took Guests Down Ken’s Memory Lane to His Days on Invercargill’s Southland Times and Perth’s West Australian.

Creedy and Thomas Lauded Morton’s Professionalism and Enormous Efforts in Helping Media and Promoting the Aviation Industry.

Australian Aviation’s Gerard Frawley and Andrew Mclaughlin Presented Ken Morton on Behalf of the Media With a Case of Magnificent Wine and a 1/100 Scale Model of a 777-300er