The first 85 years

Celebrating the Royal Flying Doctor Service

On May 17 1928, Flynn of the Inland linked a pedal radio to a DH50 Victory leased from Q.A.N.T.A.S for two shillings a mile. With that, he launched the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) with a flight from Julia Creek to Cloncurry.

It is our largest and oldest aeromedical operator, today boasting 1,150 staff and 67 aircraft. Just a little more advanced than the Victory, today’s RFDS operates a Hawker 800XP, 31 King Air 200s, two King Air 300s, 31 PC-12s and two Caravans serving an area the size of the USA. The RFDS is also the nation’s second oldest operator behind Qantas and has the third largest fleet after the Qantas and Virgin groups.