NAPC Awards

Australian Aviation continues to set a global benchmark for a well-balanced aerospace magazine.

Further, the award is presented to the journalist with a demonstrated ability to break news stories, convey the complex issues of the industry to a broad audience, and represent the highest standards of Australian and New Zealand aviation journalism.

The winner for 2013 was Gerard Frawley, one of the industry’s most prolific writers through the pages of Australian Aviation, Australian Defence Business Review and a variety of other publications including this year’s Avalon Airshow daily magazine. Under Gerard’s direction, Australian Aviation continues to set a global benchmark for a well-balanced aerospace magazine, more so under a recent revamp.

Gerard’s writing, his news sense, his in-depth knowledge of the industry and his nurturing of young talent have earned him the respect of many in the aviation sector from his colleagues and peers to industry leaders.

Runner-up was Tom Ballantyne, who won the inaugural Journalist of the Year Award in 2000 and has featured on the finalist list most years since then including as runner-up in this same category last year. Over a 40-year journalism career, Tom is one of the most respected aviation journalists in the industry and a regular commentator worldwide on TV and radio in addition to his role as chief correspondent for Orient Aviation and more recently as a contributor to Australian Aviation.

Other finalists – (in alphabetical order) – Jamie Freed, Julian Green, Tony Moclair, Doug Nancarrow, Matt O’Sullivan, Nigel Pittaway, Adrian Schofield, Cameron Stewart, Geoffrey Thomas and Owen Zupp

2013 Aviation News Story of the Year

2013 was another interesting and exciting year for the aviation industry in Australia and New Zealand providing plenty of material for journalists working across all aspects of the industry.

Entries in the news section of this year’s aviation media awards covered subjects as diverse as the rise of China and how that’s being factored into airport and airline planning, the rollercoaster that is airline profits, aircraft safety, industry regulation and fleet planning.

The entries in this category were judged on their news-breaking capacity, overall credibility and accuracy, the importance of the issues highlighted, level of understanding and writing style.

Highly commended were: Matt O’Sullivan of the Sydney Morning Herald for ‘Qantas planes sold to Iran’; Geoffrey Thomas writing for The West Australian for ‘Buswell wants answers about third runway’; JamieFreed of the Australian Financial Review for ‘Profit down as economy clip’s Virgin’s wings’; and Gerard Frawley from Australian Aviation for ‘Is Qantas getting its mojo back?’ Runner-up in this category went to Adrian Schofield.

Adrian’s Aviation Week story ‘Fleet overhaul’ examined the changing nature of Air New Zealand’s fleet mix and the likely impact on the airline’s operations.

The winner of the 2013 Aviation News Story of the Year was Doug Nancarrow from Aviation Business Asia Pacific. Doug is a prolific and well respected aviation writer and he was the runner-up in this category last year.

Doug’s story ‘Industry challenge’s CASA’s role’ provided a critical analysis of the role of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and calls for a realignment of the organisation’s regulatory reform responsibilities.

2013 Aviation Technical Story of the Year

The Aviation Technical Story of the Year is a specialised category focusing on developments in aviation technology, and commercial aerospace, including aircraft, avionics and air traffic management.

It requires not only a good grasp of issues often highly technical in nature, but also an ability to clearly communicate those issues to a broad readership.

The entries highlighted the depth and breadth of knowledge within the Australian and New Zealand aviation media.

Entries covered topics such as human factors and aviation safety, navigation, engine technology, capturing and storing data from unmanned aerial systems and the increasing use of composite materials in aircraft manufacture.

Highly commended were Geoffrey Thomas writing for Australian Aviation for his article ‘Bullish again’; Julian Green of Australian Aviation for ‘Tipping point – future of MRO in Australia’; Andrew McLaughlin writing for Australian Aviation for ‘The carrier returns’; and Robert Wilson of Flight Safety Australia for ‘The error of our ways’. The runner-up in this category was Tom Ballantyne.

Tom’s article ‘ASEAN Open Skies: mirage or reality?’ was the cover story of the May 2013 edition of Orient Aviation and looked at the realities of implementing seamless air traffic management systems in the region.

The winner of Aviation Technical Story of the Year was Adrian Schofield of Aviation Week. Adrian’s winning story ‘Deadline Down Under’ examined Australia’s world-leading role in the implementation of the first nationwide mandate for automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast systems.

2013 Aviation Feature of the Year

This year there were more than 30 entries in this category from journalists working across aviation and travel trade publications as well as mainstream media.

The range of entries in this category highlighted the diversity of aviation feature writing and the storytelling ability of our industry’s journalists.

This year’s entries covered wide ground including illuminating profiles of industry leaders, a detailed look at the machinations behind airline operations, the often-challenging journey from aircraft design to delivery and stories from the field with defence troops, to name just a few.

Feature writing is a specific art and entries in this category were judged on their ability to present issues of importance to the industry in a thoughtprovoking way, a demonstrated understanding of the issue discussed and the relevance and accuracy of the issue presented.

Highly commended were: Cameron Stewart writing for the Weekend Australian Magazine for his feature article‘The smiling Assassin’; Philip Smart writing for Aviation Business Asia Pacific for ‘The plight of larger rural airports’; Julian Green of Australian Aviation for ‘All in the mix – Australia’s major airlines fleet’, Tom Ballantyne of Orient Aviation for his article ‘No frills: Thrills in Hong Kong’and Adrian Schofield of Aviation Week for ‘Inflection Point’.

The runner-up in this category was Geoffrey Thomas writing for Australian Aviation. Geoffrey’s story ‘Worth the wait’ provided a detailed look at the delivery of Jetstar’s first 787 Dreamliner and the impact the aircraft will have on the airline’s operations.

The trophy for the 2013 Aviation Feature Story of the Year went to Gerard Frawley of Australian Aviation. Gerard’s feature article ‘A seismic shift’ examined the partnership between Qantas and Emirates which was announced in May this year. His feature article looked at the importance of the pairing to each of the airlines and what it means for the broader industry.

2013 Aviation Defence Story of the Year

2013 has provided the region’s defence writers with a wide variety of material, a federal election with duelling defence policies, the changing nature and scope of operational engagements and the ongoing challenges of the local defence manufacturing industry.

That diversity was certainly represented in the entries for this year’s Defence Story of the Year.

Entries in this category were judged on the basis of subject value and importance to the industry, the writer’s demonstrated understanding of defence issues, depth of coverage and style and accuracy.

Highly commended were Gerard Frawley of Australian Aviation for ‘A long, hard road’; Andrew McLaughlin writing for Australian Business Defence Review for his article ‘A7k – RAAF reviewing Air 7000 force mix’; Nigel Pittaway writing for Defence Today for ‘Life after the C130 Hercules – whither A400M’; and Owen Zupp writing for Australian Aviation for ‘Khaki and blue’.

The runner-up prize went to Tony Moclair. Tony’s article ‘AOSG – Informing the warfighter’ was published in Australian Aviation and provided a comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at the Royal Australian Air Force’s Aerospace Operational Support Group at RAAF Base Edinburgh.

The trophy for the 2013 Aviation Defence Story of the Year went to Nigel Pittaway. Nigel’s Air International article ‘Thirty-three’s new frigate bird’ looked at the RAAF’s fleet of KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transports, examining the program history to training and current operations and what the future may hold. Nigel was the runner-up in this category last year.

2013 Online Contribution of the Year

This award reflects the continued growth in digital and social aviation reporting through blogs, online magazines, newspaper websites and video channels.

And it has been encouraging to see a growth in the number of entries in this category as aviation reporters take advantage of this exciting medium to present articles, photo galleries and videos in a way not previously possible.

Entries in this category were published uniquely online and were judged on their style, the author’s understanding of the topic and on their use of the online medium.

Highly commended were: Matt O’Sullivan writing for the Sydney Morning Herald website‘Gang of four take on Alan Joyce’; Doug Nancarrow of Aviation Business Asia Pacific online for ‘CASA chief shares his perspective’; Geoffrey Thomas writing for Airline Ratings for ‘Incredible stunt’; and Peter Clark writing for Travel Memo ‘Jetstar B787’. The runner-up prize went to Robert Wilson of Flight Safety Australia. Robert was the runner-up in this category last year. This year, his article ‘The error of our ways’ examined the relationship between human factors and aviation safety.

The winner of the Online Contribution of the Year was Geoffrey Thomas. Geoffrey’s online contribution ‘White knuckle landing’ on the Airline Ratings website put readers in the pilot’s seat for a landing at one of the world’s most dangerous airports … the Tenzing- Hillary Airport at Lukla in Nepal.

2013 Aviation Photographer of the Year

Milan Scepanovic, picture editor with The Australian, joined the judging panel for this category. Of the entries Milan said: “This was a particularly difficult competition to judge. The very high standard of quality made it very hard to separate the entries. I would like to commend all who entered on their commitment to this remarkable industry. ” Entries in this category were judged on the quality of the photographs, the creativity displayed in the entries and the photographer’s commitment to excellence.

The finalists, in alphabetical order were: Peter Clark, Alex Coppel, Martin de Ruyter, Rob Finlayson, Derek Flynn, Seth Jaworski, Nigel Pittaway and Paul Sadler.

The runner-up prize went to Martin de Ruyter of The Nelson Mail. Martin continues a strong tradition of New Zealand photographers taking out the awards in this category.

The winner of the 2013 Aviation Photographer of the Year was Alex Coppel of the Herald Sun. Alex provided an impressive portfolio of photographs captured at this year’s Avalon Airshow. Of Alex’s entries, judge Milan Scepanovic said: “Alex Coppel’s entries made him a clear winner because of their stunning impact.

“Every one of his photographs provided a unique view on extraordinary feats which leaves the viewer in awe and wanting to look again.

“I’d also like to note his balance between freezing a moment in time that only a Digital-SLR can attain and creating a piece of art which only a dedicated eye can attain. ”