DirectorPhillip Tarrant

EditorAdam Thorn

Business Development ManagerAnna Grbas

Head of Strategy

Sub EditorLyndsey Fall, Keith Ford, Fatima Parel

Graphic DesignerJack Townsend

ContributorsEric Allen, Tony Arbon, Andrew Boniface, Aero Circus, Hannah Dowling, Graeme Duckworth, Kirsty Ferguson, Rob Finlayson, Liesl Haris, Brett Mitchell, Craig Murray, Dave Prossor, Bella Richards, Alexander Robinson, John Wagner.

Issue 383: Bushfires, Afghanistan & UPRT

Shortly this edition went to print, The Sydney Morning Herald’s editor, Lisa Davies, announced she was leaving the publication. Before she exited, she wrote a column reminiscing about her proudest moments and pointed to a column she published from Greg Mullins in November 2019. You may not have heard of his name, but it’s harder to think of a better example of what you could call an Aussie battler.

This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.

Become a Member

To continue reading the rest of this article, please login.

Username or Email

Password Forgot password?

Keep me signed in on this device.

To unlock all Australian Aviation magazine content and again unlimited access to our daily news and features, become a member today!
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.

$49.95 for 1 year Become a Member

See benefits

Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
Access to In Focus reports every month on our website

MOST POPULAR

PRINT + DIGITAL

$99.95 for 1 year Become a Member

$179.95 for 2 years Become a Member

See benefits

Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
Access to the Australian Aviation app
Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
Daily news updates via our email bulletin

DIGITAL

$5.99 Monthly Become a Member

$59.95 Annual Become a Member

See benefits

Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
Access to the Australian Aviation app
Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
Daily news updates via our email bulletin

View more offers and details

Mullins is arguably the finest and most decorated firefighter this country has ever produced. He took on his first bushfire when he was just 12, alongside his dad, saving the home of a family friend. He later joined NSW’s fire service and eventually became its second-longest serving commissioner ever. (The longest, incidentally, was found dead at his desk at HQ a century ago). He’d earned a quiet retirement but instead found his second life became more eventful than the first.

In 2019 he warned, in columns published in both The SMH and The Age, that the upcoming summer bushfire season could be the worst ever. He blamed global warming and urged the government to invest in a new fleet of aircraft to help us prepare. His warnings were ignored, and the Black Summer became one of Australia’s worst-ever disasters. He appeared on the Australian Aviation Podcast in October 2021, and his comments there form the basis of our cover feature examining just how our response to summer fires has changed. As we approach a new summer, I think it was an important topic for this magazine to cover. What you’ll see is that what happens on the ground and what happens in the air are intertwined more than most would realise.

Elsewhere, Bella Richards examines Upset Prevention and Recovery Training, set to be mandated for pilots of large aircraft early in 2022. Essentially, this is training that teaches pilots to handle the moment of panic that sets in during the million-to-one chance they lose control. She speaks to all the key players to explain what it will do for safety in our industry moving forward.

Hannah Dowling also presents some of the most astonishing photos from possibly the most astonishing aviation story of recent times: RAAF’s evacuation of Kabul in Afghanistan. She also gets the inside scoop on Australia’s newest airline, Bonza. And, of course, we’ve got all our regulars: David Prossor passes on some tips to a new generation of pilots struggling to find work, post-COVID; Eric Allen continues his examination of the history of the Sea Fury and firefly y in service with the RAN; and Tony Arbon analyses another eventful spell on the register.

Enjoy the issue,

Adam

Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Australian Aviation a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Australian Aviation as a preferred news source.