DirectorPhillip Tarrant

EditorAdam Thorn

Business Development ManagerAnna Grbas

Head of StrategyJoe Vince

Sub EditorLyndsey Fall, Keith Ford

Graphic DesignerJack Townsend

ContributorsRob Rich, Chris Frame, Tony Arbon, Aero Circus, Rob Finlayson, Dave Soda, Hannah Dowling, Kirsty Ferguson, Eric Allen, Dave Prossor, Alexander Robinson

Issue 382: Delivery Drones, Flying Cars & Ansett

More than 11,000 kilometres from Google’s main headquarters in Mountain View, California, the tech giant has been quietly conducting the most ambitious experiment in global aviation. And chances are, you’ve not even heard about it. In Logan, Queensland, and Canberra, ACT, Google is deploying drones to deliver hundreds of packages a day. They’ll bring everything from hammers to coffees, sandwiches and, er, hot chicken. In this issue, we speak to key figures in the project to find out how drone delivery could be the next significant disruption to our lives and just why Google picked Australia to be its epicentre.

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It’s the lead feature in what we’re calling our Future of Aviation Issue, which – no coincidence! – ties in with the biggest redesign we’ve attempted in years, led by our brilliant lead designer, Jack Townsend. We wanted to make something a bit cleaner, a bit simpler, and a bit more, well, future-focused. Let us know what you think because we hope this will be something that will evolve as the year goes on. It’s also given us a great excuse to run a story with perhaps the best headline imaginable. Where are all the flying cars? asks writer Hannah Dowling, and will they ever make it into the air?

But looking to the future doesn’t mean forgetting the past. This issue, Chris Frame looks back at Ansett 20 years after its demise that, along with 9/11, devastated Australia’s aviation industry. Chris has spoken to some of the prominent figures involved, and we’ve been able to secure some fantastic candid shots of Ansett staff through the years, thanks to the Sir Reginald Ansett Museum.

We’ve also added a new comment and opinion section, where we’ll hand some of the industry’s biggest names the chance to write on a topic of their choosing. In this issue, Nova Systems’ Jim Whalley argues the case for investing in STEM, James Goodwin of the Australian Airports Association talks about how his members have embraced innovation to survive COVID, and John Sharp, of Rex, discusses why the business picked this year to fly capital city routes.

And of course, all the regulars return, too: Dave Prossor hails the return of an English Electric Canberra in Warbirds, Tony Arbon tracks the sale of Soar Aviation’s fleet in Register, and I follow a suborbital aircraft movement in Traffic. Which, come to think of it, isn’t that regular at all.

Enjoy the issue, Adam.

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