March 25  2007
The News Desk has been informed of another operator at Archerfield about to 'toss in the towel'

Increasing rents and declining flying activity from Archerfield is straining the resources of even the longest-lasting (about 60 years) maintenance and engineering workshop on the airfield

Expected during the coming months will be a number of auction sales of equipment - or in the case of a recent flying school closure - aircraft and associated flying training licences

News Desk Comment

Flying activity away from Archerfield is in some instances 'booming' - airfields that did not exist 25 years ago are now reaching full capacity - Caboolture - Southport - Watts Bridge - Jacobs Well - Redcliffe - even the new Gatton Air Park

The light aircraft industry - an essential training ground for airline pilots - is in a major decline - a neighbouring country without a strong light aircraft industry recently highlighted how their 'jet-jockeys' have an apparent lack of fundamental flying skills

March 31  2007
A 4-seat Rockwell Commander - possibly a RC-114 - crashed just short of the runway at Blackall in central QLD

Media reports have 2 on board suffering from spinal injuries and flown to Rockhampton - the other two were taken to the Blackall Hospital with only minor injuries

News Desk Comment

The aircraft was attempting to land at Blackall after flying in from Mackay - it appears there may have been a loss of control problem (tailplane stall from aft CoG?) on short final that caused the nose of the machine to pitch upwards when just short of the runway