The open-day promoted by the Aero Club last Sunday attracted a lot of interest including a number of people expecting to view what they believed to be an airshow instead of a flying school open-day

During the morning period Bob Tait in his Pitts Special carried out an excellent display, adjacent to the clubhouse, of world class aerobatics for the public and Aero Club supporters

Not long after Bob's aircraft landed, a banner towing, display smoke emitting, prop crackling, Cessna C185 operated by Hempels Aviation became airborne and carried out circuits on runway 10L which, by coincidence (?), went right around the R.Q.A.C clubhouse and their display aircraft!

And yesterday two Army Black Hawk helicopters paid (for) a short visit to the airfield

. . . . . . . the general public still appear to be confused between an airshow and the other types of flying displays, like open-days and fly-ins

. . . . . . . perhaps CASA should explain the difference to the public, after all, they did not allow any aerobatics whatsoever at the Aviex 98 airshow held at Bankstown airport last month!

Airside (skyside) action during the past week included another aircraft "unsure of position" his time, when inbound to the airfield

A Piper PA28-140 aircraft reported inbound to the tower on the northern frequency, but the controller was unable to sight the aircraft "abeam the TV towers" and/or "crossing the river"

A few minutes later an "unidentified" aircraft was noticed approaching from the south, which just happened to be the same aircraft that reported inbound from the north a few minutes earlier!

. . . . . . . the experienced tower controllers soon had the "I know where I am" aircraft on the ground without further incident

. . . . . . . strangers to the airport, especially from the Far West, can become "disorientated" with all the various airspace corridors and "special" requirements that surround this city

. . . . . . . and just because a radio has been used to report a position does not always mean the aircraft is, where it says it is!

Tuesday last saw an unusual aircraft at this airfield that caught the attention of the News Desk

A now rare (8 on VH register) ex-military Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) built Wirraway, taxied past the main terminal building with that unique sound only a radial engine can make, and after a brief stay, departed

. . . . . . . around 50 years ago these CA-16 aircraft were a common sight here along with numerous DH82A Tiger Moths

. . . . . . . and for those wishing to know more about the Wirraway, click HERE for details supplied by a local enthusiast via the WWW

It was a busy week for the 'fields DC4, carrying out number of circuits and flights, including a trial run for the parachuting fraternity on its possible use when record "drop" attempts are contemplated

The "classic 4" still attracts attention both on and off the 'field - during the week a local resident phoned the News Desk not to complain about the noise of the '4 but to find out what type of aircraft it was! - it's amazing how much the DC4 resembles a DC6 to the "public" eye

Also towards the end of the week saw a few of the normal (but now, low key) "Christmas/Office Parties" on the airfield with an ever-decreasing number of persons attending year by year


With so many aircraft now not at the 'field, the "end of year" parties are a little more subdued than those of a few years ago

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia (AOPA) have come out fighting with the termination of "Class G" airspace that was under "demonstration" around the Ballina area and as far south as Canberra

Their comments, issued with the December '98 magazine just released, can be viewed by clicking HERE. It has been OCR'd (optical character recognition) and displayed in simple text format for fast viewing

And news just to hand has the DC4 stranded in Townsville with another "blown" engine

. . . . . . . the coastal airspace just north and south of Archerfield/Brisbane appears to be the same type of model as the now defunct "G" airspace

. . . . . . this airspace has been in operation without "drama" for a number of years, well before Dick Smith, the person supposedly responsible for the "G" airspace, came back on the scene

. . . . . . . the frustration continues on the maintenance side with the '4; click HERE for previous news page comments