Cali

I can finally report back on this issue. After a very long struggle, we now have full permission to fly out of the Geraldton airport. It took lots of back and forth correspondence, but in the end it was the retirement of a director at the city and the resignation of the airport manager that brought the breakthrough. As soon as the new airport manager stepped in to his role, things started to happen. We now have a airport manager who enjoys and encourages recreational aviation. Happy days!

Nothing happening at the moment. I am working away in Onslow at the moment, but will fly back to Geraldton tomorrow.

Once it is forced into the open and he puts his cards on the table, it will be very easy to prove all his points wrong, I am just not in the mood for all the drama :)

The sad part is, none of the facts, letters, statistics, CASA procedures etc. has any effect, because we aren’t having a two way conversation. He flatly ignores the facts, but now I have to wait for the city to go through a process of rectifying this.

I have actually considered trailering my plane in, setting it up, taking off and landing on a farm strip and then trailer it back in.... The ERSA said permision is required prior to landing, it doesn’t say anything about taking off :)

I am with HGFA, but I am more than willing to move accross to RAAUS. A friend of mine has since bought a microlight and will be hangaring with me. He is with RAAUS. Both organisations gave us their support. Also spoke to Airborne who said they have never heard of something like this before.

Thanks, I have been in touch wit the guys in Bunbury, got reference letters and offers of assistance from them (and everyone else I have been in touch with), but when I requested a meeting with the CEO, I prepeared my case and had a document with everything I could find that was relevant. Unfortunately, unbeknowst to me, the CEO was on holidays and guess who was filling in for him??? So the meeting got intercepted by the bloke with the bee in the bonnet and when I tried to hand him the document, he wouldn’t even look at it, but istead leaned forward and said “you will never fly a microlight out of the Geraldton airport”.

As it stands now, the council is taking a lot of flack for rate rises and perceived mismanagement of funds, so I am sure they don’t need any more negative news. I might just remind them that there is an easy and a hard way of getting things done :) I don’t have any issues with anyone at the city or on the council, it is just one hard headed person in charge of making airport descisions who is the spanner in the works. Hopefully sanity will prevail.

There is no base to his claims and EVERYONE knows it, but still I can’t get permission. It is a rate payers airport, but they don’t want rate payers to use it..... I am working with a councillor now who is determined to help me, but it is taking forever to achieve anything. I am thinking of going to the local paper and telling them my story. Maybe if they ask him to put his opinnion on paper, it will become clear that it is his personal opinnion and not a professional one. Beurocracy at it’s finest!

Hi there. I bought a hangar at Geraldton airport where I intend to fly from, but in the ERSA there is a note that all non-VH registered aircraft needs permission before landing. I emailed the airport manager to gain permission and was told “no, we deem microlights to be too much of a risk and we won’t allow them”. I replied and asked what they see the risk as and if they could show me their risk assesment so I could help mitigate some of the “risks”. The next reply was a bit more blunt, but still no, they are too much of a risk. So this has been going back and forth between me and the City of Geraldton who owns and operates the airport and when I requested a meeting, I realised that the person behind the descision had a near miss 20 years ago ansd he is basing his professional oppinion on his personal experience, rather than facts. I have aproached one of the councillors who is helping me go through the process of getting him to give me a formal response so I can prove him wrong, but it is taking forever and in the meantime my plane is sitting in my shed and I am not flying at all. I have spoken to every other airport in WA where there is RPT flights and they all welcome microlights with open arms. They all agree that if you stick to the rules and you have propper radio calls, you are just another aircraft flying into an airport. I have spoken to a lot of people in all diferent roles from CASA to airport managers to commercial pilots to charter companies and and and. And not one has a problem with microlights flying into Geraldton airport. I just find it frustrating that one person with a bad taste in his mouth, can put the brakes on like this. When I first asked the question, I was looking for advice and backup I guess. Cheers Cali

Hi Frank Thanks for the welcome. I have been a passenger in other three axis planes, but only hold a RPL with a trike endorsement.

Hi there. Is there anyone here that flies out of a non controlled aerodrome where there are RPT flights on a daily base? Cheers Cali

Hi there. I am a microlight pilot from Geraldton WA. I fly an Airborne Edge X Cheers Cali Calitz