68volksy

I may have picked up some bad habits. I'm certainly a lot more bitter than I used to be. Or at least that's what I tell myself...

The guys out there have been standing up for what they believe. That's the reason all the Aero Club trophies have been smashed (some were over 70 years old), the Aero Club's building sold and now is soon to be demolished, peoples tyres slashed, numerous windows smashed etc. The Club in its various incarnations has been fighting this for 18 years without rest and the fight has become very nasty at times. However when people's lives begin to feel threatened I can understand them slowly and quietly climbing down from the tree. This isn't some Clint Eastwood movie it's the real deal. All the yelling and carry on that went on the other night at the Council meeting led the Councillors to make statements to the media that seemed to state that none of the people using the Airport deserved such a facility due to their behaviour. I used to believe that goodness and doing what was right would overcome all obstacles. Abosulte load of baloney that whole view of the world proved to be.:black_eye:

To be honest I don't think that anyone out there would pick a fight with this crew. It's a combination of apathy and fear.

I'm utterly depressed by the state of affairs in this town. After all the yelling and screaming from the public at the utter lies the presenter was dribbling forth the Council seem to have been hearing only dollars falling. They will sell if he offers them the right price. As a well-known Goulburnite said on the way out "I wouldn't believe that man if he told me his middle name". Bluehawk you may know a little more in this area? The guy wanting to buy had a tall New Caledonian standing by his left who wants to bring an "anti-terrorism and security centre" to Goulburn. Not once in the presentation did he mention anything about the "International Transport Hub" that he talked to the Canberra Times about either. It appears our only solution is to start again. Just as the founding members of our club first began constructing the Goulburn airport in 1928 it seems that 80 years on we must begin to do the same if we wish to fly in this region in the future.

Well the saga continues. The current Developer who is looking to buy the airport is making a presentation to Council tonight. It's a public meeting so we're encouraging as many people as possible to attend. We feel it's a good chance to show the new Council that the community actually cares about what happens out there. We have had several run-ins with the Current proponent including one of our pilots being forced to move out of the way of his Landcruiser as it hurtled towards him along the grass runway. When our CFI approached the vehicle a little later to tell them to get off the runways/taxiways he drove toward her until she had to move and carried on with the windows rolled up. This is not the kind of person we want in charge! If anyone is free and would like to attend the meeting is at 5:30pm in Council chambers. It is a public meeting. The presentations should be over by 6pm I would imagine so it shouldn't take up much time. Some of us are taking small protest signs so if you would like to join us in doing this please feel free. I think it's time we started making a little noise. Tony Lamarra will be talking to Council also to implore them to retain the airport on behalf of all users. Hope to see some of you there. Sorry about the late notice.

I have just spoken with our president Teraya Miller and she is free to talk to you also. Teraya runs the flying school at the airport alongside working for CASA and has been a stalwart at the airport for 15 years. Her email is [email protected].

Hi Paolo, Thanks for getting in touch. The Aero Club has accepted the airport will most likely be sold. The clubs primary purpose is the promotion of General and Ultralight Aviation in the Southern Highlands region. As such we have conceded that it is in our best interests to work with any future owner to this end. Your question about costs has been a point of contention between the Aero Club and Council for many years. They have provided no justification for or reliable breakdown of any cost figures they quote. From what I and other users can gather the primary cost at the airport would be the mowing of the grass. I personally feel that $70,000 is entirely ridiculous. Other major costs would include the maintenance of the runway lighting and the weekly airport inspections. I also know that the Council includes between $6k and $30k of the Director of Engineering's salary in the total cost figures depending on who you ask. If you sought a quote from a contractor for the mowing of the airport (4-6 times a year) you would have the majority of the outgoings. I would expect the inspections and management would be very minor undertakings if you had a base at the airport. My gut tells me the airport should not cost more than $30k per year and about 2 hours per week to run. The income side of the equation is much more reliable and consists primarily of landing fees and runway hire (car clubs use it as a drag strip occasionally - this is an income stream I feel could be increased substantially with a small amount of marketing). The Aero Club offered several times to undertake all the mowing, inspection and maintenance activities. We made this offer in writing and asked only that Council provide the necessary equipment and consumables (tractor, slasher and diesel primarily). We were to provide all Labour free and were to arrange insurance to cover club members. The Council knocked us back on each occasion. We would be more than willing to negotiate a mutually beneficial arrangement with any future owner also. We have over 50 members currently, many retired, who are more than willing to offer their time, services and knowledge in order to have an airport they can continue to call "theirs". Regarding the capital works we as a club feel the runway resealing is more of a luxury than a necessity. As our members are entirely General Aviation and Ultralight enthusiasts we use the grass runway primarily. The latest CASA inspection found the bitumen runway to be fine and I have not heard any real complaints about its condition from fellow pilots. The people making the decisions at Council have no experience in aviation whatsoever and have constantly discounted our pleading that the grass runway is our preferred runway. The drainage improvements have been largely undertaken by Council as of last week. They are still to seal the parking lot and we hope they do this before the first decent rain washes all the dirt and gravel down their brand new drain. The parking lot is a public road however so it seems very odd that Ken Wheeldon is quoting that a future airport owner would have to fix it. It is and always has been Councils road and therefore Councils responsibility. I don't know how long you have been involved in the possible sale but in case you are unaware the Council has made clear they already have a proposed purchaser in mind. They have set the reserve price after lengthy discussions with the proposed purchaser. Unfortunately we can't nail down exactly who this might be. I can also say that the reserve is most likely very close to the value that was put on it by the Valuer General. You should be able to get a copy of this valuation I think. From memory the value was around $1.75 million. That's the nuts and bolts of the politics anyway. As far as i am aware you are the only possible purchaser of the airport who has shown any interest in the local users and for that I would like to thank you once again. If you would like further information I would be very happy to talk further. You can email me at [email protected] and I can provide a phone number if necessary. Regards, Tim Allen.

Um... Yes. 6:30pm. Food starting about 6:45pm with presentation following. Thanks for pointing that out.

Free Food!! On Friday the 20th of June in the Belmore Room at Goulburn Soldiers Club. Topic of the presentation will be “Operations at Non-towered Aerodromes†followed by an open forum allowing for questions and discussion. The presentation will be followed by an assortment of hot and cold finger food. The presenter will be our very own Teraya Miller in her new role as one of CASA’s Aviation Safety Advisors. Albert Fleming will also be revisiting us and will be on hand to answer questions. Please reply if you plan to attend either by email to [email protected] or by phone on the numbers below. The invitation is open to everyone so please spread the word. I hope to see you all there! Tim Allen Southern Highlands Aero Club 02 4821 0973 0421 285 423

It was a very quick wind-up last Saturday. The Tong Master runs a very efficient BBQ so if you want a hot sausage it's ready at 12.30pm precisely. I personally heard about half a dozen people lament the lack of planes available for a fly on such a beautiful day. Can't change this overnight though. The Flying schools planes were booked solid from sunup to sundown... As for the meeting - one of the main hurdles with running a club of any size is finding enough members who would actually spend a little time investing in sharing their passion. It's simply a matter of "I pay my fee I expect services" with too many people. The "Community" organisations that used to play such a huge part in peoples lives are slowly dying in my opinion. That said, there's a very small nucleus of 4-5 people in the Southern Highlands Aero Club who give a great deal of time and a further dozen or so who contribute when they can. We've got members from Bathurst, Canberra, Wollongong with only a few of us actually in Goulburn so organising meetings can be difficult! That's my monday morning rant anyway. Hope everyone had a great weekend - I certainly did!

Damn i'm hopeless with these things!! Yes it is Saturday. I think last month I was telling everyone it was on the 4th which was a friday! The BBQ is on Saturday!

We'd love a Fly-in here in Goulburn. The club is effectively a "young" club though. We've moved away from the 30-odd years of politics, tyre-deflating, threats etc. that took place when there were the 2 "competing" clubs here. The 2 guys primarily responsible are now too old basically to care and neither of their clubs have any members left. We haven't even seen one of them for almost 2 years! The reason I say this is that while many members seem very keen the simple fact is that we don't really know where to start with hosting a fly-in. We have some hard workers willing to lend a hand but we'd need some "hands-on" guidance at the very least. Even a few dozen aircraft would look sensational at once in Goulburn. And we're close enough to attract a fair contingent of aviators and interested folk from Canberra and Sydney.

:big_grin: Howdy everyone, Doesn't seem like it's been a month but my calendar says otherwise! An invitation to all and sundry for the BBQ lunch this Sunday. Looks to be another fine day indeed so if you're itching for a destination for that Saturday adventure look to Goulburn. Cheers, Tim.

I'm up in Goulburn also and would like to echo sain in saying you're welcome at our BBQ on the 3rd. Any other date also for that matter! Most flying seems to take place up here on Saturday and Sunday - if you get a good day there's plenty of people out and about. We're sometimes a little cramped in the Goulburn Aviation offices but it's cosy & warm. We're working towards getting ourselves a clubhouse again after Council sold our last one... The Polo Flat guys are pretty active also from what I hear although I haven't been down there yet myself.

BBQ usually fires up about 12 with things ready about 12.30 or so. Hope to see you there!

Thanks IanR and airsick, We're planning to start small and simple. Just 3 or 4 events - Teraya will judge 1 or 2 and Austin will judge 1 or 2. Anyone know anything about insurance matters or who we could talk to? Just need to have a chat to someone who has run one I suppose - lots of small first-timer questions...

In this regard you would be happy to know that Goulburn Mulwaree Council has ICAC down here this week providing training to their staff members. I'm not one to gossip...

Sorry - BBQ on Saturday the 5th. At Lunchtime. Thanks for that.

Hi, The Southern Highlands Aero Club would like to run a flying competition at Goulburn (we actually have time for this now). We have asked around a little however it seems most of our members have only ever competed in competitions and have no real experience in organising or running them. We have talked to two of the Instructors at the airport who have all the necessary scoring sheets and are happy to be judges. We just need some advice on how to organise the event and how to run it. Anyone out there that can provide any advice? Anyone out there who would like to actually lend a hand in organising our first event? We have 4 people from the club who have committed to assisting with the event - just after some guidance I suppose. Cheers, Tim.

Well who could believe it - Goulburn Council actually voted not to sell the airport! The offer on the table was so full of holes it's not funny. The Council stated that the proponent did not need to own the airport to run a flying school and questioned their true intentions. Goes a step towards restoring my faith in local government! Unbelievable. Those of us in the Southern Highlands Aero Club who have been working so hard to keep the airport in Council hands can finally start putting some effort into the actual Club!! Heavens - I could actually fly in my spare time again!! Can you believe it's been almost 6 months since i've left the ground under my own devices? My poor instructor probably started to fear for her life last year when my lessons turned into hour-long rants about Councillors and Council employees... So many people seemed to have given up hope for the airport and here it is returned to us. A huge thankyou to everybody on here for their support through this battle!!! You remained a steady source of inspiration throughout. The Club is now following through on its promises to assist Council with lowering their costs. Hoping to meet with some Councillors in the next week or two and also hoping people will bring their ideas and enthusiasm to the BBQ lunch on 4 April. Our efforts will be largely focused on lawn mowing, maintenance, toilet cleaning etc. With any luck the Club will be able to say "That's our Airport". Not a bad start for a club which only started in June last year! Once again thankyou to everyone on here for your support and ideas. Tim.

It's not a worry. Unfortunately that document you found was the last nail in the coffin for those of us who wanted the airport kept by Council. We had to involve lawyers to get it there and still could push it further but unfortunately the club is a little short of funds so we had to stop the legal challenge where we did.

I was actually going to say - keep forgetting my goal when I get on the damn soapbox! The flying school has been asked to proceed to the 2nd stage of the tender process. Council has set the March Council meeting (18th?) for their final decision. Some details are leaking out but picking the true ones is proving quite diffciult. The $1.2mill number has been touted by many people and seems reasonable. Considering the mayor told us at the start of last year they thought it was worth $3-5mill i'm a little astonished they're proceeding with such a small offer but considering they only received 2 offers after the absolute shambles the 1st stage proved it's not a real surprise. They almost sold it for $1mill a couple of years ago until bringing in the ICAC started being mentioned... Basically the community is allowed to know nothing until the decision is made.

That document we found shows the true benefit of Public Relations working at their best. The meeting where the airport was declared "operational" land was instigated in order to have the land classified as community. It is only operational land that can be sold. Community land must be held by Council for the benefit of the community. The community classification is much more suited to the airport due to its long history, the fact it was a gift to Council from the original landholders and its value during the 30's and the 2nd world war. The continuing to operate statement goes no further than what you see written. There is nothing to elaborate on it. Does an airport that only allows freight planes still qualify as an airport? Does an airport with landing fees of $100 per touch and go still qualify? Does an airport with no aircraft parking, toilets or fuel facilities still qualify? I am sorry but this really gets my goat - the Council keeps making these broad, appeasing statements which nobody seems to look past. They sold the saleyards here in town with the same "It has to continue to operate as a saleyards" statement and they tried to take the new owner to court because he didn't do what he said he would. Needless to say the court kicked it out saying the land was privately owned and Council had no say in the matter. The Aero Club offered for many years to take care of the maintenance of the airport (Council's only outgoing) which would result in the airport costing Council nothing (they can cover insurance and resealing with landing fees. Unfortunately Council is more interested in the $1.2million. Quite a bargain from a buyers point of view. You're hard pressed to buy a rural lot of that size that close to town.

I think Andy has it pretty much wrapped up - you have to show a link between your self-eduation costs and your current work activities. The self-eductaion has to either help you perform your current duties or lead to increased income from your current duties. If you're currently employed as a commercial pilot in some capacity and could swing the future training through your employer you may have something. The ATO is very tight with whether the costs were incurred before any income was earned - especially with self-education...

Looks like the weather may be closing in for Saturday. Great for Goulburn, not so great for flying :(. It'll take more than that to keep me away however! We were thinking of organising for Santa to arrive in a flying contraption of some sort or other however it seems it might have been redundant anyway.