By Kristy Gilligan 

These days it is a rarity to hear about an Australian icon being reborn, rather than sold off. That’s why Gippsland Aeronautics acquisition of the Nomad type certificate from Boeing Australia Limited is such an exciting event for aviation in Australia.

Boeing Australia has sold certification authority for the aircraft to the Victorian general aviation manufacturer, also to thank for the popular GA8 Airvan. The sale includes technical and spares sales support and all intellectual property for the Nomad aircraft worldwide. Fifty four Nomads are operational around the world, but what most inspires is that the Nomad will soon be rolling out the factory door once more.

What was once known to the Government Aircraft Factory (GAF) at Fisherman’s Bend in Victoria as Project N, a plan for a single engine agricultural aircraft, was revived as a new and very different project to meet demands in the civil and military market for a Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft. This aircraft would become known as the GAF N22 Nomad.

The order was for a rugged, powerful aircraft that could take off nearly anywhere and easily carry either passengers or cargo. Unlike other aircraft available at the time, the Nomad design would need to be able to meet the toughest Australian conditions. Barely a thought at the time was that these credentials would later equip the Nomad to take on any flying conditions the world could throw at it.

In July 1971 the first prototype, VH-SUP, flew its first test flight from Avalon, Victoria, piloted by the talented and highly experienced test pilot, Stuart Pearce, father of the current day celebrity actor, Guy Pearce. Unfortunately Stuart would later die doing what he loved so much, in an accident involving the Nomad.

The test flying cycle involved around 350 hours of flight time, which proved that the first prototype, known as N2, was more than just a concept and, in fact, a reliable and rather impressive twin engine turbine aircraft. Engine choice was an issue in the early days, when the decision had to be made as to which manufacturer’s engine would take pride of place on the N22’s sturdy shoulders. The end choice was Allison’s 250-B17’s. At first glance many thought this was an odd choice of engine, as power goes, due to the availability of much higher horse power engines such as the PT6, on the market. Alan Wrigley, the Chief Design Engineer on the project, along with his team, came to the conclusion that the 400hp Allison was more than enough grunt without a sacrifice of weight or fuel burn. In addition, the Allison had an excellent track record of flying hard hours beneath the rotors of helicopters the world over. Rumour has it there were problems with the engine, which would be more truthfully described as a gearbox problem, which was in due course resolved by GAF.

All in all, by the end of testing the aircraft officially named the N22 Nomad was ready to meet the world. At the Farnborough Air Show in 1972 the Nomad became the first Australian manufactured aircraft to be displayed at the show. Lovingly displayed by pilot Stuart Pearce, the Nomad impressed the crowds and went on a world tour, leading to a lot of interest and the start of production.

As the Nomad comes full circle and begins again as a project on the factory floor of Gippsland Aeronautics, so too do some people who worked closely with the project all those years ago.

George Morgan, co-founder of Gippsland Aeronautics and company director began on the Government Aircraft Factory floor in 1969 as an apprentice airframe/Engine Mechanic where he got to work on the Nomad through the Design, Development and Certification phase.

He left GAF in about 1974 to pursue his own aviation business ventures before ending up in Essendon working for H.C. Sleigh Aviation as a qualified LAME. H.C. Sleigh Aviation was the Australian distributor for the Nomad and operated several of the aircraft themselves. They were also involved in the modification programme for the Nomad and Morgan became the Special Projects Officer looking after these modifications and other customer options. H.C. Sleigh was also responsible at the time for the Army R3 servicing for the military Nomads. Other services included product support for organisations such as the RFDS and Skywest.

Bob MacGillivray, Gippsland Aeronautics Chief Design Engineer and esteemed contributor to Aviator (!), also has a notable part in the Nomad’s history. MacGillivray worked for the DCA, nowadays know as CASA and was the Aircraft Performance Engineer for the Victoria and Tasmanian region. His role at the time required him to independently witness the early structural tests performed over many months and many sleepless nights, then participate in the data analysis for certification.

Through a series of subsequent events MacGillivray moved away from the Nomad and came back again when working with HC Sleigh Aviation Ltd. Having obtained a Nomad type endorsement, MacGillivray was involved in the acceptance flying and ferrying of Nomads from Avalon Airport to Essendon Airport in Victoria where they received a final fit out. Often the aircraft was flown over in nothing but primer with a single radio.

Later, when HC Sleigh got the contract to modify Nomads for government activities, including six for the Indonesian navy, known as Searchmasters, MacGillivray once again went to work designing modifications and test flying. Furthermore, he later went on to demonstrated the Nomad at air shows, operate coastal surveillance and later fly the ‘5’ Nomads acquired by the National Safety Council.

Peter Furlong, the other co-founder and company director of Gippsland Aeronautics, is considered somewhat of a legend around the place, especially for his involvement in the GA8 Airvan. He was first introduced to the Nomad when George Morgan and Bob MacGillivray took an N24 to Latrobe Valley Airport. Furlong was already running his own aircraft maintenance base at Latrobe Valley which subsequently became Gippsland Aeronautics, when Furlong and Morgan became partners.

Peter was involved in maintaining Nomads at Latrobe Valley for the National Safety Council of Australia (NSCA). Five aircraft arrived but the NSCA were only supposed to have four, so the fifth aircraft was hidden out at the Furlong Family Farm!

History goes that one day Morgan and MacGillivray ‘sort of borrowed’ the Nomad for the weekend. It was the annual Christmas party at Latrobe Valley which always involved a fly-in at the 'Furlong Family Farm' not far from Latrobe Valley Airport. MacGillivray and Morgan just turned up with the aircraft and proceeded to demonstrate its attributes at the farm. Many were treated to joy flights as part of the Christmas party festivities. Furlong recalls thinking that the aircraft was interesting and noisy. He thought it was over- engineered and complex but with a lot of potential, which he will now have the chance to realise.

From those early days to now, the Nomad has been considered at times somewhat unattractive. If considering each element of the design individually one might be lead to the same conclusion. However, as an overall package the N22 does cut a nice figure and its box-like fuselage and high wing give it a utility that can’t be denied, with an uncanny likeness to its new sister, the Gippsland Aeronautics GA8 Airvan. The Nomad can give the likes of the Cessna Caravan a run for its money and has far more customer appeal due to its twin engines.

The fuselage was designed square and wide to allow for optimum loading space inside. In early promotional photos a ute was reversed up to the big double doors on the left hand side to show the convenient loading height. The flat, full width floor has four runners for fitting seats or tying down cargo. The sensibility behind the concept is that boxes are usually square, not round, so for cargo carrying purposes it makes sense to have a square hole for a square peg, so to speak.

 The wing has full span flaps and what engineers dubbed slot lip ailerons. With the flaps away the outboard aileron section would operate normally but under flap extension would be replaced in function by an outboard spoiler. The spoiler would have the same overall effect as the aileron by breaking the flow of air over the outboard section of the winging, causing it to drop. This distinctive system proved very effective and the only hiccup was the complex mixer device that gave the odd maintenance engineer a headache or two. Nonetheless the design is a testament to the capability of Australian aircraft designers.

The Nomad we look forward to seeing in production in a few years time is likely to hold true to all the wonderful design features that made it so popular. Gippsland Aeronautics will also take the design and make sure that the aircraft which emerges from their factory floors is one not only reminiscent of these positive attributes but also of the best technology and innovation available today. Like its factory friend, the GA8 Airvan, the Nomad will be a robust and purposeful aircraft that pleases its owner as much by its behaviour as it does by its looks. There are small design features that may be improved, like a strobe on the tail that protrudes a little further than some hangars will allow and a latch on the pilots door that is a little out of reach for the average person.

It is expected the market for the Nomad will be in remote and difficult flying locations, often frequented by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s), search and rescue groups and tourism operators. The turbine engine will satisfy the need for an aircraft not reliant on the often hard to obtain Avgas. This time around, the Nomad will not be marketed directly to military applications, though it may well be sought out.

New technologies to be used on the Nomad include match hole punches, making parts flawless and identical, along with other machining technologies which have developed since early production days

In spite of some criticism and some shabby reporting by the press the Nomad should be looked upon as an exciting opportunity to introduce another true blue aircraft into the international market place. Locally, the Gippsland economy will benefit with an increase of jobs and nation wide there will be an increase in contracted work for various specialist aircraft components.

Gippsland Aeronautics, based at Latrobe Regional Airport, holds two letters of intent from two Australian operators for the Nomad. The lead customer will be Grant Kenny Aviation, which has signed a letter of intent for a multi-aircraft order. Former iron man Grant Kenny, a canoeing bronze medalist in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and his wife Lisa Curry-Kenny, also a former Olympic athlete, have built up a multi million dollar fleet of more than fifty aircraft through their Sunshine Coast based Curry-Kenny Aviation Group. The other operator is Airfreight Solutions, a Bathurst NSW, specialist airfreight operator headed by Tim Hall Matthews. 

As another exciting phase in general aviation begins for Australia we can all wait with baited breath to see the new Nomad sitting on the tarmac at Latrobe Regional Airport, lined up with the GA8 Airvan, ready to be sold to the world.