By Ryan Hart  

Australian GA is in a state of transition. Some sectors are growing strongly while others are in decline, with many businesses struggling to remain viable. Ryan Hart takes a closer look and showcases a variety of players who have their own little niche on the GA landscape.

The less regulated, recreational part of the industry is growing strongly, a positive development in its own right, but also presenting effective competition for private flying. The rapid growth of commercial airline activity worldwide has also created export opportunities for professional flight training and it is important that the industry participates to the full in meeting this growth potential.

Aviation is a comparatively old business by Australian standards, dating back to the early twentieth century, and sharing common elements in its development with military flying. These factors have helped to create a conservative industry that, while well‐suited to operating in a highly regulated environment, has not necessarily developed the skills to successfully manage change.

Changes surrounding the GA industry over the past 20 years have been profound. Privatisation of airports, increases in the cost of aircraft and fuel and changes in the safety and security regulatory environment have all played important parts.

AVIATOR has taken the opportunity to showcase a variety of industry players who have their own little niche on the GA landscape. Among these players are businesses involved in aircraft manufacturing, maintenance, flight training, corporate charter and aircraft distribution, each of whom will play a critical role in an industry forever optimistic about its future. 

AEROSPORT AVIATION
AEROSPORT Aviation is the exclusive distributor of the BRM Aero NG4 and BRM Aero Bristell LSA aircraft in Australia and New Zealand. Located at Penfield Airfield in Sunbury, Victoria, Aerosport is co-owned by RAA endorsed pilots Les Elliott and Brett Anderson.

A visit in 2009 to BRM Aero in the Czech Republic, convinced the duo that they’d found an aircraft superior to anything they’d seen in Australia. After meeting manufacturer and designer Milan Bristela, the distributorship for Australia and New Zealand was established and the first two aircraft were imported Down Under.

Former RAAF fighter pilot John Blackburn recently took the BRM Aero NG4 for a flight test and came away impressed for many reasons. The former ace found the NG4 to be a modern, streamlined metal-wing light aircraft with a spacious, well-designed cockpit, a high standard of construction, and a robust design with good performance and excellent handling qualities in turbulent conditions. In John’s opinion, the machine was simply first class.   

John said the aircraft didn’t “feel” like an LSA category aircraft. No, it felt like a heavier aircraft but with the responsiveness of an LSA.

John was left with the impression that this is a great little aircraft regardless of price range. Pricing on the NG4 ranges from AUD$97,500 to AUD$170,000 plus GST, depending on the selection of avionics. So for pilots who want a low wing monoplane with good performance, excellent handling qualities and some innovative features, John would recommend they take a close look at the NG4. In fact, John loved the aeroplane so much, he eventually bought one for himself. For someone used to precision flying in state-of-the-art military hardware worth millions of dollars, that’s quite an endorsement.

AIR GOLD COAST
AIR Gold Coast will this year spend around $2 million upgrading its facilities. Driven by CEO Howard Veal, the upgrade will include a well-presented flying school with the ability to handle local and international students; a new charter lounge and maintenance space.

“Air Gold Coast has over the years developed a reputation for quality pilot training and sound maintenance,” Veal tells Aviator. “We have retained these traits, added charter and are now about to make things a whole lot bigger and better.”

Air Gold Coast, Professional Jet, Professional Aviation Fuels and a number of smaller enterprises have combined to form the Air Gold Coast Group, fully owned by Air Gold Coast Holdings, an amalgamation Veal believes will deliver a bright future.

Air Gold Coast operates two AOC’s: Air Gold Coast flight training and maintenance and Professional Jet, which deals with light twins and corporate jet charter. The company has a training fleet of 11 aircraft - mostly Cessna 172’s but also two B76 Duchess twin trainers, one of which was recently imported with only 2500 hours. Further, Air Gold Coast has a Citation Jet (C525) which was purchased to ensure the company has the ability to offer jet endorsements to a growing customer base.

While passionate about the company’s flight training arm, Veal is critical of the industry’s poor treatment of foreign students, an area in which he hopes to capitalise.

“We saw companies take large sums of money as foreign students arrived and then this money was not held in trust and therefore not correctly directed to meet the training costs of those students. To meet the challenge of training and managing of foreign students, flying schools have the responsibility to deliver the product and manage the students’ funds correctly. To be successful we will have to provide very high quality training to justify the cost. Air Gold Coast will do that.”

Veal also assures Aviator that despite reports to the contrary, corporate aviation is alive and well.

“There are more small jets arriving and successful people who need the speed and privacy,” he says. “We’re getting our share, particularly the CJ (Cessna 525) as it is clean, quick and economical. We’ve had good availability, good pilots and good aircraft ready for some years. We’ll be waiting to capitalise on any opportunities that come our way.”

AIRLINE ACADEMY OF AUSTRALIA
ARCHERFIELD’S Airline Academy of Australia (AAA) has emerged as one of the nation’s elite flight training academies.

The AAA is the only Qantas-approved flight training organisation in Queensland and provides world class training dedicated to those seeking careers as professional pilots. 

The academy course provides a totally integrated ground and flight school and is designed to ensure that Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Threat and Error Management (TEM) concepts and techniques are integral to the overall program. Additionally, the academy has a strong emphasis on developing an individual’s command and communication skills with particular emphasis on leadership, confidence, discipline and teamwork.

The academy offers an environment where the cadet pilot is supported by a mentor program and a dedicated flying instructor. Cadets are teamed with instructors and other cadets so that CRM and TEM concepts and disciplines are introduced at the very beginning of flying training. Situated on a busy controlled airport the academy offers a mix of open training areas for ab initio training in addition to more demanding training in busy controlled airspace.

“The academy’s instructors are well qualified and experienced in airline-type instruction and have backgrounds in Qantas, the Air Force and the Government Air Wing,” says AAA flight manager, operations, Rhonda Richings. “The academy also employs an extensive team of flight and ground instructors who are supported by an operations team and administrative department.”

The academy operates a fleet of over 34 aircraft which includes Cessna 172R, C172S, C172SP, C172RG, C206, Citabria and Beechcraft Duchess types and is able to offer training programs to suit the requirements of airlines and aviation regulators from all around the world.

GIPPSAERO
Mahindra Aerospace, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra, and one of India's largest automotive conglomerates, in mid-2010 acquired a major share holding in Gippsland-based aircraft manufacturer GippsAero.

This move signals Mahindra’s strategic entry into the global general aviation aircraft market and heralds the start of a promising relationship that will build GippsAero into a much larger organisation for the development and manufacture of its family of aircraft. Manufacturing of the Airvan range of aircraft will continue at Victoria’s Latrobe Regional Airport, which has been GA’s home for 26 years.

Since the acquisition, GippsAero has made significant progress on a number of fronts. A number of projects to improve the performance and versatility of the company’s existing GA8 Airvan have been finalised, including a project to convert the Airvan into an amphibious seaplane, which is anticipated to open new markets.

GippsAero is also working to expand the company’s product line to four types. In addition to the established GA200 and GA8 types, progress has been made on the development of two new aircraft. These are the GA10, a 10-seat aircraft that will bring an affordable entry-level, turboprop-powered, utility aircraft to the world market place; and the GA18, an 18-seat twin turboprop commuter and multi-role aircraft. This line-up will enable the company to offer a versatile range of aircraft.

GippsAero last year delivered 14 new aircraft and has an encouraging number of confirmed orders ahead with a number of other sales imminent.

HORSHAM AVIATION SERVICES
Horsham Aviation Services specialises in general aviation and recreational aircraft maintenance and is currently responsible for the maintenance of almost 200 aircraft. Located in Horsham, Victoria, halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide, the company was established by local engineer Tony Brand, who for 10 years honed his engineering skills working for Schutt Aviation, a Cessna dealer located at Moorabbin Airport.

Now a director and Horsham Aviation’s chief engineer, Tony was introduced to light aircraft as a youngster in the mid-1960s. Gaining his pilots’ licence in 1979, Tony a year later began his aviation maintenance career as an apprentice with Schutt Aviation, a prosperous company that at the time sold about four new aircraft each week and had a sales yard of around 30 aircraft. A busy maintenance facility, Schutt Aviation also boasted its own engine, radio and electrical shops.

After a decade of at Moorabbin, Tony returned to his home town of Horsham to establish his own maintenance facility, Horsham Aviation Services.

A thriving GA business, in addition to aircraft servicing and maintenance, Horsham Aviation Services (through Airugo Mods and Pro) offer several Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approved modifications and engineering instructions. Designed by Tony, the STC’s have been developed for customers looking to save money on common problems that may ultimately have an adverse affect on their aircraft.
Horsham Aviation Services is also the Australian agent for the Eurofox, a nifty recreational aircraft designed by Aeropro of Slovakia.
PARAFIELD AIRPORT ((**PLEASE PLACE IMAGE ENTITLED PARAFIELD NEARBY**))
PARAFIELD Airport Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Adelaide Airport Limited (AAL) and is located 18km north of the Adelaide CBD. A leading GA airport, Parafield enjoys the facilities that come with being one of the busiest General Aviation (GA) airports in Australia.

Parafield Airport was first used as an "all over" aerodrome in 1927, when Miller Aviation Company (later MacRobertson Miller Airways in Western Australia) and Australian Aerial Services moved from "the main aerodrome" at Albert Park. Later that year, on 26 November 1927, the Royal Aero Club of South Australia built a hangar at Parafield, and bought two aircraft for passenger and training purposes. On May 29, 1929 two De Havilland Hercules Airlines, carrying 21 passengers, arrived at Parafield from Perth on the inaugural flight of the East-West Service. On October 1, 1929, 16 aircraft landed at Parafield in the course of the East-West Air Race from Sydney to Perth.
 
On July 1 1936, Australian National Airways was formed with passengers flying from Parafield to Perth, Melbourne and Sydney as well as country centres in South Australia.
 
During World War II, Parafield Airport was used by the RAAF as a Flying Training Unit using mainly Tiger Moth aircraft, with occasional use by a heavier general service aircraft such as the Liberator Bomber.
 
At the end of hostilities in World War II, the airfield plus numerous buildings were handed back to the Department of Civil Aviation and it continued to operate as the only civil airport for Adelaide until Adelaide Airport was opened for regular public transport (RPT) operations on February 16, 1955. Parafield was to become the secondary airport and training field.
 
In the early 1980's the Federal Government was laying the foundation for privatisation of its airports. The final stage of the program took place at midnight of 28 May 1998 when PAL commenced the long term leasing of Parafield, inheriting identified staff, facilities and equipment.

Today, the main building area is located in the northern area of the airport, and mainly accommodates commercial lease properties. The facilities include aircraft hangars, workshops, student accommodation, flying schools and a range of non-aeronautical facilities (e.g. clubs, sporting/recreational reserves etc.), with the control tower being located on the southern boundary.
 
The Commercial Estate is the most recently developed precinct of the airport, providing approximately 17 hectares of serviced commercial land in the north-east corner of the airport.

UNSW AVIATION
Since University of NSW first opened its aviation department in 1995, more than 700 aviation students have graduated, with many finding employment in various capacities both in Australia and abroad.

UNSW Aviation does not offer recreational flying or flight training and only students enrolled in the UNSW Aviation flying programs undertake flight training at the UNSW Aviation Bankstown facilities.

The flying stream of the Bachelor of Aviation program aims to educate and train pilots to the highest international standards. The operations management and the flying stream share a common academic core consisting of science, engineering and aviation subjects. In place of some academic modules, the flying stream offers students a comprehensive range of training at the highest possible standards.

Students will attain a minimum of Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL) on completion of the degree with advanced options available including Air Transport Pilots Licence (frozen), Instructor Rating and Multi Engine Command Instrument Rating.

Students complete their training during block release from the academic program and will accrue up to 240 hours of actual and 60 hours of simulator-based flying.

All flight training is strictly monitored by the University's Director of Flying Operations, Mr Brian Horton and aims to exceed all regulatory standards set by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. The university owns and operates six single engine DA-40 and one twin engine DA-42 Diamond aircraft for training purposes and hires a number of other aircraft types based upon demand and individual student requirements. Training is carried out by the university’s own dedicated staff of flying instructors to assure the highest possible standards.
 
With Garmin 1000 glass cockpit displays, the Diamond aircraft offer state-of-the-art avionics displays, similar to the complex systems used on today’s new generation airliners. Constructed with sleek aerodynamically efficient styling using composite materials, the Diamond aeroplanes also provide substantial fuel efficiency.

“These aeroplanes will provide our students with one of the world’s best training environments, consistent with our objective of being the leading aviation university in the Australasian region,” said Horton, thus providing Bankstown Airport with one of few positives to be enjoyed by the airport’s diminishing flying community.   

HELIFLITE
Heliflite has been the longest serving Robinson helicopter distributor since 1977 with major sales and service centre facilities in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Auckland.

The company imported the first Robinson R22 helicopter into Australia in 1980, and began its early popularity with both private and commercial owners. Since its release more than 4500 R22 helicopters have been sold throughout the world with Australia accounting for around 10 per cent of total market share.

Heliflite was the first pilot training school in Australia to operate the Robinson R22 and since then it has become the number one choice for schools throughout the country. The popularity of the R22 in Australia has also long been associated with the cattle industry for mustering and general station use and has proven to be a reliable and cost efficient aircraft.

The company’s long-term support of the Robinson product range including the R22 has not only been to ensure the availability of new and pre-owned helicopters but to continue product support long after the owner takes delivery. Heliflite’s primary philosophy from outset has been to support the product through its wholly owned bases network bases plus be a central link with all authorised independent Robinson service centres

Heliflite’s support team has grown considerably over the last 34 years with now 10 Robinson factory-trained licensed engineers and 20 engineering support staff available for all service requirements. Three of Heliflite’s most senior factory trained engineers have a combined service experience on Robinson helicopters exceeding 80 years! In addition, Heliflite offers a dedicated factory-trained licensed engineer for all-round technical advice to our remote clients and regional Robinson service centres when required.

Heliflite has long been Australia’s largest supplier of Robinson spare parts, holding the country’s largest inventory of Robinson spare parts and, where possible, is dedicated to having it shipped for next day delivery nationwide.