Save local airports from councils

A place to have your say and ask your questions on anything in the Helicopter learning environment.
Imout
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Save local airports from councils

Postby Imout » Thu Aug 24 2017, 01:22

We again are being hit by NIMBYs to the point of a resident purchasing a house on the intersection of 2 runways is now driving the closure of Gympie Airport to Helicopters.
Council are proposing that among other things helicopters are not allowed to hover at Gympie. A ridiculous proposal which they are trying to promulgate in ERSA.

We have started a petition.
Currently we have over 250 signatures from the local Gympie area, we have now moved it online where we have another 450 plus locals.
We will be closing off the petition early next week but thought that we may be able to bump it up to over 1000 with some help from aviators.

If you sign, leaving a message would also be appreciated

https://www.change.org/p/gympie-regiona ... tion-users
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FerrariFlyer
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby FerrariFlyer » Thu Aug 24 2017, 02:22

Another example of bureaucracy gone stupid and lacking any common sense! I'd highly recommend fellow aviators peruse the link that Mike has posted and consider lending your support by way of signing the petition. If we don't start taking a stand with this kind of short sighted stupidity who knows where it will end.
Combustion Chamber
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Combustion Chamber » Thu Aug 24 2017, 02:49

Signed :)
Not one for gossip, but did you hear about the???
Gonsky
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Gonsky » Thu Aug 24 2017, 02:51

Does Becker helicopters operate out of that airport or out of sunshine coast?

Regards,
'Mankind has a perfect record in aviation - we have never left one up there!'
Niko
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Niko » Thu Aug 24 2017, 02:57

Gonsky wrote:Does Becker helicopters operate out of that airport or out of sunshine coast?

Regards,


https://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/bec ... e/3208561/
Gonsky
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Gonsky » Thu Aug 24 2017, 03:08

Sounds like there is a little more to this, 800k investment the council would be all over it as they are all losing their shirts over local airports costing them $$. Do they have hanger space and where exactly is the land that was purchased.

Ban on hovering is that like you fly up there 5 times a day hover around and then fly back with zero landing fee's paid, I think everyone would get pissed with that.

Why not lease the whole airport off the council and run it yourself, 800k would have easily paid for that for about 5 yrs.

Regards,
'Mankind has a perfect record in aviation - we have never left one up there!'
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Master Cylinder
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Master Cylinder » Thu Aug 24 2017, 03:43

Mike Becker wrote:We again are being hit by NIMBYs to the point of a resident purchasing a house on the intersection of 2 runways is now driving the closure of Gympie Airport to Helicopters.
Council are proposing that among other things helicopters are not allowed to hover at Gympie. A ridiculous proposal which they are trying to promulgate in ERSA.

We have started a petition.
Currently we have over 250 signatures from the local Gympie area, we have now moved it online where we have another 450 plus locals.
We will be closing off the petition early next week but thought that we may be able to bump it up to over 1000 with some help from aviators.

If you sign, leaving a message would also be appreciated

https://www.change.org/p/-regional-coun ... tion-users


Hey Mike, Is there a link to the Council website...wouldn't mind having a look at their proposal so that I could comment directly on it. Cheers, MC
To fly is human, to hover...divine!
Imout
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Imout » Thu Aug 24 2017, 04:01

Good idea. We put in a bid to buy or lease the airport. It was knocked back. Bought 4 hectares of freehold land running down one side of the runway after first consulting with the council
After the fact they had a closed door meeting and decided on altering operating conditions. Will post them for you shortly
It seems to be the way local airports are going
Time to make a stand.
Gonsky
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Gonsky » Thu Aug 24 2017, 04:17

https://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/unb ... t/3163522/

Ok so not heli operations just training?

Councils have to pay big money for regional airports, they never get a return on them and always end up paying serious money out the back door for the luxury of having them. In previous threads I have gone into this as we were looking to buy a airport and after serious work found that almost every local airport in NSW has some grand scheme to make them a cash cow and there was little point.

Now in this instance it seems that Gympie Airport has come up with a simlar approach that many others have and make the "Airpark", build it and they will come. In the US they are everywhere and in Fl for instance they are every 1 mile, yet they actually work. In Aus i don't think any of them do, i can name quite a few and they are all going nowhere. Evans Head for instance they want to do one but you have 50 years of unexploded munitions everywhere that you ahve to get rid of first. You also have to restore everything. Funny the council is letting it all collapse yet if you want it you have to fix it.

The issue is that there is no revenue from an airport, if you hike the rates to make them worthwhile in $$ terms the guy with the broken 172 that has been lying there for 20 years goes off the rocker. He also goes off the rocker if the council asks him to move the POS as well. So basically there is little upside. Also the professional side goes off the deep end as well.

Pilot's and operators believe they have the "right" to subsidised airports, in another thread an individual compared them to schools and hospitals not even going to go there. Right or not the only way to get something sorted is just set your own gig up, buy a huge clunk of land and go for it. The issue there is that you have to be in the middle of nowhere to get all the crap through council, then or course your in the middle of nowhere.

Do you actually have anything in writing from the council covering you in this outcome?

Regards
'Mankind has a perfect record in aviation - we have never left one up there!'
Imout
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Imout » Thu Aug 24 2017, 04:54

The Council restrictions are:

- No flights for aircraft between sunset and sunrise (powered and non- powered), 7 days per week, emergency aircraft exempt;
- Mandatory radio use for ALL aircraft (powered and non-powered) using the Gympie Aerodrome and the airspace, including that radio calls are to be made when entering the circuit;
- Adoption of standard circuit patterns for aircraft as agreed with CASA;
- Adoption of a circuit pattern for gliders as agreed with CASA;
- Users are to remove gliders from the runway as soon as practicable after landing;
- There are to be no low level circuits in the circuit area; and
- No hovering;


So no night flying, no low-level circuits and no hovering at an airport with aviation training businesses.
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Master Cylinder
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Master Cylinder » Thu Aug 24 2017, 05:21

If you want to have a look at what is available in the public domain at the moment, here is a link to the Gympie Council website...have a look at the meeting minutes from 9 Aug which contains an agenda item to discuss the airport (Pg 31) and a draft Airport Master Plan (from Pg 197).

https://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/minutes

MC
To fly is human, to hover...divine!
Gonsky
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Gonsky » Thu Aug 24 2017, 06:49

Also forgot to add that all these imbeciles in council spend 50k at the drop of a hat to get an airport "Consultant" to come in and tell them how they are going to make millions from their local airport. That is why they never agree to lease them out as they think they are going to miss out on all the dollars just falling from the sky.

One we had looked at had advised the council to extend the runways and move this and that and actually buy up some local houses so they could get there grand plan in.

Regards,
'Mankind has a perfect record in aviation - we have never left one up there!'
zzodr
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby zzodr » Thu Aug 24 2017, 07:14

So Council say no hovering at Gympie Airport?

Does that mean every takeoff is a limited power takeoff
and every landing you have to run it on?

:?
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FerrariFlyer
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby FerrariFlyer » Thu Aug 24 2017, 07:43

When a local council stipulates that a helicopter doesn't hover for operations at the airport you know you're dealing with some 'special' people!

On a side note to this a local friend engaged in the expansion of a club hit a snag with the local council following months of consulting and spending large sums of money to complete reports and studies that were never read by the council members requesting them. The only issue they had was that the council civil engineer disagreed with where north was on the building plans. Turns out the engineer was wrong and the plans were right. When an engineer can't work out where north is and they are prepared to block a building because of it....what can you say about that? Oc:=
arrrj
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby arrrj » Thu Aug 24 2017, 08:12

I have signed it Mike.

It is the same stupidity that allows seaplanes to land in Brisbane Water, yet ALL helicopter landing & takeoffs are specifically prohibited (anywhere in the council area !).

Presumably the council staff (generally low IQ from my experience) don't understand that it's all basically the same.

As I always say, Nimbys hate helicopters - until they are lost, on fire or drowning...then they love us.

Idiocy.
Seagull
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Seagull » Fri Aug 25 2017, 07:15

Looks like it will be wheeled helicopters only then for training at Gympie from now on... Oc:=
The Scarlett Harlot
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby The Scarlett Harlot » Fri Aug 25 2017, 11:14

zzodr wrote:So Council say no hovering at Gympie Airport?

Does that mean every takeoff is a limited power takeoff
and every landing you have to run it on?

:?



Touchdown autos. :o
Footprint Productions
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Footprint Productions » Fri Aug 25 2017, 22:48

Good Luck Mike, I hope sense prevails.

Petition signed.

Regards
Matt
Imout
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby Imout » Sat Aug 26 2017, 01:55

Thanks guys, really appreciate it.
I realise this is a forum but it is not discussion we need it is signatures.
There is always lots to a debate but bottom line is politicians follow the numbers.
We currently have over 750 in total (250 from paper based petition in Gympie) and looking for 1000.
Petition closes on Tuesday next week.
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hand in pants
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Re: Save local airports from councils

Postby hand in pants » Sun Aug 27 2017, 06:48

Signed.
Hand in Pants, I'm thinking, my god, that IS huge!!!!!!!!

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