Thank You Aeropelican

[david1300]

Thursday 18 Aug we had a staff member driving from Gunnedah to Narrabri, then flying Aeropelican from Narrabri to Sydney to connect with a Virgin flight to Melbourne. Due to a fatal car crash between Gunnedah and Narrabri they couldn't get to Narrabri in time (roads closed). Aeropelican accomodated our staff member, and on Friday 19th put her on their first flight out at no additional cost (even though the ticket conditions may have stipulated extra costs).

On these days of diminishing customer service it's great to acknowledge good service, and to be able to say 'Thank You' in public.

Thank you, Aeropelican :ok: Your kind actions are greatly appreciated.

(Now Virgin were not nearly as accomodating, unfortunately).

[Howard Hughes]

Great to hear a good news story, well done 'the Duck'!:ok:

[Tmbstory]

From an old timer of the "Duck", well done

Tmb

[Mimpe]

ive always loved flying Aeropelican....gee I miss the Airport at Belmont.. such a nice way to get down to Sydney when flying overseas

[Thai997]

What has become of the old strip at Pelican ?

[TIMA9X]

This story is refreshing, good to hear that the "duck" still considers itself "in the people business" sadly long forgotten by other Australian airlines.

[teresa green]

Ah, Aero Duck, one of the great little airlines. Real aeroplanes, real people, real flying. Onya Duck, may you keep going forever more. The airfield at Belmont looks sad and neglected, but is prime real estate sitting right on lake Macquarie. No doubt it will be covered in the latest of home units, with the duck pond in the middle, and set to become a ghetto of tomorrow.

[ibis737]

Well done to Aeropelican, and well done David1300.

It is so good to see someone is putting a positive post on prune, I wish more users would post positive information, not just the doom and gloom you normally read.

Keep it up:ok:

And keep up the good customer service "Duck":D

[mrclumsy]

Thats great ! Go the duck

[Robert Piper]

I continued my flying training at Aeropelican in 1972. It was a continuation of training from the South Pacific Aero Club in Port Moresy.

Instructors were J. Ruse and E. Newell - both first class. Well disciplined and a pleasure to be in the cockpit with. The planes were C-150s.

From memory cost was $14 an hour - amazing. At the time I was unemployed and the dole was $14 a week so when my girlfriend's parents asked me what I was doing I hinted it was like a Commonwealth flying scholarship. Don't worry - I didn't marry her.

I still have a perfect orange sticker of the old Aeropelican drome insignia - a Pelican in flight with two props. A beauty. Hope they still use it

The owner of the drome was a fine man. He had built it from scratch using a tractor. He arranged a free spin in a Cessna 402 for me one day. His name will come back to me. I remember his brother had been a RAAF pilot during the war and post war captained ships to and from New Guinea.

Great memories of Aeropelican and the crew there. Thanks for the training and memories.

Bob Piper.
Military & Aviation Research Services - Canberra.

[Horatio Leafblower]

The Ruse-ter ended up as Check & Training for Yanda airlines, but since their grounding in 2001 I have heard nothing of him.

Eric Newell, lovely bloke, I knew him in the 90's at Frank Young's Hunter Valley Aviation @ Cessnock then (I think) at Royal Newcastle. I think a brain tumour got him...? :(

The Duck has nothing left of the old airline, except the spirit of the employees. Sadly nothing official was done by the company to mark the 40th anniversary, last year, of Australia's longest running regional airline.

[Capt Casper]

Bob, the name you're probably looking for is Kieth Hilder.

[RENURPP]

The name was Dalkeith(Keith) Lewellyn Hilder, however he didn't have any brothers or sisters.



I have a pad of those stickers you mentioned as well as piles of photo's of the converting the swamp into a runway.

I started training there in 1976. Same C150's KUJ, DVA, RXZ and KPJ, some of them were still flying several years back (Warnervale) not sure if they are sill holding together today!
Stan Hone was the CFI then.

[Hugh Jarse]

Rooster Jr. didnt work for Virgin, Rennurp. He is currently working overseas.

Though he would be a great bloke to have here :ok::}

[Fantome]

Welcome aboard the warship Proone Mr Piper. Good to have an historian with your depth of knowledge and experience. Any 'scoop' you have to share will not go amiss.

Aeropelican was bought from Keith by Jack Masling who onsold it for a tidy profit after a very short time to an unspeakable Hungarian who used to throw his somewhat offensive weight around. Six mill was a figure bandied about at the time. (TMB should have some recall of those events. )

My intro to Maslings and 'Happy Jack' was in January 1967. Flew Canberra to Coonamble in the C320 VH-FJW with Jack and the late Tom (Fatcat) Long, the company's chief pilot. We went via Pelican so that Jack and Tom could discuss with Keith a proposal for Maslings to put their C402s on the Sydney run, under the Reg 203 scheduled service provisions that had not long been promulgated.

(Thinks .. that Hungarian . . .. what he threateningly said at a meeting to one A. FitzSimons when 'discussing' industrial' matters has gone down in vernacular history as carried in the heads of a few old foggies. One who was there later did a fair impersonation of the encounter down the Brickmakers Arms .. . . laugh? . .. bloody near died.)

[rusetersprettyone]

Hi everyone

lovely memories - I have so many of Aeropelican myself (as a young child)

Just reading through though I just wanted to clarify - My dad, John David Ruse passed away sadly 8/9/19 at 90 years of age

We had his funeral Tuesday 17/9/19

John Junior works oversees for a large airline as a captain :)

Take care and so very lovely to see so many people were touched by dad

[desert goat]

Was it definitely Aeropelican? I thought it was Fly Corporate doing that run? Good to hear they helped you out, anyway.

[Horatio Leafblower]

Desert Goat - check the date!