What's the goss with Mareeba?

[Arm out the window]

I see the Tablelands Regional Council is pushing development at Mareeba, with articles in the paper quoting the mayor on the subject of foreign airline training.

I'm all for Mareeba going ahead in leaps and bounds as it should increase my job options, but does anyone know of specifics of likely new entrants in the area regarding who, what, when?

Cheers,

Tim

[Arm out the window]

No good rumours?

[Fieldmouse]

'Jilted at the altar’
25 Feb, 2012 04:00 AM
AUSTRALIA Asia Flight Training director Neil Hansford has compared Liverpool Plains Shire Council’s decision to abandon the flight school to “getting jilted at the altar”.
Mr Hansford said the residents and councillors opposed to the project did not want the public to have all of the information.

“All the information suggests the DA (development application) is capable of being passed,” he said.

“They know that once the DA goes in, all their claims will be seen to be untrue – they’re scared the residents will see the facts.”

He also claimed a “racist element” was also at play because of the Asian and Middle Eastern students who were anticipated to study at the school.

Gunnedah had a 90 per cent community support rate when the development was on the cards there, Mr Hansford said, and he believed a similar number of Liverpool Plains residents would be behind the proposal.

He plans to continue carrying out research into community support, with the report due March 8.

But Mr Hansford has confirmed he is already negotiating with other councils. While he did not name any areas of interest, he said it looked unlikely to be in NSW.

He told The Leader he believed the saga would damage LPSC’s reputation.

“This will preclude anyone coming to the Liverpool Plains to do a development because it has shown the council to be unreliable.”

[Arm out the window]

Certainly sounds like a possibility.

Premier Bligh said the $13 million upgrade was set to position Mareeba Airport as a training hub for the Asia-Pacific region, providing world-class facilities and attracting a larger share of the $322 million local aviation sector.

“This is a key plank in the Mareeba Airport Development Plan which aims to attract more business by developing the facility as a high technology maintenance and specialist flight training centre,” Ms Bligh said.

That's from a council press release, and this is out of a Cairns Post article from the other day:

Yesterday, Tablelands Mayor Tom Gilmore said there had already been discussions with overseas flight training schools about the possibility of setting up operations to train commercial pilots at Mareeba.

Cr Gilmore said pilots would be trained up to Boeing 737 co-pilot standards.

"We are talking about a serious flight training school for international pilots," Cr Gilmore said.

It's certainly got the potential to go ahead, will be interesting to see how this develops.

Cheers

[Aimpoint]

Yeah, because a tropical location sounds like the best place in Australia to train a whole bunch of cadets quickly...

The guys looking after CNS are going to love a whole bunch of newbies turning up every day too.

It will never happen.

[LewC]

Queensland State Election happens on 24/3/12. Mareeba is in the Cook Electorate which is currently held by Labor with a 2.2% margin so any promise made by Anna Bligh is of doubtful currency.The only wonder is that she didn't offer $130 million to try to save the Seat,after all it's only Monopoly money.

[aroa]

We'll see if history repeats itself. Maybe this time around???

Decades ago a large flying school organisation was deemed as unwanted, and any resulting benefits to the town not needed. Council against. Never happened here. How did it go in Tamworth....??

The current vote buying exercise by Ms Blight @ 13.3 Mill$s is now stated as insufficent to complete the job...including the runway extension !!
Much of the chatter and spin from pollies, is just that, from the usual bunch with grandiose ideas and confirmed big money wasters.

Qld has an 85 billion$ debt !!!...no wonder MBA cant get $$s for a sewerage scheme update or a badly needed by-pass
She was resposible for flogging off the CNS airport, thus foregoing good returns that help fund these things. 24/03 should bring change?

Other people may make it happen and perhaps folk like Mr Hansford AAFT could kick things off. Mareba is a very multicultural town, growing rapidly, altho accommodation is in short supply. Better wx and cooler than the coast,too.
Winter, what winter?? 300 sunny days a year and the odd cyclone just for something different.

Arm out....nothing done yet. But much potential.:ok:

[Arm out the window]

Cheers, aroa, much potential as you say.

Yeah, because a tropical location sounds like the best place in Australia to train a whole bunch of cadets quickly...

Have you been up here, aimpoint? There's tropics and tropics, you only have to fly 15 or 20 nm inland from CS and you're in the dry eucalypt country.

The Wx in general is going to be more conducive to getting training done than the coast, good setup airspace wise, fair bit of space around the aerodrome for works, close to an international airport, attractive region for international students to want to visit anyway - lots of scope.

Just need a shed big enough to put all the aeroplanes in at once when a cyclone comes...

[chimbu warrior]

She was resposible for flogging off the CNS airport, thus foregoing good returns that help fund these things.

I thought the Cairns Port Authority had control of it back in the 80's, long before Anna Bligh entered politics.

[Aimpoint]

Have you been up here, aimpoint? There's tropics and tropics, you only have to fly 15 or 20 nm inland from CS and you're in the dry eucalypt country.

The Wx in general is going to be more conducive to getting training done than the coast, good setup airspace wise, fair bit of space around the aerodrome for works, close to an international airport, attractive region for international students to want to visit anyway - lots of scope.


Yeah, I have done a fair bit of flying up there actually...and also instructed in a former life too. The two won't go together very well for a large percentage of the year, especially when it gets to nav, let alone solo nav, training time. Diversion practice is only good to a point, sooner or later they will need to learn how to navigate without a cell or low cloud in the way. One set of airspace you can only really hit from one direction doesn't make it good for airspace training, unless you've got a large number of international guys you are worried about hitting it. I'm not really sure why you're pushing so hard for it in your posts, the cynic inside me makes me think there is some sort of vested interest.

[Arm out the window]

Yeah, because I live here and am keen to see this kind of thing go ahead!

[Aimpoint]

All the best then.

[triadic]

No doubt time will tell..... The runway and associated works will not be finished until the end of this dry (or maybe a bit longer?) so any interest from flying schools or maintenance facilities have a bit of time to think about it, providing they get their EOI in early. There is plenty of potential at MBA, especially for GA and private owners as the $$ in CNS is making operating from there somewhat expensive. The new airport owners don't seem to care about GA. They want to bulldoze the GA side and put shops there! As if CNS needs more shops!:ugh::ugh:

My understanding that the CPA sold the airport to finance a new hospital - that has not happened:ugh::ugh::mad:

[Arm out the window]

They're talking 2020 for the new hospital, airport sale was in 2009 for $530 million.

I wonder if the money will eventually be used for the promised purpose or if it's just gone into consolidated revenue.

[CaptainInsaneO]

There was talk from the government of one starting up in Cairns in '09 as well:

http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-aviation-questions/381513-flight-school-ybcs.html?highlight=cairns+school+cirrus

I agree Aimpoint....it'll never happen.

[Arm out the window]

Obviously the CS idea didn't go ahead - not surprising considering circuit limitations and the cost of real estate, I suppose, factors which wouldn't be a problem at Mareeba.

Still, they'd have to get bums on seats, although a firm contract to train foreign airline pilots would sort that out. I agree there's lots of ifs, but it does make sense to me as a good location for one of these flying academy type operations.

[Avgas172]

AAFT is now having discussions with Glen Innes and Armidale Councils, so that makes (from Google search) Goulburn, Narrabri, Gunnedah, Narrabri again, Quirindi, Armidale and as of yesterday Glen Innes. Not wanting to be pessamistic but surely after more than 6 years in the brewing something must be able to happen, what with all the money and multitude of waiting students ..... or is it a con?
bemused:confused:
A172

[aroa]

Earthworks for the jeezus big drain not far off the runway :eek:are well underway. Further works, taxiways, runway.. to start about August, so the place could be closed for a while ?/occasionally.
3 new hangars at the western end, 2 of, escapees from CNS.
NQAC to have an off shoot locally, maybe ??

And for those that made comment re the wx... while all that recent sh*t and destruction, big winds and flooding was on down south... here was hand-polished blue skies, light winds and sunshine.:ok:
Enjoy !!!!