How sad is YSCB

[Adsie]

YSCB - the capital of Australia, and I have to travel to YMML to complete an MECIR renewal.

Aircraft in YGLB not available due to bird strike

Sad state of affairs

[BPA]

What about YSCN or YWOL, they are closer than going to YMML?

[Adsie]

Only have a BE76 endorsement and need a 430 for RNAV

[uncopilot]

NSW Air at YWOL have a BE76 with a 430 and matching SIM

[bushpig]

The words behind what you say are the real essence here though. In the past Canberra had a thriving and active G.A. scene including testing and training as well as socially etc etc. Alas, that is no more, we must go with the times and have shopping centres instead. It isn't only Canberra though. Cairns is just one other. It is a trend in Australian Aviation. Even the G.A. dedicated airports such as Bankstown are ultimately being forced to closure.
The local economy has lots of spin-offs from an active airport that includes all aviation facets. The RPT at both Canberra and Cairns is far from being of the intensity that other operations need to be segregated out.
Blind bureaucrats without no real forward thinking or vision.

[pokeydokey]

Not that sad!!

Sure the school in Canberra doesn't have a BE76 but there's next to no demand for commercial training in the Canberra market. If there was a BE76 parked at Canberra Airport the school might think of putting it online but it's unlikely. Small twin training schools are a dying breed is the real problem.

the flying school (Canberra Aviation) trains 7 days a week with a Warrior, 172XP, and SR20 online. There's a great social scene also - the school recently had 32 attend it's mid-year dinner. The Aero Club is quite active also - couple of fly-aways a year and several dinners and talks with special guests.

I think the BE76 in Goulburn is a little more than just a bird strike...

NSW Air are a good bunch from what I hear though.

[garrya100]

Isn't Canberra aviation now based at Goulburn?

[Adsie]

Bushpig

That is exactly what I am on about!!!!

There were once 7 flight training schools in YSCB - not a single one now.

Yes Goulburn are training out of here, but it just shows where things are going.

Bird strike on did happen to GFTS BE76 but there is no completion date for repair - So what do you do ??

I unfortunately flew the last BE76 out of Canberra to Brisbane - I should have purchased it, kept it in YSCB and watch MR tick over

[pokeydokey]

You guys are seriously out of touch!

Canberra Aviation has been training out of Canberra Airport 7 days a week since February 2011. They do also have a base in Goulburn but it's pretty much Saturdays only at the moment. Canberra Aviation also does a lot of aerial photography in Canberra and surrounds in the 172XP.

I get so frustrated by this. No idea where the idea there is no school in Canberra comes from - I can only assume it all goes back to the national publicity that the closure of Brindabella received. Canberra Aviation started up very soon after the school shut (as long as it took to get the AOC approved) and employed several of the instructors that used to work at Brindabella along with their old CFI Brian Candler. The 172XP is supplied by the Boyd's.

Anyway - if someone tries to tell you there is no school in Canberra you now know that's quite wrong. The website is www.canberraaviation.com.au if anyone is after any more information. The school's not doing much advertising or promotion as finding instructors in or around Canberra that meet the CFI's standards has proved very hard.

[Adsie]

Where is the office that they conduct debriefs and lessons ?

[bushpig]

pokeydokey I don't think anyone is missing your emphatic point that there is a fairly small flying training organisation in Canberra. The point is: there is a lot less than what there was even way back in the "70's". At that time the aeroclub had about 5 or 6 warriors going flat out all the time, Vee H had several singles on training and charter as well as multi engine training and charter, and there were others conducting both VFR and IFR training as well as charter. Those two were just the biggest. Several testing officers were also available through the various organisations.
Canberra's population has grown since then but the G.A scene has shrunk by a huge amount. It was quite the norm for the circuit to have several 5 squadron choppers doing right circuits at any one time off the eastern grass, 34 squadron aircraft (BAC111, DA20 and HS748's) doing right circuits outside the chopper circuit. G.A was right in there though with the aeroclub and Vee H in particular but also others doing left circuits all on RWY 35. In that mix there was frequent navaid and IFR training as well as night training by all. All were also accommodated with G.A. being a very active and big part of it. What's happened!?

[Slatye]

I get so frustrated by this. No idea where the idea there is no school in Canberra comes from - I can only assume it all goes back to the national publicity that the closure of Brindabella received.As you've said, the school doesn't do a whole lot of promotion or advertising. The "canberraaviation" website transfers you straight to www.goulburnaviation.com.au so it's easy to guess that maybe they're just based in Goulburn and call themselves Canberra Aviation because Canberra's the nearest big city.

I did a lot of research early last year and completely failed to find them; otherwise I probably would have learnt there instead of in Goulburn.

Thanks very much for the link. Now that I do know about them, I'll seriously consider talking to them about continuing learning there.

[Lookleft]

In that mix there was frequent navaid and IFR training as well as night
training by all. All were also accommodated with G.A. being a very active and
big part of it. What's happened!?


The airport was sold to a well known property developer and GA wasn't part of his grand vision for an international airport, so he just priced them off the airfield.

An astute observation bushpig that Canberra's population has grown but GA has disappeared. Considering the average income in Canberra, people wanting to learn to fly have to travel to Goulburn or that disposable income is put into other areas. Either way the GA sector is the big loser.

[pokeydokey]

Canberra is no different to other GA airports in general I don't think. There's no true demand for CPL training at your everyday flying school anymore since the appearance of the cadetships some years back. That removed all the airline pilots from the GA spectrum. The cadetship schools are huge and have swallowed pretty much all the flying intsructors out there. Simple case of several very big schools rather than 100 small ones.

So now all that's really left at most airports and schools are the recreational pilots and some CPL guys whose ambition in life is to be an instructor or charter pilot.

GA is still very much alive and well in Canberra. It just looks different to what it might have looked like 20 years ago.

It's funny how many people I seem to meet who live in or around Canberra and preach "GA is dead in Canberra". All too often they're also not a member of the Aero Club. If you're from Canberra and feel like there's nothing happening then join the Aero Club. They'll keep you up-to-date with the social scene and fly-aways etc.

Lookleft - you don't have to travel to Goulburn! :ugh: Talk about being priced off the airfield - the only reason Canberra Aviation exists is they were up for landing fees alone of $16,000 at Goulburn Airport! They moved most of the training to Canberra where it's costing $4000 all up which includes parking and access to toilets!

[Capt Fathom]

Parking and Toilets! Glad you get something for Four Grand!

[garrya100]

:eek: In my part of the world you can get parking, toilets and enough hanger to park your aircraft in for $4k!

When I first started flying into YSCB there were aircraft everywhere. When I was down there last ANZAC day it was me and a Dash-8. I was the only lighty moving. I would of thought that on a public holiday a few fellow private flyers would have been at it. 6 twins parked on the tarmac and a lot of singles parked in the grass that haven't moved in a while.

I have a friend in Canberra who has gone back to flying after a medically enforced break, he was flying out of Cooma, now at Goulburn due to the extra costs of the flying out of Canberra.

The new 'Thaj Ma Terminal' has a cafe and two hire car companies working out it. For somebody that hasn't flown into YSCB for a while it's a big shock.

As I thought it just must have been me, I've kept an ear on LiveATC and YSCB, in the last week the only lighties I've heard has been Basair and Rex boys and girls doing navex's.

I'm glad you think GA's alive and well at YSCB, but it sure ain't what it used to be, and to me such a large decrease in such a little time doesn't seem healthy.

I know the aeroclub is still there, and I certainly wish all the fellow GA flyers at YSCB all the best and hope they can afford to keep at it.

BTW YBTH with a local population of just over 40k has 3 flying schools. Between them you can go from ab intitio on RAAus to MECIR. How many then should YSCB have?

[Lookleft]

There is also a yacht club in Canberra but it doesn't mean the sailing scene is vibrant.

[pokeydokey]

Goulburn used to have landing fees of $600 per annum with hangerage around $2500 per annum.

It's probably one of the best examples of what can go bad when you privatise an airport.

If anyone thinks Canberra is bad spare some thought for the rotting carcass that was once Goulburn Airport...