Build second airport in Hunter: Iemma

[Gundog01]

This from the Australian website;


NEWCASTLE was "perfectly located" for Sydney's second airport, a facility that would be necessary within the next two decades, according to NSW Premier Morris Iemma.
The second airport would mean improved road and rail infrastructure for the Hunter.

“It's part of our plan to grow our regional centres, to grow their economy and their tourism industry and Newcastle is growing, it's growing rapidly,” Mr Iemma said.

“Its economy is now well and truly diversified away from steel and heavy manufacturing and there's huge potential for Newcastle to be a second airport for Sydney ... it's perfectly located close to the north coast and to tourism destinations to the north of Newcastle.”

The NSW Government has supported Newcastle as a preferred airport location in a submission to the commonwealth.

“Obviously if the commonwealth made the decision that that is the location then infrastructure, road and rail would be one of the things that would have to be addressed,” he said.

Mr Iemma said the airport would mean thousands of new jobs as well as bringing major benefits to the region's tourism industry.

“(The airport) would be an overflow for (Sydney's) Mascot (airport),” he said.

“Mascot's reaching capacity. In about 20 years' time Sydney will need a second airport as an overflow airport to take pressure off Mascot and we believe the best location would be Newcastle given the regional location. The Hunter is home to 600,000 people but it's (also) very handy to the north coast.”:mad::mad::mad:

I think we all know where this is going to lead if it goes ahead. What are the chances of the Krudd Labor govt approving something like this.

[Like This - Do That]

In a credit crunch, and with a history of PFI infrastructure debacles in this country, does anyone think any private firm will come up with the $$$$BILLIONS to build high speed rail, additional motorways (extra crossings of the Hawkesbury? digging through and building over hills and gullies? all the compulsory property acquisitions in Sydney's most expensive real estate?), etc etc?

The State government won't stump up a brass razoo for something like this.

Doubt the Feds would want to touch it either.

[Trojan1981]

I think there is a good chance of it happening in the L-O-N-G term. The hunter is very important politically and with an increasing population, requires much better rail and air services (the road commute to Sydney from there is horible).
Canberra may be the only other option. Development there has been restricted to prevent the future introduction of a curfew.

[qantel]

Yer I agree Trojan... Willy has alot of potential to support Mascot especially during curfew hours. Or a freight hub perhaps?

[KRUSTY 34]

I love the way that Albeneisi (pardon the spelling) said on the news tonight that they weren't going to rush into anything without a proper evaluation process! How many millions have been spent over the years on EIS's and other studies, and what have they resulted in? ZIP!!!

F#rking politicions.

[Keg]

...Albeneisi (pardon the spelling) said on the news tonight that they weren't going to rush into anything without a proper evaluation process!

It didn't stop them with the desal plant at Kurnell! :eek: :ugh: :suspect:

[newsensation]

Sydney does not need a second Airport, NSW DOES, not every visitor to Australia needs to arrive in Sydney!
I remember a suggestion for a high speed ferry service between Newcastle and Sydney, what happened to that idea..

[Howard Hughes]

If Morris had the balls to give approval for a second airport, it would be the one thing he would be remembered for! Think about it Morris!:ok:

[Lodown]

I'm in part agreement with newsensation. I think Sydney is beyond fixing. Take all the international flights out of Sydney for Brisbane and Melbourne and leave Sydney (and NSW for that matter) as purely domestic. 1-2 hours to Sydney from the Hunter by train or car. It takes less time to jump a connection from Brissy or Melbourne and the infrastructure is already there, or getting there. The myopic Sydney and Federal politicians screwed Sydney 15-20 years ago and now the current crop is trying to dig themselves out of the mire by throwing the predictable bucketfuls of taxpayer money about. The money wouldn't be going to influential Labor supporters would it?

Just another 19th century state rail gauge fiasco coming up with modern equipment.

Good luck!

[Hugh Jarse]

Sydney does not need a second Airport, NSW DOES, not every visitor to Australia needs to arrive in Sydney!
I remember a suggestion for a high speed ferry service between Newcastle and Sydney, what happened to that idea..

Back in the Hydrofoil days of Sydney ferries, the "Sydney" did Newcastle to Circular Quay in 1hr 25. That was in the 70's, and still faster than the XPT train.

Being a Northern Beaches boy NS, you'd remember that ;)

[Bendo]

Willy won't happen any time soon - the RAAF consider it too important to effectively turn it over to the civilian operators.

There is a major push in the Hunter to develop Kooragang Island as a greenfields site.

The problem then will be the squillions spent by Newcastle airport corp developing their side of Willy :rolleyes:

[Trojan1981]

I think politics will dictate wether or not this occurs, regardless of the RAAFs opinion. That said, is there any reason why Willytown couldn't be a 'joint' facility? Perhaps with a second runway.

[Gundog01]

is there any reason why Willytown couldn't be a 'joint' facility? Perhaps with a second runway.

Flying military jets in the same airspace as RPT does not work well, especially at the rate which occurs at Willy. Throw in circuit training, instrument training, Saltash nearby, (Dick Smith cranky about not being allowed to fly through restricted airspace) and it will quickly become a !!!!! fight. At other bases where it occurs (townsville and darwin), there are relatively few military movements and generally the aircraft flying at these bases are transport types.

As for a second RWY, both sides of the current flight strip are already heavily developed and ther would have to be many compulsory land acquisitions made to obtain enough land.

[ules]

I hope this all goes through, there is alot of free space in william town for an expansion, you could fit 2 runways and a huge new terminal there, could even accomodate for the a380, as for transporting between newcastle and sydney, why drive or take a train, why not get a connecting flight :ok:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c8/dj_ules/willyairport.jpg

[Bendo]

As for a second RWY, both sides of the current flight strip are already heavily developed and ther would have to be many compulsory land acquisitions made to obtain enough land.

Yeah but that's the case wherever they put it... and at least the neighbours are used to (although not accepting of) aircraft noise.

I did the same as Ules and looked at G/Earth - parallel RWY to the SW side and a crossing 16/34 to the west - all would feed into the existing terminal area nicely :ok:

[mmmbop]

Exactly what is the strategic advantage of the RAAF base in Willy?? Why can't it be relocated to Tindal/Darwin/Townsville (closer to the potential threat anyway) and then Willy be built into purely a civvie airport?

M

[UPPERLOBE]

Yep, Willy is far too busy.

On the other hand Ramstein and Hickam must be sleepy little hollows?

[Cap'n Arrr]

Newcastle a defence base, not commercial

Steve Creedy | June 27, 2008

NEWCASTLE Airport is rapidly approaching the point where it will be incapable of absorbing additional commercial operations, the RAAF's incoming deputy chief has warned.
Air Commodore Geoff Brown, who is due to take over as Deputy Chief of Air Force from Air Vice-Marshal John Blackburn, warned at this week's Waypoint conference that commercial interests needed to temper the expectations for the facility.
The comments are another nail in the coffin of a briefly floated NSW proposal to develop Newcastle as a second Sydney airport.
Commercial flights at Newcastle Airport use the the Williamtown RAAF base runway and the air force is becoming increasingly sensitive to additional demands for commercial access. It has seen an escalating number of requests from airlines to expand the operational window allowing civil movements between 6am and 10pm.
Air Commodore Brown said the facility was effectively home to four fighter squadrons, including Hawk lead-in fighter squadron, and these would be joined by No2 squadron operating airborne early warning and control.
It also supported the Forward Air Control Development Unit operating PC9s.
Significant money had been spent recently on expanding Williamtown to support the AEW&C and Hawk facilities.
"As I stated previously, Williamtown is a defence base, established for defence operations," Air Commodore Brown said. "In its present state, like any other air field, it has finite capacity and I believe that we are rapidly approaching the point where the airfield will be incapable of absorbing additional commercial operations."
The NSW report, commissioned by Premier Morris Iemma and compiled by the chairman of Events NSW, John O'Neill, recommended building a fast train service linking Sydney and Newcastle to service an expanded international airport and said the needs of the RAAF would have to be managed appropriately.
Air Commodore Brown said he had no doubt that Williamtown could handle additional traffic if a proposed second runway and necessary terminal infrastructure were developed.
But he said this was an issue for government and warned that any such decision would need a thorough examination of the potential impact of any such development on RAAF operations on the ground and in the air.
"As an example, if Williamtown was to become a major international airport, what expectations would this generate with respect to the development of inbound and outbound air routes, which would necessarily be through areas where we would conduct most of our training.
"I'm of the opinion such an outcome would debilitate our capacity to train and, by extension, have unacceptable and deleterious affect on our operational capacity as an air force."
Air Commodore Brown also warned there was no magic bullet to solve airspace problems involving the need to strike the right balance between commercial interest and the ability of the RAAF to do its job.
He predicted pressures on airspace would increase as new aircraft such as multi-role tanker transport, the AEW&Cs, the Super Hornet and the Joint Strike Fighter came into service.
He warned against the belief that concepts such as flexible use of airspace (FUA) were waiting to be plucked off the shelf.
"Unfortunately, while concepts like FUA could well be achievable in future, there will be a requirement for significant advances in associated technologies, as well as the regulations, standards and procedures needed to underpin any such concept," he said.



So he's happy for it to happen if it doesn't affect the RAAF, but the point is that it almost certainly will. Back to the drawing board I guess.

ules, I don't believe that the issue is with the airport itself, that can be added on to support additional movements so long as there is space there. But all those red boxes on the VTC are used by the RAAF for military training, and any civil operation must work around RAAF requirements rather than doing as they wish.

[neville_nobody]

Why can't it be relocated to Tindal/Darwin/Townsville (closer to the potential threat anyway) and then Willy be built into purely a civvie airport?

Probably because there is a whole bunch of brass who quite like living in Newcastle and don't want to go back to living in one horse army towns.:}

[mmmbop]

Neville,

Exactly.

There is no strategic reason for it to be located where it is, other than historic. Same goes for Fleet Base East with the Navy.

Time for a rethink of these bases.

M

[Cap'n Arrr]

Just another question to throw in the mix then...

Why are Australia's coastal patrol aircraft based at one of the furthest points on the continent from any other inhabited country? (The P3s at YPED)

I guess it's cause they can be mobilised to any other required military base when a threat becomes apparent.

Also, with the hornets, we have the squadron at Tindal already. Wouldn't putting ALL our fighters there be putting all our eggs in one basket?

[Howard Hughes]

There is no strategic reason for it to be located where it is
What about for when those pesky kiwis attack?;)

PS: I humbly agree, what about Curtin and Shergar (sp)?:rolleyes:

[ules]

Exactly what is the strategic advantage of the RAAF base in Willy?? Why can't it be relocated to Tindal/Darwin/Townsville (closer to the potential threat anyway) and then Willy be built into purely a civvie airport? dont forget about the kiwis,:}

YouTube - Gruen Transfer New Zealand Invasion Ad #2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AIppqNePdM&feature=related)

[newsensation]

Let the RAAF move to Evens Head, spend some money on a new runway and a bigger Mess.. The locals would like to have an injection of new blood

[Pera]

It's quite easy for politicians to bleet about using williamtown to solve their own inept planning over many years.

It's not a solution to Sydneys woes. It's too far from Sydney to be really useful, however if expanded civil ops are required, then someone needs to pony up the money to build a second runway and the associated infrastructure. Additional civil ops in the current configuration are not going to work efficiently.

My question is who is going to pay. The federal govt is effectively out of the business.

Moving the raaf would be outrageously expensive and the same question applies, who's paying.

I think we'll be putting up with Kingsford Smith for some time yet.

[Reeltime]

If Willy is to become 'Sydneys' second airport, and part of the deal is to build a dedicated fast train service....they'd better start building the railway now!

Anyone familiar with the F3 is well aware of the terrain north of Sydney. I'd reckon it would take twice as long to build the railway as the airport.

Any experts on the construction of railways care to comment? :confused:

[ules]

If Willy is to become 'Sydneys' second airport, and part of the deal is to build a dedicated fast train service....they'd better start building the railway now!

Anyone familiar with the F3 is well aware of the terrain north of Sydney. I'd reckon it would take twice as long to build the railway as the airport.

Any experts on the construction of railways care to comment?

hey they could approve the 457 visa and outsource the work from china, cheaper labour and poeple power !
:}

[Like This - Do That]

Exactly what is the strategic advantage of the RAAF base in Willy?? Why can't it be relocated to Tindal/Darwin/Townsville (closer to the potential threat anyway) and then Willy be built into purely a civvie airport?

There is no strategic reason for it to be located where it is, other than historic. Same goes for Fleet Base East with the Navy.

Time for a rethink of these bases.

Sure, why not shift every part of the ADF to the North, out of sight of sensitive gentle civilian eyes? Bugger recruitment, bugger retention, bugger ADF members' living standards ......

If living in the North were so attractive, the population of the North would be an order of magnitude larger than it is. The fact is that most people live in the South East because they choose to do so. Why do so many people think that members of the ADF are so different?

It takes a few days to drop in to Scherger or Curtin and set up .... it takes YEARS to recover from a massive loss of valuable professional warriors.

[Taildragger67]

Pera,

Additional civil ops in the current configuration are not going to work efficiently.

Agreed. So how about a parallel twy on the civvy side and high-speed exits on both sides? That would eliminate any civvy backtracking or crossing plus allow higher flow on the existing strip. A second strip would be expensive and probably wouldn't be needed for quite a while if some other work was done.

In any case, would it not be possible to 'group' the civil ops (eg. civvy arrivals to take place only in first 15 mins of every hour) so that the knucks aren't having to constantly thread through the civvy traffic?

Actually what might be interesting to ponder is, when (if?!) the F35s arrive, what the basing ideas are then - that is, will forces be split between a strike group (at Amberley) and a fighter group (at Willy), with one or two sqns at Tindal? If it's all to be one, big, happy family, then maybe a move to AMB would be on the cards - thus freeing up Willy anyway. AMB is where the tankers will be so maybe that's a pointer...

As for arguments that Willy is too far from the action - well, yes, so it'll be that much harder for a nasty coming in from the north, to successfully knock it out. They will have to get past the screen put up from Tindal (and possibly also Darwin, Curtin and Schergar, if things have been deteriorating long enough that forces have been deployed) and hope they don't run out of juice before getting to Willy. Having your main assets at the back, but facilities to operate forward, is not such a bad idea.

Converting Riccy to civil ops (or even just upping the level of civvy ops) might be easier to justify theoretically, but it's got more people around it than Willy (read: noise complaints, rather than catchment) and Macq Bank would probably invoke their poison pill on it.

Capt Arrr,

YPED is roughly half-way between the two oceans and a similar distance to the north coast. The next-best in that respect would be Alice.

[interspacial]

The naivety of some of the comments in this forum never cease to amaze me.

A parallel taxiway and high speed exits........wow that will resolve all of the problems, and how do those aircraft actually get onto the ground in the first place. Has anyone actually looked at the airspace that the aircraft actually need to manouevre in to get into the airfield in the first place and its capacity to hold the extra traffic that will equate with a second international airport.

Oh yes, why does Willy not just squeeze all the aircraft into the first fifteen minutes, obviously written by someone who is going to limit fighter squadrons to operate within certain constraints. And oh yeah thats right all of the airlines are always completely on time....they are never delayed out of other airports....my mistake, I forgot that we had a perfect system in place in this country. Oh and of course there are never any weather issues or instrument approaches required either.

The best one yet and I whole heartedly agree with the response posted in respect to this, why not move the military up north why do they need to be here anyway. Well let me see, the Defence of this country relies on the young men and women of this country. Do we ask the rest of the population to go and live in remote areas of the country without child care, spousal support and lifestyle because of the jobs that they do, are the people who train to defend this country any less entitled to a quality of life, or are they more so? Plus where is the majority of population of this country.......

Best yet has anyone got any idea about the money that is invested in Williamtown......sure I as a taxpayer am so happy to throw that all away spend billions of dollars relocating them and move our whole entire fighter force to a remote area of the country where we would end up losing all of our valuable people anyway....

[vectac]

Agree with everything you said Interspacial, however you are farting at the moon if you think people with a financial interest would even consider your points. Take Fleet Base East for instance - been there since the convicts,
but now the Finger Wharf has been redeveloped, it's "strategically" inept to have it there. Dont worry about the largest graving dock in the southern hemisphre there, or the infrastructure, just move it because Disco Dario and his partner Skye or is itAmber??? Cant see the harbour. Same with Willy. Jaye the developer would love to get his hands on the land around Willy -the boys and girls in uniform can go north, after all Jaye knows strategic stuff, he's read it all here on this discussion!

[Max Tow]

200 km from Sydney to Sydney's new airport - Mr. Iemma cannot be serious! The rather remote Avalon is only 55km from Melbourne centre, Narita only 65km from Tokyo, and even Ryanair's much derided description of Hahn as Frankfurt only stretches the truth by 110km and has an autobahn from the front gate to city centre!!

Anyway,just why can't the existing site cope? With more runways than LHR (which has the parallels but no longer a crosswind r/way) surely the capacity is there? If it's a matter of terminals, then reclamation into Botany Bay would be a darn sight cheaper than building new elsewhere.

The sheer distance to Williamtown,the wrong side of Newcastle, makes the idea a joke - it takes an hour just to drive from central Sydney to Hornsby at peak times and then another hour and a half to the north of Newcastle (that's without allowing for the effect of extra traffic departing Sydney en route to the airport).

The assumption that there's going to be some sort of bullet train up north or magic road improvement seems unlikely when the existing Sydney railway system and the Pacific Highway can't be financed or fixed by successive governments. Looking at recent "remote" airport newbuilds like Narita,Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur, a surface link has to be max 40 minutes. Or is the idea that after 23 hours from Europe, another 3 hours to the city centre won't hurt? Unfortunately the population spread in NSW isn't like Europe or parts of the United States (like DFW) where remote airports can be sited between large population centres and catchment areas. With respect to Wollongong & Newcastle, NSW international & interstate air traffic is almost all about Sydney.As far as NSW regional flying is concerned, passengers use it because it's quicker than driving, so shifting those flights to an airport 200km from Sydney is somewhat counter productive. Last but not least, it's hardly very "green" forcing passengers to drive or rail for extra hours even before they board their nasty carbon emitting planes.

By all means develop services from regional airports for their local catchment areas & so take pressure off the existing capital city airports, but the 4m Sydney market needs a better solution.

[Taildragger67]

Interspacial,

Welcome to PPRuNe.

My question re grouping of civilian operations was just that - a question. Thank you for your response to it.

But with respect to the detail - what I was proposing was something whereby the RAAF controllers would not constantly be having to thread fast-jets through civvy traffic; task planners would know that a certain period is mainly for civvies, and work around it. Yes you'll get delays but such one-offs might be easier to slot in than one now, two ten mins later, etc. Whether that is concentrating civvy ops or whatever, I don't know. Anyone is free to come up with a better idea.

Re parallel twy and high-speeds - I have never said that it would "solve all the problems" but I suggest that it depends on what problem you're trying to solve. If you identify the problem as being able to provide a higher flow-rate on the existing single strip and so possibly address some of the Air Commodore's concerns about airfield capacity, in a reasonably short time-frame and without having to wonder where the $$$ will come from for a new strip then I would argue that these things would go a long way to doing that.

If your problem is to effectively replace Kingsford-Smith (or even go half-way there), then you'll need to pretty much create a whole new airport, with a second runway capable of at least code D aircraft, and given the form of major infrastructure projects in Australia in recent decades I suggest both of us will be long dead before that happens.

So, the choice becomes one of the standard Aussie band-aid (quick-to-implement works) or not-in-our-lifetimes (new runway).

And you are correct, I have not thought about airspace management. I did not raise it in my earlier post. But thanks for bringing it up.

The very fact that we're even discussing the idea of using existing RAAF facilities for some civilian operations indicates that there's not much faith in getting brand-new civilian facilities up in anything like a reasonable time and so getting into bed with Ronnie in order to use his concrete, is possibly the only real way forward. If Ronnie is prepared to sleep around, then compromises will be required on both sides. If Ronnie is not, then the issue is closed anyway, no matter how :mad: sarcastic any of us choose to be.

[ules]

Any one care to argue why a 4th runway couldnt be built across the bay another 07 facing 25.
I'm sure another terminal could be build in the gap between 34L and 34R our country has plenty of landfill also would be a cheaper upgrade than willy.
If Asian country's can build new airports out in open water why cant ours do a small simple upgrade.

[qantel]

Because the Greens would go ballistic!!!!!

[Taildragger67]

Ules,

I'll assume you're currently manning the wind-up handle but just on the off-chance you're not...

you're saying that filling in part of Botany Bay, and then putting a runway on that reclaimed land, would be cheaper than putting a strip on land which is already there? And Qantel is correct - by the time it got through environmental impact, airports would've been replaced by beaming people to London.


If Asian country's can build new airports out in open water why cant ours do a small simple upgrade.

That's why we have national parks and they don't, and why the suburbs we live in have trees, and theirs don't.

[ules]

nah its not a windup .. i think it would be a hell of a lot cheaper..

if williamtown goes through.. (would be awsome) but they really need to upgrade the f3 wack in a high speed railway system.. and also the f3 up to newcastle.the terrain isnt really quite straight....alot of digging goin on there.. a hell of a lot more resources needed..than to just fill in a small part of a bay at botany.

true they dont have national parks and stuff.. but sydney is a growing city in demand. sacrifices must be made ! plenty of national parks in nsw and australia.. it it such a big deal to lose a small block of water where im sure there is no underwater marine life anyway just 3 eyed fish !

would save taxpayers millions of dollars.. ....... fill in the little useless hole. wack a terminal and a parallel runway. done. no need to build a new highway or high speed railway 200kms long. !


http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c8/dj_ules/proposed.jpg

[Trojan1981]

NAPs would kill that idea. They already try to limit traffic using 07/25. As far as noise is concerned, the pollies seem to have made it clear that yssy is at its limit.

[bdflight]

What ever happened to the Badgery's creek proposal?

I know that they protested heavily about noise, but seriously your going to get the same protests, or even heavier ones from residents that live around Kingsfordsmith if you were to expand it, as well as green groups arguing about the effects it'll have on Botany.

Personally i think the Badgery's creek residents can't be selfish airports are vital to all Global cities such as Sydney.

Also following the retirement of the 707's by the RAAF what about Richmond?

[Taildragger67]

What ever happened to the Badgery's creek proposal?

Best you ask the Hon. John Winston Howard and his mate Max Moore-Wilton. :hmm:

John's got a bit of time on his hands these days, so he should be able to answer your letter.

[Lodown]

ules, I think you need to read the requirements for horizontal splay allowances. Factor in road/rail access, taxiways, holding bays, parking space, fuel supply and storage in what is essentially part of the bay, other ground facitilities, nav facilities, expected noise footprints and the big one...NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), and whether the runway is long enough to be useful for a fully loaded A380 or 747 plus the changes to the flight paths with another E/W parallel runway and I expect your proposal is going nowhere.

[ruby tuesday]

Newcastle Airport (http://www.newcastleairport.com.au/templates/airport_content.aspx?pageID=500&newsID=93)

[Matt-YSBK]

There is only one sensible location for the Next Sydney Airport.
Richmond.

Expansion Room (tick)
Train (tick)
Road (tick)
Runway (rick)
Wingeing losers that paid two much for there home and cant pay back
the mortgage (tick)

[Tester Call 121.5]

They did it in Kansai they did it for Hong Kong.
It's time we consider a man made airport a couple of miles off shore.
I think my taxes alone will pay for it.

[Lodown]

How deep was the water at Kansai? How deep was the water at Hong Kong? How deep is the water a couple of miles off Sydney? Why not fill in Sydney Harbour, move the coathanger to Parramatta and have an east west runway?

[ules]

hmm i agree, .. so dissapointing about williamtown though. it would be perfect there !

[Taildragger67]

Matt,

Where would you expand Richmond? It's pretty hemmed in - Richmond town to the west, Windsor to the east (at least under the flight path)... and the road and rail would both need to be improved.

Unless it's just an 'overflow' or LCC facility (as Avalon is for Melbourne).

121.5,

For a start, Kansai and Chep Lap Kok are both in reasonably sheltered, relatively shallow waters, not open sea.

[Trojan1981]

Where would you expand Richmond? It's pretty hemmed in - Richmond town to the west, Windsor to the east (at least under the flight path)... and the road and rail would both need to be improved.

Unless it's just an 'overflow' or LCC facility (as Avalon is for Melbourne).


Absolutely correct. Richmond is too small for large capacity jet services and has no room to the east, west or south to expand.
It could handle freight, but the recent investment in ysbk by freight companies makes this unlikely. It is to far out of Sydney (1.5 Hours by train) to make it a reasonable prospect for regionals.

Richmond may be an option for small numbers of low cost carrier services, just like avalon. Passengers will pay less for a service that doesn't quite get them to Sydney. It doesn't really have any chance of becoming Sydneys next AP.
I don't understand why Nowra is so under utilised by Defence, surely some units can be moved there from willytown. It has every thing they need and they would still be on the eastern seaboard.

[newsensation]

Then it's back to Willy, when the movements get to many move the RAAF, nice little runway at Evens Head to expend...:rolleyes:

[Pera]

Then it's back to Willy Yeh. Cause we don't need to train fighter pilots... :ugh::ugh:

[newsensation]

You just don't need to train them at Willy.....:ok:

[Pera]

The taxpayer trains them at willy... and they are going to have to fork out bigtime if they want to move it.

[ules]

move them all up to tamworth ;)

[DTVOne]

I guess we will just have to wait and see what Macquarie have in plan for Sydney's next airport. Not really sure if the decision has anything to do with Immea government. Surely the next sensible stage would be to reduce the curfew at the existing Sydney airport.

[barrybeebone]

yeah but there is no way that Albanese will extend the curfew. The only reason we ahve a debate on a second sydney airport is because Albanese is from a seat next to sydney airport and one of his campiagn promises was to make sure the curfew in Sydney was not extended.

Suggestions to extend curfews and have overflows at other airports like richmond are only postponing the inevitable need for a second airport. Any current Government that implements policies to expand the capacity of sydney in this way is thinking short sighted. But then again which politicians ever think long term?

[Ivasrus]

Richmond has plenty of room for a long N-S runway through the 10 threshold aligned probably 16 or 17. Of course there would have to be property acquisition and road/rail adjustments, but nothing significant (such as SYD 25 RESA at the Cooks River). The railway would also need efficiency improvements but this would be a massive political bonus. The advantage of Richmond over Badgerys is the "we can use it now" factor; it doesn't need the long runway until pressure mounts to move internationals or long leg domestics.

Williamtown is not and never will be part of Sydney's air passenger catchment. It will develop of its own course and can complement Sydney basin facilities.

[Bigg_Les]

I don't understand why Nowra is so under utilised by Defence, surely some units can be moved there from willytown. It has every thing they need and they would still be on the eastern seaboard.


I think Nowra is about to get busy with the move of all ADF initial helicopter training to the base with AIR 9000 Phase 7.

The temple and major housing project in the undershoot of one of the runways may pose a significant problem for jet operations. Deconflicting parachutes from tens of thousands of rotary movements will pose enough of a challenge in the short term.

[C-change]

I don't understand why Nowra is so under utilised by Defence, surely some units can be moved there from willytown


Defence utilises Nowra just fine thanks, its great just the way it is. :ok:
Navy got rid of their jets a long time ago and Defence moved the parachute school here, which conflicts nicely with the helicopters, so can you all please go back to your Newcastle/Willy/Ric/Badgery's Ck idea and forget about us, we don't exist (unless your Navy).

I vote for Kooragang Int Airport. ;)