Interesting post Sunfish.
My son (at uni in Canberra!) mentioned essentially the same theory recently. More specifically, let places do what they’re good at, don’t waste your own limited resources trying to replicate those who do it better, just stick to what you’re specifically best at. In our case that’s historically been sheep and mining - not the cleverest of exports. Our tech products were often very good but terribly marketed and not supported by the government or consumers.
But that’s outdated thinking and time’s up. People like Elon Musk blast in and say no, this is how we’ll go to Mars, or this is how we’ll bypass GM and Ford and build Teslas. But the product MUST have a point of difference - doing something way better or cheaper than the current product.
i think Aussies have had a big fright with the way China has treated us, as well as a price shock with Covid related supply issues. The mindset has changed and we are far more supportive of locally produced goods. I saw Jeremy Clarkson rave about the HSV GTO and got one (and loved it). Would have an Aussie alternative to my Textron aircraft if there was one.
For the savvy investor, Gippsland Aviation is an awesome purchase in that it’s ready to go as is.
Possibly slickly rebrand, organise tie-ups with other brands (as Daher have done with the TBM and Kodak) and emphasise Aussie built quality and ruggedness.
Properly handled, there will be a global fleet of thousands of GA8’s, the larger variant they’d planned and stretched Nomads with new avionics, modern engines and improved systems. The military will also love them this time, they’ll be invaluable for flood and bushfire relief and in time, potentially autonomous versions will prove popular for remote parcel delivery etc. If people like Musk can go to mars, it’s not such a leap for the right team to make a relatively simple, ready-made product range like this work
Just hope it remains in Australia.