(Disclaimer - My small business is the recipient of this generous donation)
Dick Smith invests more money in Weather Cams - Australian Flying
A huge and proud moment for an up and coming budget aviation business, with Dick Smith investing $10,000 into additional airport weather cameras.
No doubt most have you have been following the thread over the years and have watched the network grow from the small beginnings to what it is now. Simply open up your EFB of choice and you'll quickly see the work that has gone into the expansion for all of you to benefit from.
There's so much behind the scenes that goes on:
- The initial setup of the websites and hosting, including coding and scripts. I use my skills, AirTasker and offers of assistance on occasions
- Sourcing suitable cameras (especially during Covid induced shortages)
- Keeping stock levels handy for busy times and knowing what stock to keep
- Cold calling airports and suggesting that cameras would be a good thing for them (this can be very difficult sometimes!)
- Fielding calls from potential customers
- Setting up the cameras and shipping them out
- Managing the websites
- Talking through the installation of the cameras when on-site - EVERY location is different, it's never quite the same!
- Supporting all those sites when they call for technical support sometimes 24/7 across different time zones, including overseas
- Telling someone how to crimp a connector onto the end of a Cat5 cable when they accidentally tear the end off and they can't find their reading glasses
- Extracting images when things go wrong. ATSB reports, "my ex-wife stole my gyro," "our aero club was firebombed" or "someone stole our router" are some of the requests I've had
All up, every installation results in about 5 or 6 phone calls from start to finish and as you can imagine, greatly varying levels of IT knowledge.
The hardest part is probably cold-calling airports. Whilst I am technically selling a product, often we do our best to use exiting cameras (eg CCTV) to allow them to operate as CCTV AND weather cameras at the same time. We don't charge for that, as it's about expanding the network to make safer skies for all to enjoy, with support from people like Dick.
A HUGE thank you to Dick Smith and his team for their generous donation to expand the network!
As you'll see from the article, there's an email address at the bottom where you can apply for funding for cameras at your chosen location. I am purchasing a large amount of stock to draw down upon and when it's all gone, that's it for now.
As a matter of interest, the following locations are now on the quickly growing list as places that have been identified as needing cameras:
- Northam
- 3 Hummock Island
- Mallacoota
- Benambra
- Bombala
- Birdsville (replacement gear)
- Mt. Dare
- Innamincka Pub
- Boort
- Marlo Pub
- Oodnadatta
- Nullabor Roadhouse
- Warburton (WA)
- Caiguna (WA)
- Border Village (SA)
Confirmed thus far:
- Ceduna
- Coober Pedy
- Lockhart River
- William Creek (replacements)