Folks,
Back to Williamtown.
The scheduled NSW RAPAC meeting was held yesterday at YSBK, and what an interesting meeting it was. The civilian numbers were almost matched by the military numbers, and it was not for want of the usual civil attendance.
AOPA made a very reasonable and reasoned request re. Willie, to meet a wall of RAAF intransigence or indifference, or both.
The RAAF responses were, in my opinion, not entirely coherent, swapping backwards and forwards between a position of "it's all the civilian traffic's fault, anyway", then detailing F/A-18 VFR departure procedures that keep them well above the coastal VFR lane, then telling us about why such huge airspace is required by the RAAF (compared, say, the the RAF, the USAF etc).
When the matter of the particular Australia Day incident was raised, the reaction, from a young lady who we presumed to be a Willie controller, was in my opinion extraordinarily emphatic, bordering on volcanic,disputing the versions of events of the two (civil) aircraft involved. I, for one, was left in no doubt as to the continuance of the attitude that I have experienced so often ----- the legitimate rights (and it is a right for an Australian citizen to used Australian airspace, let's not hear that it is a "privilege" to be bestowed or withheld by some middle ranking civil or military officer) of ALL civil traffic to not be unnecessarily impeded simply does not wash. As an aside, for those of you wedded to the "privilege" approach, please refresh yourselves with existing Government policy and present and pending changes.
The RAAF, as represented yesterday, certainly are very reticent about sharing airspace with other traffic (including the Army). A proposal for Airservices to rationalise some of the steps to the west of Richmond was not greeted kindly by the RAAF representatives. Traffic levels and any consideration of risk management didn't get a look in.
Even more extraordinary, a proposal for a flying training area for the Army, to the west and south-west of Camden, accepted without dissent by all civilian representative, met with the suggestion, by one RAAF officer,that the whole area (which is the main S/SW VFR route for GA traffic in and out of the Sydney basin) become a RESTRICTED area north of the Hume Highway, from just west of Wilton, down to almost Yass, beyond Crookwell, and almost up to Oberon --- Which would leave another "lane" (presumably) over Katoomba, for VFR traffic travelling west.
The RAAF approach to establishing restricted airspace, with (in this case) little apparent regard for low level civil traffic, is certainly (long over) due for a shake-up.
Happy days, how little progress we have made, Richmond and Willie airspace was on the agenda of the first RAPAC I ever attended, and that is a long, long time ago, much longer than 25 years.
Happy Days ??
Tootle pip !!