From AAC:
As many of you know, I have held 3 meetings, to date, for the purpose of consulting with Archerfield aviation operators on operational and general airport issues. We have now started to also discuss the Master Planning process which is underway.
As part of the planning process, you should all have received a Tenant Survey form, from us, asking for your input. We have requested that you return this to our consultants by 6th November. This form is also available on the new airport website at www.archerfieldairport.com.au.
Now, I am very concerned that there is a serious misconception in the minds of some members of the airport chamber of commerce about the future of Archerfield Airport.
I would like to take this opportunity to assure all of you that the airport WILL REMAIN OPEN AND FULLY OPERATIONAL AS AN AIRPORT. Nobody at AAC has any thoughts of closing the airport!!
Our last meeting was held on Friday 30th October and an incorrect statement has been circulated by the Archerfield chamber of commerce as follows:
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']“On Friday at a “consultation meeting” convened at less than 24 hours notice, AAC advised attendees that AAC intends in their Draft Master Plan to CLOSE BOTH MAIN RUNWAYS at Archerfield Airport and to CLOSE BOTH CROSS RUNSWAYS and to reduce the airport to one new runway 15/33 starting roughly where the Scouts Air Activities Centre used to be.”
Regrettably this is a serious misrepresentation of the facts of the meeting, as those of you who attended will be able to confirm, and a regrettable attempt to undermine the consultative process and spread some sort of panic in the aviation community which depends on Archerfield Airport.
These are the indisputable facts:
1. The meeting on Friday 30th was the third of a series of meetings which have been advertised to everyone on our e-mail listing. The invitation was originally sent on 21st October and a reminder was sent on 29th October. The next meeting is planned for Friday 20th November and details will be e-mailed to you all, and will also appear on the new website.
2. At no time was anything said about closing the main 10/28 runway complex.
In fact quite to the contrary, we are planning to upgrade and strengthen the 10/28 runway. There is a study being conducted on past runway use, prevailing wind conditions and NOTAM’d outages of runways to determine the useage of the different runway directions. It is a possibility that the 04/22 complex could be realigned to fall more into line with prevailing wind patterns and if that was to occur, then it may be possible to seal one runway to avoid it being NOTAM’d out due to soft wet surface. All of this is under consideration at present and that is why we wish to engage in discussion with you, the operators, to understand your needs and any ideas that might benefit all parties in the future.
We would like to do this in a balanced and professional way. Archerfield Airport is a member of the
3. There is absolutely no intention of closing Archerfield Airport by the current owners of the Corporation. In fact, the opposite is true and they have a vision to improve operating capacity and facilities at the airport. This will become evident in the new master plan when the first draft is completed in the New Year.
4. The new website at www.archerfieldairport.com.au will become an important tool of communication with all interested parties. It will be used to advertise meetings, publish details of the master planning process, airport charges, and all other relevant information.
5. The website also provides a listing facility for all airport tenants to advertise their businesses, free of charge, and we encourage you to use this.
An additional point of discussion at the last meeting was the displaced threshold of Rwy 10L. Everyone should be aware that this matter has been the subject of an extensive ATSB investigation involving Airservices, CASA and AAC. The report is essentially complete and we understand that it should be available to us within a matter of weeks.
We firmly believe that this will clear up all the misconceptions and issues surrounding the issue of mechanical turbulence from the new hangars and the displaced threshold matter.
There has been a very thorough investigation and I can only suggest that all interested parties should wait for the final report before jumping to any conclusions.
In the meantime, please note that we have queried the amendment in the new ERSA and Airservices have advised us that it is in error.
A new NOTAM has been issued today and is copied here:
[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']C0272/09 NOTAMN Q) YBBB/QXXXX/IV/BO/A/000/999/2734S15301E A) YBAF B) 0911181600 C) PERM E) STANDARD DIST FOR RWY 28R DEP IN VMC: RWY TORA TODA 28R 1419(4655) 1479(4852)(2.83) SUPPLEMENTARY TAKEOFF DISTANCES: RWY 28R 1124(3688)(1.6) 1251(4104)(1.9) 1350(4429)(2.2) 1431(4695)(2.5) AMD AIP ERSA [/font]
Best regards,
Desmond L Ross (Capt.)
General Manager
Archerfield Airport Corporation
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Last edited by Ando1Bar; 8th Nov 2009 at 01:13.