This week in general aviation is one we could label "optimistic", and that's not something we have been able to do much in the past five years or so. Three stories emerged this week about developments and improvements at airports, where most of the time airports make the news because of pressing public complaints, declining infrastructure and threatened closures.
Lethbridge in Victoria has
opened the first stage of its government-funded improvements, which have effectively provided
Geelong with a new general aviation airport,
Gympie has a
new airpark well underway and aviation's miracle,
Belmont Airport, is
making a comeback under the new consortium of owners. Good news all around!
However, I have to greet the news that
Warren Truss has promised to respond to the Forsyth Report by the end of the year with some disappointment. Like many aviation industry observers, we expected the response to be imminent. Surely, as the report came out in the first week of June, the government would have something to say about it by September, three months later. Now they are saying it could be the end of the year. If so, that will be
seven months without any comment. I am going to put my "optimism" cap back on and say this could be to enable them to develop plans to implement the recommendations. However, experience says they could also be developing reasons to make only token improvements as well. Either way, this silence is certainly
not golden.
Matt Hall races in
Dallas Fort-Worth this weekend, an event that might represent his best chance for a maiden win in this series. Matt likes to fly in hot weather, having finished on the podium in the two hottest races of the year so far:
Malaysia and
Poland. For you die-hard fans, the race starts at 3.15 am AEST on Monday morning.