Yarrawonga, Doesn't Want Visitors

[jas24zzk]

Good Idea tank!

That way we'd provide employment for a couple of local girls processing our applications, and their subsequent annual reveiws. They'll make that 6 monthly when Martha down the road loses her job selling cow shoe due to the taxation.





Cheers
Jas

(PS...not taking a shot, just rolling along with your jest)

[VH-XXX]

It was a friend of mine who reported the supposed prop strike.... he is from Melbourne, not Yarrawonga.

Your mate literally has an astounding memory as I realized earlier today that the prop "strike" was at Wangaratta around 8 years ago on my way back from Narromine

[Sunfish]

Yarrawonga is now on my "overfly" list along with Mildura.

Friendliest place I've struck up that way is Mid Murray Flying Club at Swan Hill. It's a great spot.

[Xray Tango]

Poor Airmanship

I also clearly remember that poor Cirrus being forced onto the runway, the pilot smacked it on the runway (19er) and actually did a go around the first attempt at landing.
The debris that came off the runway sure made a cloud as the prop dug up the strip sure got our attention, then to all our surprise he came back for another crack at it, this time no better an approach and after a fully compressed nose wheel landing he got it on !!! Wow, what an arrival !!
Then to our amazement he taxid "past the maintenance facility that was open around the back of the hangars for a short time. Shortly after returning to the runway and departing to the south.
And YES, one of the blokes in our group did search the register and put a call into YTDN expressing his horror at the pilots decision to "Press On".
Only recently saw that very same pilot flying a lovely looking RV. Not sure who owns the RV but it seems to be YTDN based.
Ooh, and bye the way, the cirrus incident did happen at YYWG. There were plenty of us present watching.

[Pinky the pilot]

The sign appears to read; 'No person or vehicle is permitted beyond this point unless authorised in writing by the officer in charge of aerodrome operation.'

I am not a Lawyer (wouldn't want to be one either) but to me the sign's wording could indicate that the 'Officer in charge' of that particular aerodrome, ie Yarrawonga, must give you written approval to enter the tarmac area.

One of the best examples of poorly thought out, bureaucratic bungling I have seen in ages!

The Council obtained legal advice on its wording? Yeah, right!

[Fieldmouse]

Pinky

Actually the sign is brilliant. It absolves the airport owner from all sorts of legal obligations. Anything bad happens and you don't have written consent to operate there...............I bet their insurance company is involved in this.

[Mish A]

Signs Everywhere!

Onetrack,

Talking about signs. The stick figure sign on the way out of the Burketown Airport advising not to ride in the back of utes.

May have been because one of the motels (or only motel) would provide transport by ute only and there were more than two of us.

[jas24zzk]

We have to have the original in live for this.....

[Pinky the pilot]

Fieldmouse; An interesting observation! I may get a 'tame' Lawyer acqaintance of mine* to have a look at this one sometime.





*Yeah, I know. I should be more careful with whom I associate, but I did say he was an aquaintance, not a friend.

[metalman2]

Only been in there once, well actually twice, we called in for fuel on the way to temora this Easter and the mate I was with had a brake failure while taxiing out for YTEM, I had already departed ( hence the "twice" ) so I returned and we we're given help by the trike school guys to fix the little bugger, can't say enough about the hospitality and not a cent was charged for the use of the hangar ,oil and tools, didn't really go looking for signs telling me stuff I don't want to hear though.

[YPJT]

I don't think there is much difference between what section 3.15(4) of the Aviation Transport Security Regulaions requires at security controlled airports and what is on Yarrawonga's sign.
I know the regs don't apply at Yarrawonga but just maybe they have had instances of undesirables being airside for the hell of it or causing damage to aircraft or other property and this is the first step in controlling it. Sad sign of the times I know but that's the way it is I'm afraid.

[kaz3g]

Metalman said: Only been in there once, well actually twice, we called in for fuel on the way to temora this Easter and the mate I was with had a brake failure while taxiing out for YTEM, I had already departed ( hence the "twice" ) so I returned and we we're given help by the trike school guys to fix the little bugger, can't say enough about the hospitality and not a cent was charged for the use of the hangar ,oil and tools, didn't really go looking for signs telling me stuff I don't want to hear though.

One of those trike guys was a good friend and he lost his life in a trike this week just near Temora heading towards Yarrawonga in company with another trike flown by "the guy in the green overalls". Real aviators both and always ready to offer hospitality, assistance and mateship.

RIP DavidH... sadly missed.

kaz

[isis64]

Great idea except it seems that every Council officer from the Director of Infrastructure down is refusing to give any pilot written permission as required by the sign!

[LewC]

Catch 22? I guess those Council knobs saw the movie.

[Woodwork]

If the aerodrome is certified, the operator would need to demonstrate to CASA that they are taking steps to control access to airside areas.

Under common law, a person has a reasonable defence against charges of trespass if they are accessing a place open to the public that has no signs, fences, gates, or other notices or measures indicating that it is not a public place. If you landed at the airstrip and approached these notices from behind (ie from airside), and had consulted ERSA and NOTAM and the air/ground signalling area near the windsock, then you have established a solid defence against prosecution (unless you went on to cut the lock from the gate, in which case you have committed an entirely new offence).

Clearly, then, the signs are intended to keep the airport visiting aircraft-friendly by ensuring the airside area is for you to park on, not for Farmer Jack to store his hay bales or the local scout unit to hold an open day on or the local car club to do performance testing (all three of which I have seen at rural airstrips more than once!).

I would suggest that these signs, while poorly worded, are obviously not intended to apply to crew or passengers of an aircraft. As they're confusing, continue to call the council about them until they decide the cost of changing the wording will be worth it to stop the phone calls. But there's no need to become full of hatred for a council that, unlike others, seems to be trying to keep the airport as a place for aviation.

[Xray Tango]

Total Confusion

We actually contacted our local solicitor for advice, ( yes we really got advice) and after a somewhat lengthy discussion came to the view that "we ALL need to comply" with the authorities request for " written permission " QUIET SIMPLY , THATS WHAT THEIR SIGNAGE ASKS FOR. There is no mention of pilots being exempt, it clearly states WE ALL NEED WRITTEN PERMISSION. The council has told us this was the need for re entering the area. Like others my partner and I have spoken to the council on several occasions regarding this written permission only to be told by the people who instigated this signage that they WILL NOT be issuing written permission. Go figure !
PS. the people at YTOC are more than happy to have us there. We noticed last weekend that the operator from Bankstown doing the river weekend tours is now using toc and won't return to yarrawonga till the situation is cleared up.
Good on the Miora Shire !! Great news for our tourism, NOT !!

[YPJT]

I have never needed "written permission" even at regional security controlled airports.
X-ray Tango, sounds like your are dealing with some right imbeciles there.

[Tankengine]

Boycott the idiots, and write to them every time you do that!

[Pinky the pilot]

If the aerodrome is certified

May I suggest that in this instance it is not the aerodrome that needs 'certifying.*'

*Think about it.

[YPJT]

We actually contacted our local solicitor for advice,

So a group who obviously have very little understanding on how to operate an aerodrome paid a fist full of dollars to someone who probably knows even less for "advice".
Here's an idea, call the operators of your neighbouring aerodromes and pose the question "we have this situation.... blah blah blah.... how would you deal with it"? Well that's how the rest of us approach and tackle these issues but hey, put a couple of over zealous rangers and council bureaucrats into the equation and anything is likely to occur. Anything that is except for a well informed and practical solution.