Soar...
Victim of a bored god
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 1996
Location: Utopia
Posts: 6,710
Why start a rumour when with a little effort you can post fact?
Name: GOBEL AVIATION PTY. LTD.
ACN: 006 160 658
ABN: 11 006 160 658
Previous state number: C0215994C
Previous state of registration: Victoria
Registration date: 1/06/1983
Next review date: 1/06/2021
Former name(s): BENDIGO AVIATION SERVICES PTY. LIMITED
Status: External Administration
Type: Australian Proprietary Company, Limited By Shares
Locality of registered office: HAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123
Effective date either 28 or 29 December 2020.
Name: GOBEL AVIATION PTY. LTD.
ACN: 006 160 658
ABN: 11 006 160 658
Previous state number: C0215994C
Previous state of registration: Victoria
Registration date: 1/06/1983
Next review date: 1/06/2021
Former name(s): BENDIGO AVIATION SERVICES PTY. LIMITED
Status: External Administration
Type: Australian Proprietary Company, Limited By Shares
Locality of registered office: HAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123
Effective date either 28 or 29 December 2020.
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 57
Speaking of...
Company: China Southern West Australian Flying College Pty Ltd
ACN: 000 863 123
Status: In Liquidation
Appointment Date: 21 December 2020
https://publishednotices.asic.gov.au...rict=&dnotice=
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT AS LIQUIDATOR
Company details
Company: China Southern West Australian Flying College Pty Ltd
ACN: 000 863 123
Status: In Liquidation
Appointment Date: 21 December 2020
https://publishednotices.asic.gov.au...rict=&dnotice=
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Brisbane, Qld
Posts: 1,250
Geez, I disliked Soar very much because of their lack of ethics but it's still sad to see it go. For the Instructors and other Staff that used to work there who might read this stay strong, it'll be tough and make sure you lean on friends and families for support, that's what they're there for! If anyone who ran it happens to read this, rot in hell.
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 892
So just over a year ago the CEO was boasting how he had a personal wealth of 66 million. I also heard that same then ex CEO let the country a few months back.
Most of that money came from VET loans apparently.
This sort of rort just gets repeated over and over and every time there is millions of missing taxpayers money, CEOs in flashy cars who never seem to be accountable then vanish, staff and students left with less than nothing and no recourse, the money has all gone. These loans just create opportunities for people who see an easy way to get rich "There's a global pilot shortage! Never been a better time to learn to fly!" etc and then leave a trail of destruction, not only the staff and students who get shafted but the rest of the industry who have to pay higher prices to keep the suppliers afloat when they are left with bad debts, and the operators who have had to compete with these organisations whilst subsiding them with our taxes.
.And then the next one comes along...or sometimes the same characters...and round we go again.
Most of that money came from VET loans apparently.
This sort of rort just gets repeated over and over and every time there is millions of missing taxpayers money, CEOs in flashy cars who never seem to be accountable then vanish, staff and students left with less than nothing and no recourse, the money has all gone. These loans just create opportunities for people who see an easy way to get rich "There's a global pilot shortage! Never been a better time to learn to fly!" etc and then leave a trail of destruction, not only the staff and students who get shafted but the rest of the industry who have to pay higher prices to keep the suppliers afloat when they are left with bad debts, and the operators who have had to compete with these organisations whilst subsiding them with our taxes.
.And then the next one comes along...or sometimes the same characters...and round we go again.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Sydney
Posts: 5
Name: SOAR AVIATION PTY. LTD.
ACN: 159 695 379
ABN: 78 159 695 379
Registration date: 30/07/2012
Next review date: 30/07/2021
Status: Deregistered
Date deregistered: 7/10/2020
Type: Australian Proprietary Company, Limited By Shares
Locality of registered office:
Regulator: Australian Securities & Investments Commission
ACN: 159 695 379
ABN: 78 159 695 379
Registration date: 30/07/2012
Next review date: 30/07/2021
Status: Deregistered
Date deregistered: 7/10/2020
Type: Australian Proprietary Company, Limited By Shares
Locality of registered office:
Regulator: Australian Securities & Investments Commission
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Sydney
Posts: 5
SOAR AVIATION PTY. LTD.ACN 159 695 379Australian Proprietary CompanyDeregistered Select result
SOAR AVIATION (FIAD) PTY LTDACN 613 308 820Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123Select result
SOAR AVIATION MELBOURNE PTY LTDACN 619 893 186Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123Select result
SOAR AVIATION SYDNEY PTY LTDACN 613 279 048Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123Select result
SOAR AVIATION HOLDINGS PTY LTDACN 600 336 301Australian Proprietary CompanyDeregistered Select result
SOAR AVIATION HOLDINGS PTY LTDACN 626 081 089Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123Select result
SOAR AVIATION FLIGHT TRAINING Business NameCancelled Select result
SOAR AVIATION AIRCRAFT HOLDINGS PTY LTDACN 613 275 853Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123
SOAR AVIATION (FIAD) PTY LTDACN 613 308 820Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123Select result
SOAR AVIATION MELBOURNE PTY LTDACN 619 893 186Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123Select result
SOAR AVIATION SYDNEY PTY LTDACN 613 279 048Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123Select result
SOAR AVIATION HOLDINGS PTY LTDACN 600 336 301Australian Proprietary CompanyDeregistered Select result
SOAR AVIATION HOLDINGS PTY LTDACN 626 081 089Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123Select result
SOAR AVIATION FLIGHT TRAINING Business NameCancelled Select result
SOAR AVIATION AIRCRAFT HOLDINGS PTY LTDACN 613 275 853Australian Proprietary CompanyUnder External AdministrationHAWTHORN EAST VIC 3123
Victim of a bored god
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 1996
Location: Utopia
Posts: 6,710
The corporate entities titled "Soar Aviation" are relevant but it is the AOC holder and operating companies operations that are principally affected by External Administration.
The AOC Holder and Company in External Administration is Gobel Aviation Pty Ltd trading as Soar Advanced Flight Training.
AOC Holder Name: GOBEL AVIATION PTY LTD
Primary Trading Name: Soar Advanced Flight Training
Town/City: MOORABBIN AIRPORT
State: VIC
AOC Holder Country: Australia
Type of AOC: Australian
CASA Office: Southern Region
Operations: Aerial Work, Aircraft Charter
AOC Application Status: Issued
Issue Date: 15/05/2020
Expiry Date: 30/04/2021
Is the Administrator operating the Company or are the doors closed? Their web site is still active.
The AOC Holder and Company in External Administration is Gobel Aviation Pty Ltd trading as Soar Advanced Flight Training.
AOC Holder Name: GOBEL AVIATION PTY LTD
Primary Trading Name: Soar Advanced Flight Training
Town/City: MOORABBIN AIRPORT
State: VIC
AOC Holder Country: Australia
Type of AOC: Australian
CASA Office: Southern Region
Operations: Aerial Work, Aircraft Charter
AOC Application Status: Issued
Issue Date: 15/05/2020
Expiry Date: 30/04/2021
Is the Administrator operating the Company or are the doors closed? Their web site is still active.
Join Date: Nov 2020
Location: YSBK
Posts: 5
Originally Posted by tail wheel
Is the Administrator operating the Company or are the doors closed? Their web site is still active.
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne
Age: 51
Posts: 93
Originally Posted by over_centre
Been out of the loop for a while; can someone fill me in on how Soar got hold of Gobel's AOC?
Poor Chris would not be impressed. 😞
Poor Chris would not be impressed. 😞
Victim of a bored god
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 1996
Location: Utopia
Posts: 6,710
Notice on the door of the building in YMMB states operations are suspended while KPMG conducts an urgent review of the group.
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne
Age: 51
Posts: 93
SOAR (or Sour, depending on your POV) initially started as an RA operation with one Jabiru J-160, which later increased to 3 and a cross-hired J-170. Later they went to Foxbats, Aquilas, Bristells, etc.
There were a few AOC's that SOAR piggy-backed off before buying Chris Gobel's, Amber Aviation was one of them, and one of the flying schools long established at YMMB (can't remember which one..)
There were an awful lot of Trial Instructional Flights given that Neel had deals with Scoopon, Groupon, and other similar operations, before they became what they are (were?) today.
There were a few AOC's that SOAR piggy-backed off before buying Chris Gobel's, Amber Aviation was one of them, and one of the flying schools long established at YMMB (can't remember which one..)
There were an awful lot of Trial Instructional Flights given that Neel had deals with Scoopon, Groupon, and other similar operations, before they became what they are (were?) today.
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Aust
Posts: 176
Nothing new here, GA operators are always on borrowed time. Covid obviously doesn't help.
Thinking back to all the YMMB based training and charter outfits that I have known over the years that are all long gone. Maybe RVAC still exists but what about Schutts, Civils, Peninsula, Ken Sharp's GFS, Campbell-Hicks, Combined, Australian Air Charters, Airchart, Bassair, Flinders Is. Airways, Phoenix, John Corrells, Nicholas Skyways, Jayrow, Pipair, Peter Bini and numerous others that came after I stopped frequenting Moorabbin. Essendon and Bankstown the same.
All have in common is leaving people without jobs.
Thinking back to all the YMMB based training and charter outfits that I have known over the years that are all long gone. Maybe RVAC still exists but what about Schutts, Civils, Peninsula, Ken Sharp's GFS, Campbell-Hicks, Combined, Australian Air Charters, Airchart, Bassair, Flinders Is. Airways, Phoenix, John Corrells, Nicholas Skyways, Jayrow, Pipair, Peter Bini and numerous others that came after I stopped frequenting Moorabbin. Essendon and Bankstown the same.
All have in common is leaving people without jobs.
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: N/A
Posts: 3,645
Behind a paywall, todays "Australian" business section.
Soar Aviation flying school crashes to earth
DAVID ROSS
One of the largest flight schools in Australia and one-time media darling Soar Aviation has entered administration, leaving hundreds of students in limbo and 54 staff reeling.
Documents filed with the corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, reveal KPMG partners Brendan Richards and James Stewart have been appointed administrators to try to help the collapsed aviation school repay debts.
Mr Richards and Mr Stewart will oversee the administration of Double Sunrise Holdings, Gobel Aviation, and a suite of associated entities wlth Soar Aviation. Mr Richards said it was still early into the administration for further details to come out.
“When we were appointed there wasn’t sufficient cash in the business to continue operating it. We have taken the decision to close the business,” he said. “We’ve retained some core staff to assist us in developing a plan for the future of the business.”
Mr Richards noted Soar Aviation would make a good buy for any interested party seeking a Civil Aviation Safety Authority accredited business.
“We are canvassing the market for potentially interested parties who may be keen to do a quick deal having regard to the fact it’s a really good turn-key operation.” Soar Aviation’s unsecured creditors are reportedly owed about $850,000, while aircraft leases totalling almost $5.2m are outstanding.
Founded in 2013, Soar Aviation has operations at Melbourne’s Moorabbin airport and Sydney’s Bankstown airport.
The flight school is used by Victoria’s Box Hill Institute to deliver training services for a diploma in aviation.
.Students were reportedly shocked by the sudden closure of Soar Aviation, with one posting to a Facebook group a photo of a sign posted on the company’s door at
Moorabbin advising all flying classes had been suspended.
Phone calls to Solar Aviation on Thursday were met with a message advising that as of December 29 “we are unable to take your call, return any calls or return any messages you leave”.
Soar Aviation operates a fleet of 56 light sport aircraft, providing training for pilots across Melbourne and Sydney.
The flight school put up seven of its aircraft for sale earlier this year, seeking $500,000 to cover losses. The business has been in financial trouble in weeks leading up to Christmas.
The collapse is a fall back to earth for the flight school which had been celebrated for making its founder and former CEO Neel Khokhani rich, with an estimated net worth of tens of millions of dollars.
The wind-up of Soar Aviation comes after years of bad news for the flight school and the resignation earlier this year of Mr Khokhani, who said his departure was unrelated to regulatory and legal scrutiny. Mr Khokhani, through a trust, retains ovmership of a significant portion of the company.
When contacted by The Australian, he declined to answer any questions about Soar Aviation.
Private equity outfit The Growth Fund owns much of the remainder of the company.
The Growth Fund’s chief operating officer, Don Grover, has served as CEO of Soar Aviation since Mr Khokhani departed.
Flight training at Soar Aviation was suspended in 2019 after its training partner the Box Hill Institute demanded the company supply documentation about its fleet and trainers.
Soar Aviation’s registered training organisation status was also revoked after an audit by the Australian Skills Quality Authority, the national regulatory body for vocational education.
This came after the company was subject to a litany of complaints by past students alleging they did not receive the training they were promised.
Gordon Legal, representing almost 200 students, launched a class action against Soar Aviation, alleging its teaching standards were so low that many did not meet Civil Aviation Authority requirements to obtain a commercial pilot licence.
Soar Aviation had its accreditation restored in March, but still faced sanctions from the skills authority.
A student from the flight school was involved in a serious crash in December 2019. Another student and a trainer from the school died in a crash at Carcoar, south of Orange in the central west of NSW in November. The plane was reportedly attempting to land before crashing.
The appointment of KPMG as administrators comes as temporary insolvency protection measures set up to safeguard companies during the pandemic are set to expire. A creditors meeting for the companies involved in the Soar Aviation administration is set for January 11.
Thousands of businesses are expected to go bust in 2021, with some industry figures putting the expected figure as high as 15,000.
This comes after a drop in the number of businesses entering insolvency in 2020 because of protections extended by the federal govemment in the early days of the COVID pandemic.
Do you know more? If so, please get in touch at [email protected]
Soar Aviation flying school crashes to earth
DAVID ROSS
One of the largest flight schools in Australia and one-time media darling Soar Aviation has entered administration, leaving hundreds of students in limbo and 54 staff reeling.
Documents filed with the corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, reveal KPMG partners Brendan Richards and James Stewart have been appointed administrators to try to help the collapsed aviation school repay debts.
Mr Richards and Mr Stewart will oversee the administration of Double Sunrise Holdings, Gobel Aviation, and a suite of associated entities wlth Soar Aviation. Mr Richards said it was still early into the administration for further details to come out.
“When we were appointed there wasn’t sufficient cash in the business to continue operating it. We have taken the decision to close the business,” he said. “We’ve retained some core staff to assist us in developing a plan for the future of the business.”
Mr Richards noted Soar Aviation would make a good buy for any interested party seeking a Civil Aviation Safety Authority accredited business.
“We are canvassing the market for potentially interested parties who may be keen to do a quick deal having regard to the fact it’s a really good turn-key operation.” Soar Aviation’s unsecured creditors are reportedly owed about $850,000, while aircraft leases totalling almost $5.2m are outstanding.
Founded in 2013, Soar Aviation has operations at Melbourne’s Moorabbin airport and Sydney’s Bankstown airport.
The flight school is used by Victoria’s Box Hill Institute to deliver training services for a diploma in aviation.
.Students were reportedly shocked by the sudden closure of Soar Aviation, with one posting to a Facebook group a photo of a sign posted on the company’s door at
Moorabbin advising all flying classes had been suspended.
Phone calls to Solar Aviation on Thursday were met with a message advising that as of December 29 “we are unable to take your call, return any calls or return any messages you leave”.
Soar Aviation operates a fleet of 56 light sport aircraft, providing training for pilots across Melbourne and Sydney.
The flight school put up seven of its aircraft for sale earlier this year, seeking $500,000 to cover losses. The business has been in financial trouble in weeks leading up to Christmas.
The collapse is a fall back to earth for the flight school which had been celebrated for making its founder and former CEO Neel Khokhani rich, with an estimated net worth of tens of millions of dollars.
The wind-up of Soar Aviation comes after years of bad news for the flight school and the resignation earlier this year of Mr Khokhani, who said his departure was unrelated to regulatory and legal scrutiny. Mr Khokhani, through a trust, retains ovmership of a significant portion of the company.
When contacted by The Australian, he declined to answer any questions about Soar Aviation.
Private equity outfit The Growth Fund owns much of the remainder of the company.
The Growth Fund’s chief operating officer, Don Grover, has served as CEO of Soar Aviation since Mr Khokhani departed.
Flight training at Soar Aviation was suspended in 2019 after its training partner the Box Hill Institute demanded the company supply documentation about its fleet and trainers.
Soar Aviation’s registered training organisation status was also revoked after an audit by the Australian Skills Quality Authority, the national regulatory body for vocational education.
This came after the company was subject to a litany of complaints by past students alleging they did not receive the training they were promised.
Gordon Legal, representing almost 200 students, launched a class action against Soar Aviation, alleging its teaching standards were so low that many did not meet Civil Aviation Authority requirements to obtain a commercial pilot licence.
Soar Aviation had its accreditation restored in March, but still faced sanctions from the skills authority.
A student from the flight school was involved in a serious crash in December 2019. Another student and a trainer from the school died in a crash at Carcoar, south of Orange in the central west of NSW in November. The plane was reportedly attempting to land before crashing.
The appointment of KPMG as administrators comes as temporary insolvency protection measures set up to safeguard companies during the pandemic are set to expire. A creditors meeting for the companies involved in the Soar Aviation administration is set for January 11.
Thousands of businesses are expected to go bust in 2021, with some industry figures putting the expected figure as high as 15,000.
This comes after a drop in the number of businesses entering insolvency in 2020 because of protections extended by the federal govemment in the early days of the COVID pandemic.
Do you know more? If so, please get in touch at [email protected]
