Info on History of Licensing in Australia
A company set up a helicopter operation in Tasmania in 1975, I was led to believe that the state government gave the company virtual monopoly rights for operations within the state as the state wanted a permanent operator rather than some out of state operator flying in for a specific contract and departing on completion, which was how things worked up until that time. Another operator would only be permitted to enter the state if the resident operator was unable to provide the service.
Not the first time the Tas Govt engaged in a bit of nepotism.
I may not have the details absolutely right but for the state mapping contract one had to have a super accurate and very expensive compass that would read off in 1/10 of a degree... to allow for “accurate” photo flight line tracking. Know anyone who can maintain a track with an aircraft in lumpy conditions , or at any time for that matter.
Obviously other companies never bothered, you may not win the contact anyway, and with the normal way of doing things in those days ...Mk 1 eyeball and map reading the PhotoNav directed the pilot for any minor heading changes to stay on track.
Once GPS came along it was a doddle for very small heading adjustments to stay on the invisible track.
I may not have the details absolutely right but for the state mapping contract one had to have a super accurate and very expensive compass that would read off in 1/10 of a degree... to allow for “accurate” photo flight line tracking. Know anyone who can maintain a track with an aircraft in lumpy conditions , or at any time for that matter.
Obviously other companies never bothered, you may not win the contact anyway, and with the normal way of doing things in those days ...Mk 1 eyeball and map reading the PhotoNav directed the pilot for any minor heading changes to stay on track.
Once GPS came along it was a doddle for very small heading adjustments to stay on the invisible track.
The States can, and some still do, license routes within their geographical boundaries for economic reasons - usually to ensure the financial viability and therefore attractiveness to potential operators and, in turn, the reliability of the service (until something like Covid happens...). The Commonwealth licenses the operators for safety reasons - through the issue of Air Operator Certificates.
E.g for Western Australia: https://www.transport.wa.gov.au/avia...r%20than%20for
Last edited by Lead Balloon; 28th Feb 2021 at 23:08.
Not the first time the Tas Govt engaged in a bit of nepotism
