Family building own airport in QLD
 

Why not!

http://www.news.com.au/travel/australia/high-flying-family-build-own-airport-in-toowoomba/story-e6frfq89-1226594237298


DYNASTY: Joe, Henry, Neil, John and Denis Wagner on the runway site. Pic: David Martinelli
ONE of Queensland's wealthiest families has come up with a dramatic solution to Brisbane Airport's woes - they are building their own airport.
The Toowoomba-based Wagners - who own a construction, infrastructure and engineering empire - have started work on the $100 million-plus Wellcamp Airport on the inland city's western outskirts.

Brisbane to lose millions over runway stoush
The facility, with a 2.87km runway capable of taking jets up to Boeing 747s, will be in use by the second half of next year and is expected to handle 500,000 passengers a year by 2019.

"It is bold," John Wagner said. "This will be a total game-changer for Toowoomba and our region."

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The site of the new Toowoomba airport. Pic: David Martinelli
It was designed primarily as a gateway for fly-in fly-out workers and charter services to and from the booming mining and gas regions of the Surat, Galilee and Bowen Basins, but the Wagners also want regular scheduled passenger services.

"We've had discussions with airlines," Mr Wagner said. "Because no-one has built an airport like this, a lot of people were sceptical early on.

"But the tide has turned and there is a lot of interest now they can see it's a reality."

Mr Wagner says that as the largest inland city in Australia after Canberra, Toowoomba will be an attractive destination for operators.

And he believes Wellcamp Airport will be a viable alternative to Brisbane Airport which is struggling to fund a new parallel runway project.


View from what will be the centre of the 3km long runway being built by the Wagner Family. Pic: David Martinelli
"We don't know how the whole Brisbane Airport situation will play out," Mr Wagner said. "At best, their new runway will not be ready until 2020, or 2022 more likely."

The Wagners were No.11 on The Sunday Mail Queensland's Top 150 Rich List last year with estimated fortune of $613 million.

Do they want to build one in Sydney too? ;)

"hope they have done their homework on weather, prevailing winds & terrain clearance for instrument approaches & takeoff splays"

Your a genius mate. It's a good job you thought of that!:ok:

Homework? You mean like the people that built TWB right on the edge of the escarpment? Move only a few nm west and the elevation reduces a bit and the topography is generally flatter with a beneficial effect on local weather.

http://www.pprune.org/pacific-genera...a-airport.html


Wagners been around Toowoomba and aviation fer a while now. Probably got a little experience of the place by now..:cool:





.

If you really think that in this day and age anybody builds an IFR airport (in the western world) capable of handling 747's without considering ALL of those things very carefully you are of very simple mind..:D
I am actually not very smart at all but you are making me feel like a genius.

The Americans got over than problem with the B52's by designing an undercarriage that turned to allow a crabbed landing of up to 20 degrees. Clever :ok:

2800m runway.........isnt that a wee bit on the short side for heavy Boeing/Airbus international ops? Would have thought 3500m or more was desireable. Surely they can't just be aiming for domestic ops.

What ever the case, I do applaud someone with big enough coconuts to say "up yours" and decide to build something. Lets back this guy, support him. We need more like him.

Has anyone noticed 60s black and white films from the US on bulding bridges, roads, factories.....the word "progress" comes up all the time, you never seem to hear it these days.

.............'nom' there's plenty of progress, just look at the constant car park & retail outlet construction going on around every major drome in Aus, Their on top of it there where they know they can make $$$$. Rwy'ss & infrastructure just add huge costs for even more delays. Remember build a wider fwy to 'park' more cars on, Melb Syd are experts at that..... same deal with planes more rwy's means more congestion, no answer we have painted ourselves into a corner from which we will never be able to get out of!

I hope the Toowoomba project is a great success if their smart enuf they can sit back & watch the A/C holding for Brissy & offer a relief option at a Ldg fee that will be cheaper than wasting gas:ok:

Wmk2

All they need to do now is build a high speed rail link to the Brisbane CBD!

Is the late 80's 'this day and age?'
Um.. no. The late 80's was back in the late 80's.
However.. Humour me. Are you suggesting that you know of a major IFR airport built to accommodate 747 size aircraft where nobody thought to consider the weather, the prevailing wind and the terrain clearance for instrument approaches and takeoff splays until after the airport was built?

CASA,OTS,AA,Customs,Immigration and a myriad of others
 

will be creaming their trousers over this. An army of bureaucrats will need to be assembled and this will guarantee them work for many, many years.
The Wagners are about to learn what it is to be made to jump through hoops. As we speak, rainforests are being cleared in the Amazon to provide paper for this exercise. I wish 'em luck.

It's taken a long time but it looks like Avalon has achieved international status or will do shortly, so it's not impossible.

Wagners are a great dynasty, smart and if they r going to build an airport then they will build a great airport!

To those having a go at Oakape, and smugly commenting on the brilliance of this project...

would you believe they are planning to build it inside extant military airspace that extends to the ground and that they apparently have no plan for getting access to that airspace other than demanding it? Or that their airspace plan is to get "CASA, OTS, AA, Customs and Immigration" to work it out??

Because that's how this 'great dynasty' is going about business.

EMERGOV. And why should they not be allowed to build inside the airspace on their own land? The cheek of them to think that the Defence Force might actually think it is a good idea and work with the Wagner's. For goodness sake Oakey operates helicopters not 200 F18's. I feel compelled to say something else to you but I am not going to fall into the trap. Perhaps I should ask you nicely to try and see the positive aspects of this proposal.

I for one am watching this process with interest as I fail to see how it cannot work if all the regulators and defence etc get with the programme.

Groggy

Groggie,

There are three kinds of people in this world.

1. Those that make stuff happen
2. Those that watch things happen
3. And those that wondered what the F:mad: happened

Having done business with Henry and Denis in the past, I can see they not mucking around. They never do. And as you will well know, they know a bit about planes. ;)

Grogmonster; they can and will build whatever they want.

I see you share the majority opinion that Defence doesn't really need the resources they have - presumably because training pilots for the defence of Australia is not as important as a private company making money. If I wanted to build a lemonade stand I wouldn't do it in your front yard and then insist you open the gate for each of my customers.

Wagners will make this project happen, and good on them - but they will leverage off your tax dollars through decreased Defence capability to make it work.

Oakape: You're right. I was being immature. I apologise for any hurt feelings however I just can't get past how stupid and naive your initial and subsequent posts have been.

Emergov: You've come to the right place. I think you and Oakape are going to get along just fine.

Good on 'em! At least someone is doing something about that disaster area at Brisbane airport and surrounds. Let's hope they don't use the same mob for the roads and car parks or Airservices for ATC. Oh sorry forgot, there's a monopoly on the highly efficient, cost effective latter of course.:ok: