A flight training school for the North West is being established by Adrian Norman and the staff at Townsville-based Cleveland Bay Aviation in cooperation with Richmond’s Peter Harrington.
Mr Harrington said his Olga Downs property near Richmond will act as the headquarters for the remote flight school which will train up the next generation of young pilots in the region while removing the need for them to go to the city to complete the course.
“Half a dozen young bush kids from around the North West have signed up and are eager to commence their studies so they can take to the sky,” he said.
“The plan is for them to do their theory training via satellite with the instructors at Cleveland Bay Aviation with one or more of the staff coming out to Richmond every four to six weeks to provide the practical training necessary for the students to complete their courses.”
Mr Norman said he will be carrying out the practical lessons using the Aeroprakt A22 LS Foxbat ultralight aircraft that Mr Harrington recently purchased for use at his property Olga Downs.
“The Foxbat is perfect for agricultural use in the North West, it’s a robust aircraft that is well suited for training, mustering and general purpose use,” he said.
“It’s great for novice pilots due to its easy to learn flight handling characteristics, and the Rotax 912 100hp Series engine has an excellent reputation for reliability.
“It also has the widest cabin in its class making it very comfortable for station work and short commutes while also providing fantastic view which makes it ideal for pin-pointing cattle movement during mustering operations and for checking water levels.”
The Foxbat has a payload of 280 kilos, fuel capacity of 112 litres and comfortably cruises in excess of 90 knots on less than 20 litres of fuel per hour.
With a stall speed in the low 30s and an approach around 55 knots, it’s well suited for the short takeoff and landing requirements of aircraft used in rural regions.
In addition to pilot training courses Townsville-based Cleveland Bay Aviation’s services include charter and scenic flights, air taxi services, flight reviews, endorsements and ratings, RAA training, RAA to RPL conversion and RAA flight reviews.