16 March 2010

Brindabella Airlines Flight Training Closing Down

| simonsays
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Unfortunately, the only Flight Training school in Canberra is closing down. I can only imagine the huge costs that Terry Snow imposes on people using the airport is a major factor to this. With the Government refusing to put pilot training under HECS, more and more flight schools will close down, eventually leading to a massive shortage and having to bring in pilots from overseas. And we have seen what happens then. Below is an email that all the students received, at least they were pleasant about it.

To Brindabella Flight Training customers,
It is with great regret that we are informing you of our decision to close Brindabella Flight Training. We understand this will come as a surprise and disappointment to many of you and we want to assure you that this decision has not been taken lightly. Brindabella has a real commitment to the aviation industry and encouraging and training pilots, however the operational and commercial realities at Canberra Airport are making the flying school less and less commercially viable.

This has been a very difficult decision for us and we appreciate it may affect your flight training progress. We also appreciate that you may have built relationships with instructors at the school as well as other flying students.
In recognition that some people already have bookings in the system and may want to complete aspects of their training, and recognising that staff will need some time to make other arrangements, we plan for the school to remain fully operational until Friday 30 April. So please speak to your instructor and make any bookings you wish to make up to that date. After April, the school will effectively be closed (except for the current full time CPL students and one other particular customer).
We know our staff have worked hard over the past 10 years to make the school a success and we have offered to assist instructors to find new jobs.
We propose to sell off the flying school aircraft over time and we will continue to offer them for private hire while they are here. We are very sorry if this decision inconveniences you, and we hope you understand that sometimes difficult commercial decisions need to be made.
Our CFI, Malcolm Poulton, will continue to work with us and is available to speak to you. Log books can be collected from the office during business hours.
Finally, we hope that you will respect that this email is for the information of our customers and not for general circulation.
Yours sincerely

Managing Director

Brindabella Airlines Pty Ltd

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Flight Schools9:07 pm 04 May 10

Flight training schools provide intellectual environment to the students along with the experienced instructors. These schools also offer free flight training programs which are helpful for those candidates who have some financial problems and want to make their career in aviation industry.

http://www.commercialpilottraining.net/

Jazz said :

I’ll have a go at answering that;

because its interesting that the only flight school in the region is closing down

what exactly about the request makes you think RA was a party to the request in the first place and therefore needs to be bound by any confidentiality?

i thought no such thing – just wanted to know why RA was happy to breach moral trust by reprinting this email when the issue was anyway in the public domain… and then censors comments on threads that seem to me to have equal if not more value to a topic… just saying.

Not everything we let through is interesting to all people. That we’re up to 35 comments suggests that the duty ed made the right call on this one.
How exactly is RA breaching a moral trust when the issue is already in the pubic domain and wasnt a party to the request for trust in the first place. Perhaps you mean the OP who submitted the story?… just saying 🙂

As for other threads feel free to email me through the contact button if you have a specific concern. Everything is assessed on a case by case basis

especially when it was sent out to students after the media release and after it was on the front page of the Times

Jazz said :

I’ll have a go at answering that;

because its interesting that the only flight school in the region is closing down/quote]

I guess that depends on what you mean by ‘region’. There are flying schools at Goulburn and Adaminaby that Im aware of at least. Id rather the 1hr drive down boboyan road than the 1hr drive through the traffic and roadworks around the Canberra airport anyway.

Also, the Williamsdale aerodrome has been proposed for a number of years now and has already undergone planning and several approval processes. Sonic with his call-in powers and such should be able to fast-track a runway and a few hangars if there was a vote or two in it.

On that note, the disclaimer most government departments put down the bottom of the email is also practically unenforceable, you know the bit, usually says if you received this in error to delete it immediately and notify them etc…. Again completely uneforceable if received by a third party that has no prior relationship to the person/party making the demand as far as I understand.

And in a practical sense, if you send an email out to more than a handful of people, you’ve essentially sent it out to the whole world.

Clown Killer12:36 pm 18 Mar 10

I’m with Jazz. You can stick any crap you like in an email or letter – like all the BS at the bottom of emails and faxes claiming telling you what you must and must not do if you have recieved the message in error – it’s meaningless and has no binding effect whatsoever.

Hmm. I accidentally a whole word.
Correction: …and not to be trusted with secrets.

@Astrojax:
As far as I know, the request for customer\commercial confidentiality in an email only puts a vague moral trust burden on the recipient, but no real legally binding one (as its not subject to any specific non-disclosure requirements or penalties agreed to by either party).
At least I haven’t found any kind of actual precedent in case law cited anywhere, but my search has been narrow and shallow.
If there’s to be a binding request for commercial confidentiality, it should be covered by extra layers of explicit and consented-to agreements covering confidentiality.

So as watered down as the request already is, its even less likely to bind any external third party, totally alien to the originating party.
But I’m not a lawyer, anyone with real qualifications can correct me.

By Simonsays violating any basic trust of his commercial relationship with BAFT by sending emails of a commercial nature, it places no real burden on RA or its readership (RA currently runs almost any gossip, readers come here for gossip, information once seen cannot be unseen, etc), but does announce from the treetops that he’s a knob and to be trusted with secrets.

troll-sniffer said :

…..His business is in property, Canberra Airport happens to coincide with an interest in aviation as well but not in an aviation business sense.

I suspect that if it was possible there would be a new row of office buildings replacing the runway in record time…

troll-sniffer11:41 am 18 Mar 10

Re the Williamsdale suggestion: A colourful local identity has been flying out of the Williamsdale area for years and has recently purchased a block south of Michelago and installed some containers and bulldozed a 5000′ runway, basically just for powered glider ops and some ultralight flights. I heard second-hand that an application to the council to establish an aviation business there has been knocked back.

Although Williamsdale has always been recommended as an alternative GA site for Canberra I think it might now have missed the boat as the legions of wannabe farmers on 5 acre ranches out there would do everything possible to stymie any aviation-related development.

Thinking about the local area and what other areas are available I keep coming back to south of Bungendore, the Tarago area, out towards Gundaroo and Gunning, or around Yass as potential areas for a GA facility. The perfect place geographically would be around Lake George but rotors off the escarpment mean that anywhere from the northern end of the lake right down to past Bungendore the area is not suitable for GA, as some have found to their cost.

Personally I think the ideal spot would be off the Captains Flat road around the Carwoola area on the open flat paddocks. I don’t know what the chances of purchasing or leasing land there would be, not good I imagine but you never know.

I must say, from what I saw of the Instructors there they seemed more interested in getting their own flying hours up than actually training/teaching.

But it is never good to have something like this go.

To those who want their training subsidised, http://www.airforce.gov.au/

given the e-mail’s clear instruction, as pointed out above, would the RA eds care to give us some rationale why this posting gets up to the board?

I’ll have a go at answering that;

because its interesting that the only flight school in the region is closing down

what exactly about the request makes you think RA was a party to the request in the first place and therefore needs to be bound by any confidentiality?

troll-sniffer12:01 am 18 Mar 10

Wraith said :

I’ll bet there will be a replacement school in the not very distant future, run by Snow Inc.

I’ll take your bet. Mr Snow has no more interest in establishing or running anything on the aviation side than muscling in on the lucrative Fyshwick trade involving late night ladies. I can’t imagine where you got the idea from. His business is in property, Canberra Airport happens to coincide with an interest in aviation as well but not in an aviation business sense.

Bundah_Bloke11:29 pm 17 Mar 10

That is very sad news indeed, a real tragedy for Canberra even. While most Canberrians no doubt will have little sympathy, seeing GA flying as a rich persons hobby, this will have economic consequences for Canberra. I got my PPL at CB airport over 20 years ago at the veritable VH-aviation club, at the time there were 7 flying clubs operating!! I recall most fellow students weren’t rich brats but worked 2 or 3 jobs, or made other financial sacrifices to fund their training.

Yes just more of the “benefits” we’re all reaping from the government selling off OUR airports. While I understand Snow has to make a profit this sort of predatory capitalism will always kill off the less profitable, but not necessarily less beneficial to the public, enterprises (noticed how much parking costs at the airport now).

This is indicative of the pilot training industry as a whole. The typical airline pilot used to come either from the RAAF, where they had years of high quality training or from one of the regional airlines. The civilian career path usually saw a budding pilot who just got his CPL work for years as an instructor to build up his hours, while earning his IFR rating at the same time. Often this was followed by charter work or even as a bush pilot till they had enough hours to apply for a regional airline position. This sort of wide ranging experience gave them a lot of insight and awareness into the industry, and general well roundness in character, all of which made them better airline pilots.

Compare that with today’s situation with the so called Intensive flying schools, particularly popular with many of the Asian airlines, where some 17yo with good school marks (and also possibly good connections) walks in and in barely a year walks out with his ATPL, IFR and Twin endorsement ratings and straight into an airline cadetship position. Some even start in the Righthand seat right of a heavy at the minimum 21yo age. Needless to say it’s impossible to fully assimilate all the experience and knowledge required to safely operate an airline in this short a time. The increasing number of pilot errors and mishaps, particularly in Asian carriers, seen over the last 10 years bares this out I believe.
Think about that the next time you buy a ticket to Bali on one of the cheapies.

sonic was on the news last night talking about it (williamsdale) but even if this government could move faster than a 3 toed sloth i couldn’t see it happening before 2015.

Site identified
Legless lizard identified
Site moved
some moth identified
site moved
locals complain
hold an enquiry (18 months)
approve plan
have an election
back 4 steps

all that is required is a few hangars, a paved strip, a grass strip perpendicular to the paved one. and williamsdale is well located compared to the canberra CTR

jase! said :

Wraith said :

I’ll bet there will be a replacement school in the not very distant future, run by Snow Inc.

if they do then I won’t support it. I have around 70 hours left to run before finishing my CPL + other endorsements I want to do. I will travel to camden or moruya before supporting a snow enterprise in any way, shape or form

I don’t blame you, in fact support the notion, I would travel too, anyway where Snow wasn’t involved.

Was’nt a site down Williamsdale way identified as a location for a ‘training’ aerodrome, to cater for the flying training/parachuting brigade. Seem to remember Sonic was all over it.

There is also the airstrip at Tralee Station, over the line from Hume. Probably a bit close to the Canberra Airport.

Wraith said :

I’ll bet there will be a replacement school in the not very distant future, run by Snow Inc.

if they do then I won’t support it. I have around 70 hours left to run before finishing my CPL + other endorsements I want to do. I will travel to camden or moruya before supporting a snow enterprise in any way, shape or form

I’ll bet there will be a replacement school in the not very distant future, run by Snow Inc.

It’s a business, and this happens from time to time in business. Based on the email published (which was asked to be kept confidential), it seems to be being handled as professionally as one could reasonably expect.

So Simonsays “I can only imagine the huge costs that Terry Snow imposes on people using the airport is a major factor to this” indicating that he does not actually know the realities that led to the situation.
And he publishes the letter to a public space, despite an explicit request not to.

Someone’s got a grudge and is acting poorly perhaps?
Why involve RA in your petty grudge-fighting?

Nothing has changed in aviation.
I was a M/E-IFR instructor (Canberra airport during the 90’s)and earned less than an APS level 1.
Now the majority of airlines also want you to pay for your own a/c endorsement (average $30,000)
Add up all the costs and then work out your low pay packet and it’s not worth it.

My advice: “DON’T FLY FOR A LIVING”

Regarding your point about impending pilot shortages, I beg to differ Simonsays. The majority of Australia’s Bachelor of Aviation degrees are either designated fee-help courses (like HECs, but for fee-based undergraduate courses) or are in the process of becoming fee-help courses. Griffith University’s Bachelor of Aviation has tripled in size over the past few years and other universities are likely to follow suit as they change to the fee-help model (which actually makes flying training achievable for those people who don’t have wealthy parents or another source of income). The current crop of BAv graduates are worried about there being enough work in Austyralia to enable them to get the hours they need to go to the airlines, as competition for flying jobs is becoming increasingly fierce. I am very sad to see the local flying school close though – as it means that want-to-be pilots will have to go further afield to gain their qualifications.

bd84 said :

I think you will find this is the case at all major Australian airports… … I believe that the rising costs are also due to government “red tape”..

Except that Canberra Airport is still a long way from “major”, and while the aviation industry is heavily regulated, all that “development” going on out there is ’cause of the lack of red tape.

DeadlySchnauzer said :

“And we have seen what happens then.” uh excuse me? Care to clarify that remark?

Yeah, I though this was a bit rude.

Clown Killer9:37 am 17 Mar 10

That’s a shame. I learned to fly with these guys some years ago. I used to love mixing it up with the bigger aircraft. The reality is that a business has to turn a profit – it’s all to easy to blame someone but in the end if the numbers don’t stack up then you have to walk away. Canberra Airport is in the same boat, they have an obligation to their shareholders to maximize returns. It doesn’t do any good to confuse business with maelevolence.

A

DeadlySchnauzer said :

“And we have seen what happens then.” uh excuse me? Care to clarify that remark?

Clearly a reference to 9/11…………

DeadlySchnauzer8:34 am 17 Mar 10

“And we have seen what happens then.” uh excuse me? Care to clarify that remark?

Canberra is hardly a major airport. Commercial realities aside flying schools and airline operations can work together, but of course with Canberra airport now there for commercial reasons and not community interest of course these things will happen. Bit sad there are now now flying schools in the ACT.

I wonder if the staff know?

Got a mate who’s an instructor there, so I’ll get the goss tomorrow.

I am one of the students who is going to be stuffed around by this. Not subsiding pilot training on HECS isn’t really the problem here, being able to get a pilots licence on student loans in NZ has completely buggered the industry over there with a massive glut of pilots and a lot of them end up over here anyway. From my understanding it wasn’t there was a shortage of students so much as the cost overhead of running out of Canberra that put the nail in the coffin, Thanks a bunch to the Snow family

grunge_hippy11:09 pm 16 Mar 10

Finally, we hope that you will respect that this email is for the information of our customers and not for general circulation.

so the last sentence in that email obviously means nothing to you. bit rude.

Finally, we hope that you will respect that this email is for the information of our customers and not for general circulation.

I am going to trust simonsays with all my private information.

I think you will find this is the case at all major Australian airports, rather than the “fault” of Canberra Airport. It is understandable as major airports become busier with commercial flights, that having air schools in the same space isn’t the greatest thing, nor would it be valuable for the airport. I believe that the rising costs are also due to government “red tape”..

It also find it interesting that you didn’t respect the wishes of Brindabella Airlines that were noted in the last sentence and posted a copy of the letter on here.

Guess Snow decided he needed the 300 m/2 the flight school took up. On top of the old drag strip.

Aint Capitalism wonderful?

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