18 April 2007

Seaplanes to service Sydney-Canberra?

| johnboy
Join the conversation
38

In a move which will see Terry Snow phoning his buddies in the NCA quick smart the SMH reports that Sydney Seaplanes is looking at setting up a service operating between Sydney’s Rose Bay and the pontoons in front of the National Gallery here in Canberra.

“Mr Shaw wants to start flying a 12-seat Cessna Caravan to Canberra within the year – charging a fare comparable with Qantas’s $250 one-way monopoly service – and to market it as one of “the world’s great flights”.

“You would be flying past the Harbour Bridge and landing in front of Parliament at the other end, and it’s beautiful terrain in between,” Mr Shaw said.

It has a huge regulatory burden to get on top of but it would beat the hell out of trekking all the way from the airports back into town.

UPDATED: JD115 has put together a simulation of what the flight could be like:

Join the conversation

38
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

I’m the owner of Sydney Seaplanes. Clown Killer – the upholstery in the aircraft is an extremely classy beige leather. Not red, maybe we’ll order that for the next one.
Still working on the LBG service but so far the NCA’s efforts in increasing commercial activities on the Lake has resulted in a hot dog stand and a kayak.
Designating the Lake as an airport is the issue. We can and have flown from Rose Bay to Canberra airport (55 minutes), but to land on LBG (about 15 seconds flying from finals at Canberra) is a no go at the moment…

Hasdrubahl said :

We’ll be ballooning there next.

I tried to get a Zeppelin on the cheap a while ago, but they only had burnt ones.

I’d rather see something like a Catalina or Sunderland operating off the lake.

Clown Killer9:01 am 17 Jun 08

Awsome! Why do Cessna’s always have red upholstery?

Thanks very much for that. Any dramas I know where to go

hi vg

Tassim mesh (free) from virtualvfr.com plus VOZ 1.3 (free) should get you everything you need for Canberra. email me at (reversed) ua.moc.arrebnacym@atiat if you need CD versions, help etc.

JD

I have FS2004. What do I have to do to upgrade it to get the level of stuff you have? I have downloaded VOZ 1.1 as well

Cheers

Bonfire, that’d be like an AN-124 or Galaxy landing at Canberra Airport! Oh, wait…

very cool.

i wonder if the spruce goose could land there ?

Short arms too apparently that couldn’t be seen reaching the yolk…

very short pilot, used to call them dwa**es but now vertically challenged… non discriminatory airline this one

Thought the same thing myself – remote control plane.

On second thoughts, the security at either end may actually be a bit of an issue – if we all got used to having planes buzzing around the centre of the town, the opportunities for doing a mini 9-11 on the Hill would be a bit of a concern. But would love to do the flight myself (and see lake George full again).

Mrs Hasdrubahl is seriously worried that there’s no pilot in this plane!

Interesting to note the fountain makes an excellent wind sock.

That was a great flight, JD115. Loved the sound FX!
Thought we were going to crash into the C’wealth Bridge however.
Next time, can we take off under the old Coathanger?

As promised boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, here’s a wee video of what it might be like to fly on a floatplane from Sinney to Canbra…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXSypEfdiaM

Quickly done so no complaints about the quality thankyou…

So much for the other uses of the lake …

Will they have stops for Lakes Tuggeranong and Ginninderra, too? Plenty of government departments near those!

I have to say I’m glad I don’t work for that company. That would be bloody annoying having to sit in a car for 3 exceedingly boring hours instead of sipping a beer in the Qantas club and getting on a half hour flight. lol

JD114: one of us didn’t miss your post – looking forward to your simulation of the seaplane flight from Sydney to LBG real soon without the pointless security at each end – thanks.

VYBerlinaV8 now_with_added grunt9:06 am 18 Apr 07

My company uses hire cars and staff drive the Canberra to Sydney trip. Door to door it’s almost the same time, costs heaps less, and you go when you want, not when the plane flies.

If we can get to it. _still_ grumbling

We’ll be ballooning there next.

Yeah but if you’ve only got one or two planes and its a unique service like landing on the lake then I think the economics of it don’t compare to the Virgin effort out of the airport.

I think its a great idea and cant see any real reason why it wouldn’t work. I’m waiting for the civilian version of the V22 opsprey

Al: Virgin stopped flying Canberra-Sydney for the same reason everyone else did – no-one can make a buck on that route if they don’t get a slice of the government business that accounts for the majority of the passengers.

uh… good point. Dunno what I was thinking. :/

I can feel a Youtube video comin’ on

Like I could care if Qantas missed out on business.
Only with them Club wise because stupid Virgin doesn’t do Sydney-Canberra flights. They are returning to the route soon but sorry Virgin – too late – have Q club in the AWA now so you lost me not just for Can-Syd but for every flight. Whole department is in the same boat – thousands of frequent flyers.
Dumb dumb dumb Virgin.
Doesn’t stop me hating flying on Qantas though…
All of that said, I think the seaplane flights are a Qantas subsidiary…

blingbling’s right, security schmecurity.
At least the view might be nice.
I don’t think Qantas will really lose out either – most of the Canberra-Sydney flights are by business people racking up their frequent flyer points, or conveniently located to the airport, or who enjoy using the Qantas Club lounge while they wait for their flight.
But the seaplane alternative might be nice for people who don’t care about those things, and would instead prefer the novelty factor of landing on the lake and walking straight into The Lobby for a latte.

blingblingbears3:20 pm 17 Apr 07

fnaah – people drive to and from Sydney every day without having to go through “airport security” – how is this any different? You’re just travelling from one city to another. If it was an international flight I would understand your concern!

I love it! Cop that Snowtown…
Quite a few seaplanes fly in and out of Sydney every day. Saw three in just an hour at the beach there a couple of weeks back.

Rose Bay used to be the point for sea plane landings in the long, long ago (prior to John Laws). Joy/sight seeing flights, and the odd service to a guchi restaurant on the North Coast is all that remains, I have been led to believe

The seaplane service in Sydney has been operating from Rose Bay for decades, has it not?

ten bucks on the biggest problem will be getting the planes to land at Rose Bay. Dealing with the NCA will be a walk in the park compared those tweed wearing, rosemary and thyme watching homeless beating twits.

sounds great, hope it gets up

You mean bypass useless efforts to make us feel safe at vast expense while actually making us no safer at all?

I’ll have a slice of that thanks.

What an excellent way for people to bypass airport security. No, thanks.

mudge-python2:10 pm 17 Apr 07

Never going to happen the sound of the planes might damage the precious Albert hall!!

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.