Quoting Allan Armistead <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Yes it all happened prior to me joining, must have been early '80s (I joined > in 1986). We used to operate from the Snowy Mountains Authority airfield at > Polo Flat (and a number of others prior to that over the years) and SMA > decided they didn't want us anymore. (Ironically they sold that airfield > some years ago and it was bought by one of our former members.)
Probably after SMA flew their Pilatus Porter into the NDB Tower?? > Owning your own bit of ground does come with it's own set of issues, like > controlling rabbits and noxious weeds, but there is a real security about > it. Even operating from an established airfield is no proof against > problems, as other can attest. > > Our biggest medium-long term concern on the land front is that slowly but > surely the rural dwellings are creeping out from Cooma. Although we have - > and cultivate - good relations with our neighbours it may only be a matter > of time before someone buys a block and "suddenly discovers" that an > airfield is nearby and it makes a noise on weekends. Bit like some of the > Pitt Street Farmers who buy their little bit or rural paradise only to find > that the dairy farmer down the road takes his cows across the road for > milking and the cow pats make a mess on their four wheel drive! Shock > horror! Unfortunately the "we were here first" defence doesn't necessarily > carry a lot of weight. > > However, hopefully if it comes to that our land will be a valuable > subdivision proposition and we can sell up for a handsome reward and buy > something a bit more isolated from those sorts of pressures. But that's a > way down the track yet. When Point Cook still had No. 1 Flying Training School operating there in 1984 and local land developers advertised a huge land sale auction, the Base Commander instructed the CO to have the School conduct trng all weekend so that buyers were aware of us. Point Cook lost out in the long run for other reasons but at least there are still civil flying operations taking place there. I also flew at a club in NZ last year and they made a fortune selling their AFLD to "KIWI" fruit growers, bought up most of the town's shops that quickly became a city with a huge tourist industry and have the best gliding set-up I've seen on a RPT AFLD with LOW member fees and a few miles across the bay from this thriving city. (I was in the town's main mall shopping with the missus when I said "Look at that darl, a glider launching. How about I leave you with the VISA while I take a looksee". The point is, they had their dirt and later committee was therefore empowered enough to roll with the times to the benefit of later club members. *************************************************************** > > If you possibly can, buy your own bit of dirt. > Best regards, Daryl _____________________________________________ This email (including all attachments) is confidential. It may contain personal information and is intended solely for the named addressee. Confidentiality is not waived or lost because this email has been sent to you by mistake. If you have received it in error, please let me know by reply email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies. This email is also subject to copyright. No part of it should be reproduced, adapted, or published without my written consent, as the copyright owner, or communicated or forwarded to anyone other than me. Any personal information in this email must be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). http://scaleplus.law.gov.au/html/pasteact/0/157/0/PA002090.htm _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
