General News
1 September, 2023
Warrack Aero Club soaring to new heights
Warracknabeal Aero Club members held their annual general meeting last Sunday at the Warracknabeal Aerodrome, and the highlight of the day was a number of club and flying awards. The meeting, which included a barbecue lunch,was attended by a good...
Warracknabeal Aero Club members held their annual general meeting last Sunday at the Warracknabeal Aerodrome, and the highlight of the day was a number of club and flying awards.
The meeting, which included a barbecue lunch,/roxen-files/print/images/magic-tab.png "[tab]")
was attended by a good number of members, and club president David Ward noted how the club membership had grown significantly this year.
With the commencement of Warracknabeal Aerodrome-based “RA Aus” training, with Certified Flight Instructor Nicholas Christie from the Light Aircraft Academy who was assisted by long-standing life member and assistant flying instructor Graham Drage, the club had gone from strength to strength.
This began earlier in the year after a highly successful Trial Introductory Flight day, which ended up being held over four days due to the outstanding response from those interested in reaching for the skies.
Since then a number of students have undertaken pilot training, with more planning to join-in later.
Two of the students have purchased their own aircraft as well.
Mr Ward noted that the instigation of training in Warracknabeal has given the club a new lease of life, and this augured well for the future of the club, bringing fresh blood and a younger demographic to the club’s membership.
The Clubperson of the Year award was presented to Ross Brown from Hopetoun for his efforts in bringing the new instructor to Warracknabeal, while the Wings Award for pilot of the year was presented to Anna Larsen-Habel from Sheep Hills.
The following awards were also presented by flying instructor Nicholas Christie, who congratulated the following students for achieving these results in a relatively short time through their enthusiasm and commitment to their flying training:
Ross Brown - RPC Conversion (from Weight Shift)
Lou White - First Solo
Zeb Chivell - First Solo
Simon Cook - First Solo
Anna Larsen-Habel - X-Country endorsement and RPC
“The last three months at Warracknabeal have been very productive and the students have worked hard to achieve some excellent results in a short time,” Mr Christie said.
He went on to say thank you to Shayne, David and the club committee for their support.
“I’d also like to extend my gratitude to Graham Drage who has helped immensely with fueling, flying with some of the students, and his local experience and knowledge,” he said.
“I encourage flying members to contact myself or Graham anytime to remain current, or call if they have any questions about flying.
“We are always here to help”.
The club is now in the midst of planning its forthcoming annual fly-away on the AFL grand final weekend.
At this stage, 25 members and guests and eight or nine aircrafts are planned a trip to Cameron’s Corner to view the grand final on the big screen, and play Tri-State Golf for two days, and then a night at Arkaroola, via William Creek and Lake Eyre, with many other highlights along the way.