Oops; @ P2.
Cheers P2 – it is indeed 50 aircraft, total; even so, it’s not too shabby an effort despite the headaches. I wrote it badly, what I was trying to emphasise was the fact that there was a percentage of those sold overseas, the video mentions 10 to the USA – home of aircraft manufacture. When you start to look about, Airvan and Jabiru do the same in a modest way; now that is export dollars, jobs and ancillary business for suppliers of materials and equipment. All good solid, stuff; not in the class of iron ore I know, but none the less productive and progressive.
These enterprises need support and pro active assistance; the Cowra council (bless ‘em) are trying to help Brumby whenever and wherever they can and if they can persuade some additional tenants onto the field – well, it may not be earth shattering, but at least there will be one place left where the roots of ‘aviation’ can thrive.
As you know, we have been keeping up with the Jabiru saga. The shame for CASA in their botched management of the engine troubles and their treatment of a company trying to develop into an export earner is a ministerial and national disgrace. I dare say there will be more to follow on that sorry tale. Meanwhile, just think of how much better it would be, all around, if the ATSB and CASA had weighed in to help solve the problems, rather than pick up the big ‘R’ stick and try to beat the company into oblivion. The minister should, but won’t, take a long hard look at this story. Any government wants productivity, innovation, employment and export; they need the revenue. Yet successive governments have sat on their hands and allowed a potential revenue earner to be restrained, restricted and over regulated to the point where looking forward one year is well nigh impossible, let alone developing a five or ten year plan in which investors may, with some confidence, may take an interest. It’s bollocks and not Australian.
The tragedy is, for mine, that the solutions have always been offered by the industry itself only to be dismissed by an incompetent, hidebound, counterproductive administrator, masquerading as some kind of ‘authority’ on all things aeronautical. Lets face it, if anyone in CASA could design, finance, build and market and aircraft; fix it or operate a fleet of the same, they would not be skulking in the expensive, air conditioned comforts of Sleepy Hollow; they’d be out here, doing it.
There is only one impediment to the aviation industries progress; remove that and things will get better, in short order.
Aye well, this poor old keyboard has just taken another beating, bit like the industry; you have to wonder how much longer either can stand the hammering. I can, for a modest sum and a little inconvenience easily replace this key board. Re-establishing the roots of an industry is not so simple.
Toot- toot.
