The Last Minute Hitch: 11 October 2024
11 October 2024
– Steve Hitchen
If aviation companies thrived on passion alone, then the resurrection of GippsAero would be a foregone conclusion. That was on display for me this week in a chat with "new" owners George Morgan and son David. George, an original founder of GippsAero, bought the company back from Mahindra last year and is slowly waking it up again in order to restore Airvan production. It's going to take some time thanks to the loss of momentum and mass caused by Mahindra's clumsy exit, but these two, along with wives Marguerite and Sarah, know exactly how to go about doing it because they have a deep understanding of how the organisation works. The passion is there; the aviation smarts are there. All it will take now is for customers to get the word that GippsAero is back and life will be breathed back into a great Australian icon. I should be able to tell the whole story soon, but in the meantime, have confidence that new Airvans will soon be rolling off the Latrobe Valley production line.
"..the team he leads will still follow without reservation.."
When I was told that Andrew Andersen had relinquished the role as chair of GAAN, I set about writing down names of who was the ideal person to take on the job. I drew a line under my list after 10 names, confident that one of them would ultimately get the gig. The problem I had was which of the 10 I thought could best emulate Andersen, who was an independent that owed no loyalty to any of the organisations represented on GAAN. That independence, I thought, was invaluable. One of those names on my list was Rob Walker. He was confirmed this week as stepping into the role, cementing further the influence of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA), of which Walker is the CEO. Normally I would be lamenting the loss of a true independent chair, but such is the respect that Walker commands within the aviation community that I expect the team he leads will still follow without reservation. Another mitigating factor is that there are already people on the GAAN who are RAAA members also, and the work produced by the network shows bias more towards commonsense than the political aims of any one organisation. Ultimately, Walker was probably the right choice because he was the best choice, and I have no doubt will make sure the best advice gets dropped on the minister's desk.
Listen carefully, for I shall say this only four more times: there is less than a month until nominations close for the 2024 CASA Wings Awards. If you haven't submitted your nomination by now you need to get your head down and get it done. Most importantly, now would be the optimal moment to start comparing your submission arguments to the category criteria and making sure you've addressed them all. Although I don't have any good oil on what makes a successful nomination, I can say that not addressing the criteria tends to guarantee an unsuccessful one. And this year looks like being one of the most competitive we've has since inception in 2014, which means your submission needs to be pretty solid to stand out from the crowd. So, get going, and make sure you don't miss the 10 November deadline.
And speaking of awards, you've got even less time if you want to grab a share of the $120,000 on offer from the Avalon 2025 Innovation Awards. These are handed out to companies that demonstrate cutting-edge innovation in aviation, aerospace and defence technologies. Three categories each carry a $40,000 award, with companies and individuals selected to pitch their innovations to a panel of judges at Avalon 2025. You've got until 25 October to put in your best submission, with the finalists announced on 18 November.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch
11 October 2024
– Steve Hitchen
If aviation companies thrived on passion alone, then the resurrection of GippsAero would be a foregone conclusion. That was on display for me this week in a chat with "new" owners George Morgan and son David. George, an original founder of GippsAero, bought the company back from Mahindra last year and is slowly waking it up again in order to restore Airvan production. It's going to take some time thanks to the loss of momentum and mass caused by Mahindra's clumsy exit, but these two, along with wives Marguerite and Sarah, know exactly how to go about doing it because they have a deep understanding of how the organisation works. The passion is there; the aviation smarts are there. All it will take now is for customers to get the word that GippsAero is back and life will be breathed back into a great Australian icon. I should be able to tell the whole story soon, but in the meantime, have confidence that new Airvans will soon be rolling off the Latrobe Valley production line.
"..the team he leads will still follow without reservation.."
When I was told that Andrew Andersen had relinquished the role as chair of GAAN, I set about writing down names of who was the ideal person to take on the job. I drew a line under my list after 10 names, confident that one of them would ultimately get the gig. The problem I had was which of the 10 I thought could best emulate Andersen, who was an independent that owed no loyalty to any of the organisations represented on GAAN. That independence, I thought, was invaluable. One of those names on my list was Rob Walker. He was confirmed this week as stepping into the role, cementing further the influence of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA), of which Walker is the CEO. Normally I would be lamenting the loss of a true independent chair, but such is the respect that Walker commands within the aviation community that I expect the team he leads will still follow without reservation. Another mitigating factor is that there are already people on the GAAN who are RAAA members also, and the work produced by the network shows bias more towards commonsense than the political aims of any one organisation. Ultimately, Walker was probably the right choice because he was the best choice, and I have no doubt will make sure the best advice gets dropped on the minister's desk.
Listen carefully, for I shall say this only four more times: there is less than a month until nominations close for the 2024 CASA Wings Awards. If you haven't submitted your nomination by now you need to get your head down and get it done. Most importantly, now would be the optimal moment to start comparing your submission arguments to the category criteria and making sure you've addressed them all. Although I don't have any good oil on what makes a successful nomination, I can say that not addressing the criteria tends to guarantee an unsuccessful one. And this year looks like being one of the most competitive we've has since inception in 2014, which means your submission needs to be pretty solid to stand out from the crowd. So, get going, and make sure you don't miss the 10 November deadline.
And speaking of awards, you've got even less time if you want to grab a share of the $120,000 on offer from the Avalon 2025 Innovation Awards. These are handed out to companies that demonstrate cutting-edge innovation in aviation, aerospace and defence technologies. Three categories each carry a $40,000 award, with companies and individuals selected to pitch their innovations to a panel of judges at Avalon 2025. You've got until 25 October to put in your best submission, with the finalists announced on 18 November.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch