Landing Fees

[jackc]

11 hours ago, Moneybox said:

I think I'm a long way from this problem but if there are a group of like minded people in a particular area, how about constructing a shared airstrip. I spoke to CASA yesterday and the person I spoke to said that CASA did not get involved in approvals for private airstrips. Then I asked to have that in writing, he said "I'll check it it out and get back to you". We'll see...

 

The reason I called CASA is because I put a request into the Mines Department stating that I was disturbing the ground for that purpose. Their response was that they'd like to see proof that I'd discussed the matter with CASA and the local shire. It appears that there will be no problem with CASA but my proposed airstrip is within the town boundary and I've recently had notification that the shire want my mining lease to have it's status changed to recreation. Now I have a problem....

Well, I wanted to build an Airstrip on my property, after doing some clandestine research I discovered I could end up drawing the Crabs 🦀 

So, I have carefully cleared a paddock which is rather wide, and plently long enough for my X-Air STD to get off and return to.

Its simply a paddock in a rural area, cleared and will be raked off with a set of diamond narrows to smooth it.

Job done ✅ The plan is, I fly the X-Air out to my big hangar about 70km away, then I can fly my other aircraft from the made and approved airstrip on a friends property. 
Answer is……just have cleared area big enough to use as an airstrip, when you don’t have an airstrip 🤩

[alf jessup]

On 9/9/2025 at 1:21 PM, BrendAn said:

at sale there are some cameras at the runup bay for r9 and i guess they have them at 27 end as well. so even if you don't call out your reg they can get you with the cameras. i am thinking stick to the grass strips and don't give out rego might be a way around it.  but there are only a few of us that fly private planes here because the weekday airspace restrictions keep most people away.  the council is upsetting everyone for a few dollars a week. why not just charge commercial aircraft and leave us alone to practice without the financial penalty.

the raaf owns the airport anyway.  shire grubs just can't help themselves.

Brendan,

Hence what you have said are some of the reasons I sold my beautiful Tecnam Sierra and no longer fly.

1. RAA don’t give a sh!t about West Sale RAA members.

2. RAAF have made West Sale their second base.

3. Council are happy the RAAF are using it. Hence the runway upgrades to suit the RAAF 

4. Council are greedy having landing fees for RAA members considering we could only take off and land on weekends.

5. I actually don’t miss it, the hangar fees, the RAA rego and membership and the insurance, I’m actually saving 5k a year to be able to only fly on a weekend.

1860 hrs over 18 years I’ve had my fill.

Cheers Alf

[onetrack]

Quote

Answer is……just have cleared area big enough to use as an airstrip, when you don’t have an airstrip

No need to clear very much around Cue, you're struggling to find a tree big enough to park under at the best of times.

 

 

Edited Friday at 11:29 AM by onetrack

[BrendAn]

39 minutes ago, alf jessup said:

Brendan,

Hence what you have said are some of the reasons I sold my beautiful Tecnam Sierra and no longer fly.

1. RAA don’t give a sh!t about West Sale RAA members.

2. RAAF have made West Sale their second base.

3. Council are happy the RAAF are using it. Hence the runway upgrades to suit the RAAF 

4. Council are greedy having landing fees for RAA members considering we could only take off and land on weekends.

5. I actually don’t miss it, the hangar fees, the RAA rego and membership and the insurance, I’m actually saving 5k a year to be able to only fly on a weekend.

1860 hrs over 18 years I’ve had my fill.

Cheers Alf

Well said

[jackc]

46 minutes ago, alf jessup said:

Brendan,

Hence what you have said are some of the reasons I sold my beautiful Tecnam Sierra and no longer fly.

1. RAA don’t give a sh!t about West Sale RAA members.

2. RAAF have made West Sale their second base.

3. Council are happy the RAAF are using it. Hence the runway upgrades to suit the RAAF 

4. Council are greedy having landing fees for RAA members considering we could only take off and land on weekends.

5. I actually don’t miss it, the hangar fees, the RAA rego and membership and the insurance, I’m actually saving 5k a year to be able to only fly on a weekend.

1860 hrs over 18 years I’ve had my fill.

Cheers Alf

Some time ago, a clandestine fly in was held in a reasonable remote area, it was attendance by invitation only.  From feedback I received, many attendees were unhappy with the direction RAAus is taking and as such, some are no longer members, read into that and it’s  obvious what’s going on. 
However, there will soon be choices, to easily go VH with RAAus registered aircraft?

Fly on RPL with all the benefits, maintain your own aircraft, even IF you did not build it, after passing the accredited SAAA Maintenance Course, present that Certificate to CASA and receive their approval to maintain your own aircraft. 
This should all be approved by end of this year, from what I personally know.

CASA want this to happen and have been very obliging,  in the negotiations to achieve this. 
Stay tuned……

[Moneybox]

3 hours ago, onetrack said:

No need to clear very much around Cue, you're struggling to find a tree big enough to park under at the best of times.

 

 

True, that’s the old Big Bell hotel a little west of here. My ground is totally void of shrubbery however I bought the grader and drainage pipes and commenced work but I have issues with the shire at present.

 

It has nothing to do with the airstrip but they have applied to the Mines Department to take my mining lease for recreation. No consultation with me just a letter from the Mines Department asking for my response which I did. Now I’m in the process of loading my guns ready for the first volley of legal action. I have the lawyer lined up and intend to consult with my legal team on Monday. My lease has proven reserves of over 25,000oz of gold.

 

I wouldn’t normally go down this road but I met the shire CEO on two occasions in the week prior to receiving the notification from the Mines Department but never heard a whisper about the proposals taking place.

 

If they want to play dirty I’m all in…. This is a small town and a very small community, there’s no call for this sort of behaviour.

[T510]

8 hours ago, jackc said:

Some time ago, a clandestine fly in was held in a reasonable remote area, it was attendance by invitation only.  From feedback I received, many attendees were unhappy with the direction RAAus is taking and as such, some are no longer members, read into that and it’s  obvious what’s going on. 
However, there will soon be choices, to easily go VH with RAAus registered aircraft?

Fly on RPL with all the benefits, maintain your own aircraft, even IF you did not build it, after passing the accredited SAAA Maintenance Course, present that Certificate to CASA and receive their approval to maintain your own aircraft. 
This should all be approved by end of this year, from what I personally know.

CASA want this to happen and have been very obliging,  in the negotiations to achieve this. 
Stay tuned……

I hope you are right, I keep hearing 4th Quarter 2028

[jackc]

21 minutes ago, T510 said:

I hope you are right, I keep hearing 4th Quarter 2028

Try 3 months……I have seen paperwork 👍

[skippydiesel]

People intersted in flying their aircraft from home, a friends place, should understand;

• For the most part  (ie may change with the Council) what you use your land for is your business.
• Problem start when you upset your neighbours, who complain to Council.
• A nice straight, level farm road, free of potholes, does not need Council approval. Same for a cleared paddock, assuming you are not violating any environmental regulations (tree clearing, etc)
• Farm sheds (aircraft hanger) do not usually require approval.
• CASA need only be involved if you are planing a public access strip and then only compliance with their regulations - not planning approval.
• An application to Council will, if approve, require the owner of the strip to comply with CASA regulations (width, approach/departure. etc)
• In the event of an accident, there may be questions of liability.😈

 

 

[skippydiesel]

The whole "Landing Fee" thing has become an AVDATA monster.

 

Council/Owners now see a way in which their imagined gold mine (sorry Moneybox) can deliver without significant input from them.

 

We (the flying/non flying public) should not forget that, for the most part, the airfields were a public asset (like roads) that the Federal Government in their stupidity, sold or gave away.

 

While I agree that aircraft owners should pay for access/upkeep, some of the fees for our very light aircraft are out of proportion to the wear & tear that we can create.

 

A proportion (?) of the landing fee will be AVDATA's charges = no benefit to us.

 

It seems reasonable to me that commercial (heavy) operators should pay handsomely and recreational pilots should pay very little/nothing .😈

 

 

 

 

 

[facthunter]

It's NOT reasonable to expect to Pay nothing. AVDATA is a secret Deal that does not pass the PUB test that you have NO OPTION but pay up. I doubt it's LEGAL if it was put to the test.. Another reason to give up flying. We need to get the BS removed. CASA wanted AUF/ RAAus to lower their workload and responsibilities and Liabilities.  Doesn't really work with aviation. That's now proven. Nev

[jackc]

12 minutes ago, facthunter said:

It's NOT reasonable to expect to Pay nothing. AVDATA is a secret Deal that does not pass the PUB test that you have NO OPTION but pay up. I doubt it's LEGAL if it was put to the test.. Another reason to give up flying. We need to get the BS removed. CASA wanted AUF/ RAAus to lower their workload and responsibilities and Liabilities.  Doesn't really work with aviation. That's now proven. Nev

Nev, there ARE choices, you don’t have to fly to an airfield that charges landing fees UNLESS you want provided facilities.

Going off the wall 🤩 Your plane will fly just as well if it’s unreg OR you don’t have a licence for it.  Many are unreg and not RAA members,? Who is gonna catch’em?  I personally know a man who CASA were chasing  over 40 years ago, for running an illegal charter operation with a C-47? They tried hard to catch him, but got lost looking for him and even overslept their alarm clocks 🤩  Early bird, catches worm 🐛

As I said, go VH stick to private airfields, attend impromptu invited Fly Ins and be happy.  
RAAus make noises ,but do nothing, except collect rego money, memberships fees,

Sell MARAPs, and I now suspect we will lose a printed magazine. 
 

 

 

 

[BrendAn]

46 minutes ago, jackc said:

Nev, there ARE choices, you don’t have to fly to an airfield that charges landing fees UNLESS you want provided facilities.

Going off the wall 🤩 Your plane will fly just as well if it’s unreg OR you don’t have a licence for it.  Many are unreg and not RAA members,? Who is gonna catch’em?  I personally know a man who CASA were chasing  over 40 years ago, for running an illegal charter operation with a C-47? They tried hard to catch him, but got lost looking for him and even overslept their alarm clocks 🤩  Early bird, catches worm 🐛

As I said, go VH stick to private airfields, attend impromptu invited Fly Ins and be happy.  
RAAus make noises ,but do nothing, except collect rego money, memberships fees,

Sell MARAPs, and I now suspect we will lose a printed magazine. 
 

 

 

 

And now raaus have contracted out maraps to a private firm in Queensland I believe. So you can bet they will get far more complicated and costly.

[facthunter]

Yes but you can't really advocate Breaking the LAW Publicly. A STRIP on a Farm is a Fallowed Paddock. I've ferried  serviced Planes to them and taxied up to the Verandah. RAAs Have Empire Built. Called themselves the "NEW GA" ! THAT went down like the Proverbial Lead BALLOON with the rest of the AVIATION Fraternity and I believe RAAus have dropped the BALL. Nice to hear from and Old friend ALF JESSUP and I entirely share his sentiments. There's too much BS and you don't get enough BANG for your Bucks. EXP VH was always the way to go. . Modifying any Plane is a crock otherwise. Even adding a throttle friction device to something. Nev

[jackc]

10 minutes ago, BrendAn said:

And now raaus have contracted out maraps to a private firm in Queensland I believe. So you can bet they will get far more complicated and costly.

So much for an announcement to the members that this is happening and that is a bit of a problem with RAAus, there does not seem to be much transparency to members.

And that is a bit of a problem I have.

[BrendAn]

13 minutes ago, jackc said:

So much for an announcement to the members that this is happening and that is a bit of a problem with RAAus, there does not seem to be much transparency to members.

And that is a bit of a problem I have.

A bloke told me this yesterday. He rang them this week about  getting a marap for an engine change and got told raa are no longer doing them as they have now contracted the work out. I bet it becomes too painful to bother with.

[jackc]

1 hour ago, BrendAn said:

A bloke told me this yesterday. He rang them this week about  getting a marap for an engine change and got told raa are no longer doing them as they have now contracted the work out. I bet it becomes too painful to bother with.

Darren Barnfield?  started the concept with good intentions, which was a good idea.

But RAAus poured fertiliser on it and made it grow into way more than what it started.

So, I would allege they  probably sold it off and the members will never know the details 

of what went on.

I was talking to someone last week, no names, no pack drill. He enquired about getting an MARAP and was shocked at the cost? He needs 2 of them by the looks.

He had 2 words for RAAus, first one stats with G and second one starts with F.

His comments? He will do his own mods AND repeats the 2 words 🤢 And fly away happy,  at no extra cost 🤩

 

[Moneybox]

1 hour ago, jackc said:

Darren Barnfield?  started the concept with good intentions, which was a good idea.

But RAAus poured fertiliser on it and made it grow into way more than what it started.

So, I would allege they  probably sold it off and the members will never know the details 

of what went on.

I was talking to someone last week, no names, no pack drill. He enquired about getting an MARAP and was shocked at the cost? He needs 2 of them by the looks.

He had 2 words for RAAus, first one stats with G and second one starts with F.

His comments? He will do his own mods AND repeats the 2 words 🤢 And fly away happy,  at no extra cost 🤩

 

That'll be the end result however there might be problems in the case of an insurance claim. I got mine through before the change but as far as I can workout it's not a lifetime thing.

Edited Saturday at 06:20 AM by Moneybox

[jackc]

2 minutes ago, Moneybox said:

That'll be the end result however there might be problems in the case of an insurance claim.

IF it’s a mandated requirement by RAAus for compliance, yet the work is outsourced/contracted out? RAAus insurance may be null and void on a claim as a result of engineering requirements set by a 3rd party? 
You want really screw things up? Outsource it, and go buy a bag of Popcorn and WAIT 🤩

[facthunter]

The cat is now well and truly amongst the Pidgeons, Nev

[440032]

7500.

Anyone see the topic of this thread?

Edited Saturday at 10:11 PM by 440032

[onetrack]

More importantly, there's no "D" in the word "pigeons". 😄 

[facthunter]

You still NO what I Mean. Nev

[jackc]

2 hours ago, 440032 said:

7500.

Anyone see the topic of this thread?

Start thinking ahead you won’t even have any landing rights even if you’re prepared to pay for them soon because you’ll have to put in a flight plan for everything and submit your total aircraft details to the place where you are landing. Make sure all of the approvals are in place for your aircraft or you will be denied landing rights. That’s where aviation is going to end up. You will wish you never owned an aeroplane the way it’s going.

[PureCaboose]

This is exactly why I am on homebased on a private field, and also working towards acquiring a suitable property to have a long, flat, well drained paddock to support our Fly and Stay accomodation hanger. Eventually, we will need to become a private network of ALA's instead of airfields so we can go cross country.

 

Edited yesterday at 12:37 AM by PureCaboose