Kestrel Aviation - Newsletter

Carmen Chan from Helicopters
Hong Kong

NEW STUDENTS

Kestrel Aviation is operating at maximum capacity at present with the recent arrival of six students from Oman and two students from Qatar.

The Oman students are all recipients of scholarships from the Royal Oman Police and will be completing their CPL licences, instrument ratings and advanced training before returning to Oman late next year to work.

The Qatar students, also scholarship recipients will complete similar training to that of the Omani's. Upon completion of their course the two students will return to Qatar to work for Gulf Helicopters.

Also training at Kestrel is Carman Chan and Carl Dembeck from Helicopter's Hong Kong, who are completing Command Instrument Ratings.

ACCOMMODATION DEVELOPMENTS

With the arrival of so many new students Kestrel has been under increased pressure to expand and modernise accommodation facilities.

For the past month the large unit (known as the 'Imperial') has undergone an amazing transformation, with a new roof, and cladding on the outside. Inside all the walls have been removed making way for a new floor plan with larger bedrooms and living area, air conditioning/heating systems in all rooms and a modern kitchen and bathrooms.

Five smaller individual units will also be added, each having their own double bedroom and kitchenette/living area. These units have already been booked by a group of students arriving late August, and will be a great facility for married couples or singles looking for their own private accommodation.

The Imperial before new cladding
went on

The interior which has been completely rebuilt

KULNINE FLYAWAY UPDATE

Our next Kulnine Flyaway will depart from Mangalore on 21st of September. For those who have not attended a flyaway before it is a chance to update their existing flying skills and develop new skills amongst the backdrop of Kulnine Station with its 30km of Murray River frontage.

Places are limited so please phone or email to register your interest.

WELCOME ANNETTE & PAUL

Annette Johnson is the latest addition to the Kestrel team taking on the role of receptionist. This is not Annette's first time at Kestrel she actually did work experience here four years ago, as it is her ambition to become a helicopter pilot. Annette has a passion for the aviation industry, last year undertaking studies in aerospace engineering at RMIT in Melbourne. Annette's keen interest in the industry, and friendly personality are on show as she greets you at the front desk or over the phone.

Joining the flight crew team is Paul Fulton who has recently completed his instructor rating with Kestrel Aviation. Paul completed his commercial helicopter licence with Kestrel Aviation in December 2000 and since then has accumulated over 900 hours in various roles in numerous locations. He has previously worked for Kestrel Aviation in Cairns, Cape York Helicopters in Cairns, Northern Territory and Coober Pedy, Suncoast Helicopters on the Sunshine Coast and with Premair Helicopter Services at the 12 Apostles doing general charter and joy flights.

KULNINE UPDATE

Kulnine is now looking green for the first time in a year and a half. During that dry and dusty period Kulnine experienced over thirty dust storms. The 1500 acres of wheat and oats grew only enough to get the seed back, and feed the 450 emus that would raid the property daily.

Its been a tough start to station life for owners Ray and Eleanor Cronin and their station managers Peter and Jenny O'Brien, however with a little more rain things will be looking better this summer.

Already the wheat crop is off to a fantastic start, at 20cm tall and brilliant green. All that is needed now is for the grass and salt bush to grow so that the sheep will have plenty of food and hopefully numbers can get back up to what they were before the current drought started.

Although off to a good start, sheep numbers at Kulnine will never make it back to what they were when the shearing shed and homestead where built 150 years ago. Back then there was over 70,000 acres of land, and 117,600 sheep that were shorn by a shearing team of 67 people ranging from blade shearer's, wool rollers and packers to cooks. These teams worked 10 hour days, 6 days a week averaging 105 sheep a day, and an annual clip of 3150 bales of wool.

The shearing shed was reduced in size in 1948 after the homestead was badly burnt and roofing iron was removed from the western end of the 40ft shed so that the homestead could be rebuilt. The whole station was much smaller from then on, 5 shearer's were used until 1967 when the shed was used for the last time until 2002 when new owners Ray and Eleanor revitalised the shed and shore 5042 sheep.

Dust storm encountered last flyaway

The shearing shed at full capacity

OUTBACK MAGAZINE

OUTBACK magazine, launched in September 1998 to celebrate the Australian Outback has captivated people far and wide. One of Australia's fastest growing magazine titles, OUTBACK is planning a story on Kestrel Aviation College, to appear in an upcoming issue.

OUTBACK is a bi-monthly magazine that captures the essence of remote Australia - the people, places and events that make the outback one of the most unique regions on earth.

As a part of compiling the story, on Friday, 18th July 2003,we welcomed to the College, the Editor & Publisher of the magazine, Mr. Paul Myers.

Paul spent the day with both Ray & Eleanor Cronin here at Kestrel, to research his story on the College, the Industry and Kestrel Aviation Pty Ltd.

Paul was delighted to meet as many staff and students as he did, and was impressed with both the people and the facilities of the College. Paul took some great photos of Ray & current student Danny Clarris (Ban Ban Springs - Northern Territory), studying for his Commercial Pilots Licence- we look forward to seeing them in the magazine!

As a part of the story, an OUTBACK magazine photographer will be attending the next flyaway at "Kulnine" Station - to get some great shots of our students in action! We will advise you all when the story on Kestrel will be appearing in OUTBACK, to make sure you don't miss out on a GREAT read!

INFORMATION EVENING AT PUCKAPUNYAL MILITARY BASE

On Thursday the 14th of August, Kestrel Aviation staff and full time students were invited out to Puckapunyal for an informative presentation on the various deployments of Major Stephen Jobson of the Australian Army Aviation Corps.

Among his impressive list of credits Major Jobson has served as a Black Hawk pilot in Papua New Guinea, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Afghanistan.

Major Jobson was awarded the NATO Medal for his service in Bosnia-Herzegovina and US Bronze Star for conspicuous service during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

On behalf of all those who attended we wish to extend thanks to Major Jobson and Colonel Smith for giving Kestrel staff and students the opportunity to attend, providing us with a unique perspective of Aviation involvement in the Australian Army.

SARATOGA

The Saratoga is the latest addition to Kestrel's fixed wing fleet. The Saratoga has been completely refurbished and reupholstered inside, and the outside has been re-sprayed

For full information on Saratoga endorsements and hire arrangements, please contact Eleanor Cronin.

A WELL DESERVED BREAK

A group of staff and live-in students travelled to Echuca on 16th August for an action packed day with an emphasis on letting out some of the tension of study.

Fearless ambushes saw many take a pounding. Everyone came back battered and bruised, however there were no complaints as new friendships were forged and strengthened amongst Kestrel's ever growing student population.

Autumn 2003 Newsletter

Summer 2003 Newsletter