Students and ACMA members share a common goal of supporting remote communities from the air. 34247
By Kath Gannaway
TEENAGERS on a mission descended on the Yarra Valley in July for a camp designed to lift them to great heights.
The 30 Year 10 to 12 students from all over Australia to take part in the 2009 Mission Aviation Camp run by the Australian Centre for Mission Aviation (ACMA) at Coldstream Airfield.
ACMA specialises in training pilots and engineers for the rigorous operating environment of mission aviation, where they have to operate and maintain light aircraft in some of the most challenging conditions anywhere.
Camp Director John Willetts said it was not unusual for ACMA graduates to be regularly operating into 400-metre grass airstrips on the side of a mountain, as they fly in support of remote communities.
Sleeping out in the hangar during the coldest week of the year – in Coldstream – was a challenge but the pay-off came with the excellent flying weather once the fog had cleared.
The aspiring aviators gained a taste of the aviation world in general and mission aviation in particular with a schedule that included classes on navigation, meteorology, airframes and engines. They used flight simulators and gained practical workshop experience, fabricating a small aluminium aircraft.
A familiarisation flight in ACMA’s Cessna 206 aircraft and training flights in the Cessna 172s as well as excursions to John Holland Engineering at Tullamarine, Point Cook Aviation Museum and the Bible College of Victoria in Lilydale provided a solid overview of the training facilities offer to ACMA’s current students who are preparing to use their aviation skills through mission aviation in some of the most remote and difficult regions on earth.
“The campers had a great time, learned lots, ate more than lots, and made plenty of new friends,” Mr Willetts said.
“We enjoyed the opportunity to have input into the lives of these young people,” he added.
Planning for the 2010 camp is already underway. For further information, go to www.missionaviationcamp2010.com.au
