Articles in The West Australian

(From the RACWA Magazine 'Tarmac Topics', April 2010)

Saturday, 28 February, 1930

[19] - AVIATION, MAYLANDS FLYING SCHOOL
Change of Control
The flying school at present operated by West Australian Airways Ltd, at the Maylands aerodrome, will be taken over by the West Australian section of the Australian Aero Club next month was announced by the president of the section (Mr J A Dimmitt) yesterday. The company has been informed by the Defence Department that the club will take control of the school on March 17, but until the committee of the club meets next week no definite information of the actual transfer will be available. At present it is proposed that the club will contract with the company for the maintenance of the aeroplanes, and for the services of instructors, so that the change of control will in no way affect the efficiency of the school.

The Maylands flying school was inaugurated early in 1927, the machines used being two de Havilland 60 Moths, under contract to the Federal Government. West Australian Airways supplied the machines and instructors, receiving from the Government a subsidy of £40 for each licence issued to pupils of the school. With the expiration of the contract, the transfer of the control to the Aero Club was mooted, and the school was then operated on a monthly contract basis, the company agreeing with the Government to transfer the control at the convenience of the club. In consequence of the change in the Federal Government after the last elections, negotiations were hampered considerably, and the change has been delayed for some months. The original proposal was that the Government would buy the machines and supply them to the club free, the club providing for their upkeep and for instructors, and receiving £20 for each licence issued. Among present pupils of the school and those pilots who have qualified for licences from it. It is considered that the facilities the club will offer should give a considerable fillip to private flying. It is understood that there is every prospect of the clubs being able to offer to members a substantial reduction in flying rates, which would save the majority of the licences lapsing, because flying costs were too high, as had been the experience in the past. A substantial reduction in charges depends largely on whether or not the machines and instructors will be kept fully employed, and judging by the recent activities of the school, there is every possibility that this will be the case for a large past of each year. It was suggested yesterday in one quarter that it would probably be possible to make machines available to flying members at a rate between 25/- and 35/- an hour for solo flying. That the transfer will take place at an opportune moment is evidenced by the great increase in private flying in the last few months. During the first two years and 10 months of the school's life, 36 people qualified for their licences, and in the last four months a further 13 passed their tests, bringing the total to 40.

Tuesday, 22 April, 1930

[5] - AERO CLUB CARNIVAL
Pupil Pilots to Race
Amateur West Australian pilots, pupils of the Maylands flying school, will compete in an air race for the first time at the aerodrome next Saturday. The occasion will be the official handing over of the flying school from the Commonwealth Government to the West Australian section of the Australian Aero Club, for which the club is arranging an aerial carnival. The two Moths will be handed over on behalf of the Defence Department by Brigadier General C H Jess, to His Excellency the Governor (Sir William Campion), who will receive them on behalf of the club. The event follows the completion of lengthy negotiations between the parties concerned for providing the club with its own machines. All members of the club who hold "A" licences, of which over 60 have been issued to West Australians, are eligible to enter for an event calling for proficiency in the training undergone in qualifying for the licence a relay race for two machines. One will take off, cover a two mile circuit and land as near as possible to the second, the pilot of which will receive from the first a special message to be delivered to the umpire, start his engine, cover the circuit, and deliver the message. All licenced club members, eligible to enter must pass a test of proficiency before Thursday, when entries must be in the hands of the secretary (Mr V R Abbott), from whom full particulars are available. The programme for the carnival will include a number of events of a noncompetitive nature.

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