Aerodrome development proposal
Richard Molloy and Lisa Sheppard of Golden Bay Air are seeking changes to Takaka Aerodrome.
Capital Air has been flying scheduled services out of the Takaka Aerodrome since 2006, but now it has been rebranded as Golden Bay Air to reflect its increasing commitment to the Bay.
This commitment is to some extent dependent on improvements being undertaken at the aerodrome, and the company says that if TDC was to undertake significant improvements there, Golden Bay Air would be able to use bigger aircraft in more weather conditions and base more of its operations here.
“The aerodrome is part of the Bay’s key infrastructure,” said Ms Lisa Sheppard of Golden Bay Air. “The Bay is unique in mainland New Zealand because of its isolation. Developing the aerodrome to the extent that it can cater for larger aircraft, landing by instruments in a wider range of weather conditions, makes good sense from all kinds of standpoints.”
Ms Sheppard explained that the company had been to the aerodrome management committee to request some improvements to make its current operations more sustainable.
“The cross runway would be the preferred option to land on in westerly conditions,” she said. “Unfortunately it was in such poor condition that we just didn’t use it with our low-clearance propeller aircraft. If the conditions meant that strong cross-wind gusts were likely we’d go to Motueka and land there.”
Work began this week on improving the cross runway, rolling loose material into the surface and smoothing out the hump that used to exist at the junction with the main runway. This work, along with some improvements to the aprons and hangars, will enable Golden Bay Air to operate out of Takaka with much more certainty. This has convinced the company to base pilots and two aircraft here, rather than solely in Wellington as it used to. It will also offer 20 percent more flights between Takaka and Wellington, scenic flights around the Bay and a scheduled service to Karamea.
“Stage two of our strategic plan involves a bigger aircraft – maybe a 10-seater,” said Ms Sheppard. “But this would require some more serious improvements to the aerodrome. The cross runway would have to be sealed and the aerodrome would need to have what is called a GNSS approach. This would enable instrument-guided landing. We would also need work done on the taxiways”
The sealing cost has been estimated at about $60,000, the GNSS approach would cost between $10,000 and $20,000 and a loop taxiway would cost around $17,000. Ms Sheppard said that the result of this level of expenditure was likely to be the attraction of “clusters” of airborne activities to the Bay.
“Look at the Motueka Aerodrome,” she said. “As a result of council’s decision to spend money on developing it, there are all kinds of activities going on there. If council was to improve the Takaka Aerodrome enough, it would stand a good chance of getting its money back in a reasonable term. Our landing fees alone would cover a lot of the loan servicing required once we expand our operation. There have been companies flying into Golden Bay for decades and there is obviously room for much more activity than the aerodrome currently sees. It’s an under-utilised asset.”
Golden Bay Air has made a submission to council’s LTCCP process. Ms Sheppard said that the matter is being considered by the council’s enterprises subcommittee, the group charged with the responsibility of managing some of council’s revenue-earning assets.
Ian Orange chairs the Takaka Aerodrome Management Committee. He explained that major works pose funding challenges. “The revenue generated by the aerodrome has to be extended in ways that are going to meet the needs of all aerodrome users,” he said.
Jim Larsen from Remote Adventures is another regular aorodrome user. He said, “It’s 100 per cent the way it is for me and my Cessna 185.”
Neil Wilson
