Toowoomba Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Toowoomba Airport


IATA = TWB
ICAO = YTWB
type = Public
owner =
operator =
city-served =
location = Toowoomba, Queensland
elevation-f = 2,086
elevation-m = 636
coordinates = coord|27|32|36|S|151|55|00|E|type:airport
website =
metric-rwy = Yes
r1-number = 11/29
r1-length-f = 3,677
r1-length-m = 1121
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 06/24
r2-length-f = 2,165
r2-length-m = 660
r2-surface = Grass
footnotes =

Toowoomba Airport airport codes|TWB|YTWB is an airport near Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

History

The first recorded attempt at flight on the Darling Downs was on the mid-summer morning of 15 December 1911, when a young Englishman named Arthur William Jones, flying his Bleriot-copy monoplane, made a series of 90 metre hops. Arthur 'Wizard' Stone was another notable showman-flyer who emerged on the flying scene in 1912. Wizard was a 'barn-stormer' who became famous for his presence at various shows throughout Queensland. His first visit to Toowoomba was on July 27, 1912.

Toowoomba was once a port of call on a Qantas International Airline Service and a Qantas flight between Brisbane and Toowoomba was the first unsubsidized passenger service in Australia. This regular daily service commenced on the 9th May 1928 with a DH50A.

Several notable people have landed in Toowoomba. Bert Hinkler, born in Bundaberg, Queensland, was another pioneer aviator. In 1928 he flew the first solo flight from England to Australia, for this achievement he flew his Avro Avian G-EBOV. It was on the 16th of June 1928 that Hinkler landed in Toowoomba at the Clifford Park racecourse flying G-EBOV. On the 29th of May 1930, the first woman to fly from England to Australia Amy Johnson landed at the Werrington Park Aerodrome – now called the Toowoomba Airport (also known as the Wilsonton Airport). In August 1932 Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, a pioneer Australian aviator, landed at Toowoomba in his Fokker Trimotor named the 'Southern Cross'. It was in this plane that he made the first non-stop flight across the Australian Continent and the first flight across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand.

Between 1939-1945, the airfield was used at various times by Defence Assets with the cooperation of its owner, Mr Rankin. In January 1944 the RAAF's Directorate of Works and Building (DWB) prepared the airfield for a flight of No 5 Army Co-op Squadron in its move to Toowoomba. The unit was quartered and its Wirraways were dispersed in trees across the Western Highway some 200-300m north of the Wilsonton Post Office, and 500-600m north of the present runway location.

In June 1946 the Darling Downs Aero Club was formed on the grass paddock at Wilsonton by a small yet eager group of pilots. Initially, it operated only on the weekends (out of a borrowed tent), and flying training was conducted for and on behalf of the Club by the Royal Queensland Aero Club (Archerfield).

Throughout the airport history there have been many other pilots who have helped put the Toowoomba Airport on the map including well known Australian and International pilot, Mr. Guido Zuccoli. Toowoomba is the home of the famed Zuccoli Collection of aircraft and other vehicles.

Category & Frequencies

* CTAF(R) 127.65 (Adjacent to Oakey Control Zone)
* NDB 386
* AWIS 127.05
* BN CEN 121.2
* PAL 122.4

Airlines & Destinations

*Nil current

Other Services

*Southern Queensland base for Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS)
*Darling Downs Aeroclub

Future Development

Toowoomba has a thriving airport, however business and industry groups are hopeful of future expansion to the runways, taxiways, and terminal facilities to enable potential growth in industry and tourism. In September 2007, a $5 million proposal was tabled by industry and business operating in the Darling Downs region. The proposal includes the expansion of the main runway to beyond 1400m which will allow for larger aircraft and increased passenger numbers. The current airport boundaries allow for an extension of the runway to the east. Significant issues for the aerodrome include -

* The relative closeness of Toowoomba to Brisbane which has served to stymie air services;
* Persistent lobbying by some parties for the use of Oakey Airport as a gateway to the Darling Downs.
* Noise complaints and a potentially ill-informed resistance by residents living close to the airport with respect to use of larger, more regulated passenger aircraft.

It has been suggested by some interest groups that direct air services to Sydney may prove as lucrative for the airlines as services to Brisbane, however without expansion these services will remain unviable.

The expanding use of Oakey Airport by Australian Army assets at the Army Aviation Centre is problematic for expanded civil use of its facilities. The half hour drive to Oakey Airport from Toowoomba Airport, and relative lack of business and social infrastructure in Oakey also has the potential to assist Toowoomba in the case for expansion.

References

*http://www.thechronicle.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyID%3d3750736%26amp;thesection%3dlocalnews%26amp;thesubsection%3d
*http://www.thechronicle.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyID%3d3750496%26amp;thesection%3dlocalnews%26amp;thesubsection%3d

External links

* [http://www.toowoomba.qld.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=246&Itemid=356 Toowoomba City Council: History of the Airport]
* [http://www.streetdirectory.com.au/sd_new/mapsearch.cgi?x=151.9167&y=-27.5433&level=5&star=6 Toowoomba Airport] at "streetdirectory.com.au"
*WikiMapia|-27.5433|151.9167|14
*WAD|YTWB
*GCM|YTWB
*ASN|TWB