May 2024
Moorabbin Airport celebrates 75 years of partnership with Australia’s oldest and most prestigious flying club and school,
the Royal Victorian Aero Club.
As the busiest
flight training centre
in Australia, Moorabbin Airport is delighted to join the Royal
Victorian Aero Club (RVAC) in celebrating 75 years of the club being based at
the Moorabbin Airport precinct. Australia's oldest and most prestigious flying school and club, the RVAC Aviation
Academy has served the local
and international aviation community for over 100 years, training thousands of
pilots and providing a platform for aviation enthusiasts to pursue their
passion for flying.
We caught up with RVAC CEO, Paul Daff, to learn more about the club’s storied
history and its plans for securing its long-term
future, maintaining a critical role within Australia’s aviation community.
1. The Royal Victorian Aero Club (RVAC) has been based at Moorabbin Airport since 1949 - can you tell us a bit about the club’s history?
This year marks 110 years since the founding of the RVAC— which was first founded in 1914 to train pilots for the Australian Flying Corps in World War I. Today, RVAC is a club for members with a passion for aviation and one of the country’s leading flying schools. One of the first customers to move into Moorabbin Airport in 1949, the club is also this year celebrating 75 years of being based at the Airport
2. What do you value about being a member of the airport precinct community?
Our members, teachers and students all value the club’s suburban location, which ensures they can incorporate flying easily into their lives. The airport’s facilities such as the control tower enable our members and students to gain unparalleled experience of flying in controlled airspace, as well as taking off and landing across the airport’s five active runways. With other flying schools based in the precinct, as well as ancillary businesses, it’s a hub of aviation knowledge and a centre of excellence. We particularly value collaborating with the other schools to ensure we are aligned in monitoring, measuring and improving safety protocols.
3. Has the growth and evolution of Moorabbin Airport as a broader retail and business park helped your business in any way? Please explain.
4. What are RVAC’s competitive advantages in the flight training industry?
Unlike other flying schools we are not-for-profit and reinvest surplus funds back into improving the club. Driven by a passion for flying and a commitment to excellence we pride ourselves on delivering training that is tailored to the student’s individual learning objectives. With a cohort of between 50-70 graduating students each year, and small class sizes of between 10–12 students, we continually monitor and provide 1:1 support to our students. Importantly our students can access fee help study assist student loans from the Australian Government whilst they are training with us - whether that’s part of their VCE or university qualification. We also have Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) accreditation. We’re also pleased to be growing our learning program— and will soon be offering students the opportunity to acquire their ATPL.
5. What kind of activities and programs do you run for members?
With our members ranging in age from 16–80, we are passionate about facilitating learning exchange opportunities so that the wealth of knowledge from current and former pilots can be passed on to new recruits. We run a program of seminars and lectures with industry guest speakers as well as host safety sessions on topics such as automation, advanced cockpits and GPS updates. We also coordinate flyaways— facilitating group trips for members to different parts of Australia and host a number of social events such as trivia nights. With our 110th birthday coming up, we’re planning a big celebration for our members in October too
6. Looking to the future - what are the club's upcoming plans for both its members and students?
Having been appointed as CEO nine months ago, it’s great to be able to apply my commercial aviation sector experience to the RVAC and work closely with the new board and wider membership to secure its long-term future. In the past 18 months alone, we’ve increased the club’s fleet by 25%, from 16 to 20 aircraft. With membership now a requirement to hire the aircraft, we’ve also seen a significant uptick in member sign-ups. We’re now looking at additional ways to grow our community— such as establishing deeper connections with our extensive alumni network. Critically, we have entered long term leases on all our sites with Moorabbin Airport Corporation and are also looking to improve our facilities for both members and staff— and are currently working with architects on designs for upgrades to our club rooms and offices.
7. Are you able to share some insights into what you think the future of aviation looks like in Australia?
We’re delighted to be a part of and play an influential role in shaping Australia’s burgeoning aviation industry. One area where I anticipate substantial growth in the coming years is drones that will be used to facilitate the timely delivery of goods, in particular to remote areas. Using airport facilities to take off and land, these will require the expertise of pilots to operate them, and this provides many potential opportunities for pilots, training and working at Moorabbin Airport.
For more information and regular updates regarding Moorabbin Airport, please visit moorabbinairport.com.au Further commentary and interviews with Moorabbin Airport’s CEO, Paul Ferguson, can be arranged upon request.
All media enquiries should be directed to Communications Collective.
Luke Hempleman
[email protected]
About Moorabbin Airport
Moorabbin Airport is Australia’s leading general aviation flight training airport located in the south-east of Melbourne. Spanning 294 hectares, the Airport is Australia’s second busiest airbase and is home to a range of general aviation activities including flying training, flight charter, aviation maintenance, as well as general and recreation aviation operations. Supporting the viability of aviation activities, the Airport also has a thriving non-aviation commercial centre, including Kingston Central Plaza and a Direct Factory Outlet (DFO), as well as an array of retailer and hospitality providers which provide employment for many local residents in the City of Kingston. Located on the north and south-eastern perimeter of the precinct, Chifley Business Park is home to leading industrial facilities and commercial offices for business customers.
Committed to safely building a sustainable future for aviation, business and local community, Moorabbin Airport was awarded ‘Metro Airport of the Year’ in 2022 by the Australian Airports Association (AAA) and is recognised as a State Significant site, a major employer and a centre for community activity in one of the fastest growing regions in Victoria.
About Moorabbin Airport Corporation and Goodman Group
Privately owned and funded, Moorabbin Airport Corporation Ltd (MAC) purchased a long-term lease on the Moorabbin Airport site from the Commonwealth Government in 1998. MAC’s role is to maintain and develop the Airport infrastructure and the provision of a safe airport for all users. MAC is wholly owned by Goodman Group, the largest industrial property group listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: GMG) and one of the largest listed specialist investment managers of industrial property and business space globally.
About The Goodman Foundation
The Goodman Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Goodman Group. The Foundation focusses on building resilient, inclusive and sustainable urban communities, providing people with the opportunity to reach their full potential. We invest in organisations to enable transformation and scale so that we get to the heart of an issue to make long-term sustainable change.