The need to
regulate flying operations for the safety of all was one of the issues driving
the establishment of the Department in 1921 and this is still an important role.
Over the years, the Department has also operated a large number of aircraft in its own right.
Select
from an index of
Departmental aircraft since 1921
< (click on the image at left)
Registration Markings
Examples:
General History
In the early days officers of the Department made a number of pioneering flights - read Round Australia in 22 Days: 1924 Style
Read about post-war Flying Doctor services and the formal definition of Mercy Flights
Download a 1950s De Havilland Australia booklet Aircraft Manufacturing Activity in Australia
Radiotelephony
Download a Movie Clip: A Position Report, 1950s-style
The Phonetic Alphabets - Old & New
Aeronautical Maps & Charts
Strip map of the Melbourne-Adelaide air route - 1939
ANFAC Melbourne-Sydney routes - 1955
Essendon:
Mangalore VAR Approach plate - 1967
Controlled airspace & radar coverage - 1967
Wynyard Landing Chart - 1968 & Aerodrome Chart - 2003
Ceduna Landing Chart - 1968
Port Lincoln Landing Chart - 1968
High Altitude Chart 2 - 1968
VAR depiction on the Radio Navigation Chart 1 (AUS-RNC 1) - 1979
Charleville Aerodrome Chart - 2003
Flight Plans, NOTAMs & other operational documents
Flight Plan & route briefing pack for Ansett Electra VH-RMC, Melbourne-Sydney - 1966
Domestic Flight Plan Form (DA1641) for Douglas DC-3 VH-AES - 1990
Departmental Flying Unit
Read the History of the Departmental Flying Unit
Read about the Department's Flying Unit c. 1980
Read Keeping Us On The Straight And Narrow..., a 1990 article about the Flying Unit's work on navaid calibration.
Read about Flight Survey Operations in Vietnam - 1996
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