A homegrown Far North Queensland business has invested $1.5 million and immeasurable passion to build Cooktown Airport’s first hangar — and it is just the start.
Daintree Air Services owner and pilot Greg Letondeur received a special visit from Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week who took the time to inspect the new building.
“Just a couple of months ago, this was just bush. There was no water, there was nowhere to get in the shade, there were no telephones, there was nothing.” Mr Letondeur said.
The hangar is entirely off the grid, with solar power, batteries, back-up generators which are rarely used, and water from a subterranean stream running 30m beneath the building.
“We think it might be so successful that we’re really hoping we can build another one opposite, perhaps twice as big as this,” Mr Letondeur said.
The new facility means Daintree Air’s growing team of aircraft engineers can perform heavy maintenance in Cooktown instead of only Cairns.
It has allowed Mr Letondeur to employ more locals and train them up to an internationally recognised level.
“You would expect to see maintenance like this in Parafield, or in Bankstown, Brisbane or even Cairns,” he said.
“But it’s in Cooktown, it’s in the middle of nowhere.
“We hope to show Australia, especially people in the cities, that good things can be done in the bush.
“You don’t need to leave home, you don’t need to go away to become an aircraft engineer.”
The Prime Minister said the Daintree Air project was a model for what could be achieved in remote parts of the country.
“These are the businesses that make sure these towns work, that the services are here, that the opportunities are here,” Mr Morrison said during his visit.
“They don’t come from government, they come from enterprising minds and a lot of passion and commitment.”
Chris Calcino, The Cairns Post – 30 Jan 2019
