Australia by Seaplane - Gladstone Operations - Lake Awoonga - Cessna 182 VH-RBD

http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/

We recently took a drive to Awoonga Dam which is located 8km from Benaraby or about a 15-minute drive from Boyne Island / Tannum Sands or 20 minutes from Gladstone.  Lake Awoonga is the main water supply for the Gladstone region. Its recreation areas and recreational fishery are provided free to locals and tourists by the Gladstone Area Water Board.

http://www.queensland-australia.com/

One very interesting and recent addition to Lake Awoonga, is the Gladstone base of Australia by Seaplane, and their Cessna 182 Seaplane VH-RBD.

http://www.australiabyseaplane.com.au/

Australia by Seaplane currently operates from Gladstone - at Lake Awoonga and Gladstone Airport - and also Port Macquarie in New South Wales.  There are also plans to operate twin-engine land-based aircraft for general charter work in the CQ region as well.

At Lake Awoonga, we were lucky enough to catch-up with the co-owners of VH-RBD - Robyn and Vance. The aircraft is operated by Australia By Seaplane which in-turn is owned (subsidary) by Air Charter CQ Pty Ltd.

http://www.australiabyseaplane.com.au/

Vance - who is also the chief pilot - explained that VH-RBD is predominately based at Lake Awoonga, however passengers can be collected from and delivered to most waterways throughout the region.

We noted that both Robyn and Vance treat safety as first and foremost, with both commenting that the aircraft is maintained to the highest standard by licensed aircraft engineers. Any flight will only operate subject to weather and tidal conditions, while passengers will be familiarised with the aircraft by a preflight safety briefing.

VH-RBD has 4 seats to accommodate 1 pilot and 3 passengers. While the aircraft is generally capable of safely operating with 3 adult passengers, maximum take-off weight restrictions do apply, so it might be worth discussing this before chartering the plane.

Cessna 182 Seaplane VH-RBD can be chartered to operate scenic flights of Lake Awoonga, Gladstone Harbour, Boyne Island / Tannum Sands, Mt Larcom as well as Curtis Island and / or Facing Island. Extended scenic flights can include Great Keppel Island or 1770 / Agnes Waters.  The Australia By Seaplane website also promotes passenger transfers from land-based airports such as Gladstone Airport and Rockhampton Airport.  Interested customers can even design their own exclusive air adventure.

For more information or make a booking, Australia By Seaplane can be contacted on (07) 4972 1940 or 0432 328 813.

Alternatively their website is http://www.australiabyseaplane.com.au or contact them by email : info@australiabyseaplane.com.au

Their motto...  "Get your HIGH today, The SEAPLANE way!"