Despite the long stretches of poor weather and thus the restriction of flying lessons, the SMGS Aviation Academy 2022 was one of the busiest years since its inception in 2007. 

Twelve students are presently working on their RA-Aus Pilot Certificate and three students are working on their RePL (commercial drone licence).

Of particular note, eleven students have now commenced their flying training.  Training is conducted at the Jindabyne Randall Community Aerodrome which is located five minutes from the school. Training is conducted from Friday through to Monday with the whole of Friday being set aside for SMGS students. Again, we are thankful to Martin Hughes and Kirk Amos from Alpine Aviation Australia, who continue to not only provide flying training, but also provide the program with a quality control mechanism for our theory courses.

A significant change this year has been the adoption of a new aviation theory platform developed by GoFly Aviation. GoFly Aviation is a highly successful flying school operating out of Queensland. The new platform provides us with theory content, flying training briefings, aviation career insights and a myriad of other aviation related presentations.

The RePL (commercial drone licence) continues to see rapidly growing number of employment opportunities. A full RePL commercial licence would also provide a student with a significant competitive advantage when applying for employment /educational opportunities.

In order to provide the most opportunities for our students, the SMGS Aviation Academy offers both elective timetabled lessons (Years 9 & 10), and external courses.

If you would like to learn more about the Aviation Program at SMGS, please contact Phil Ryrie, SMGS Aviation Coordinator on phil.ryrie@smgs.nsw.edu.au