Donnington Airpark is located on the Flinders Highway at

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, a suburb of

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is also known as Woodstock Airport and has been a popular venue for

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are trade fair, exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without which they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The ...

s and

fly-in A fly-in, also called an aviation meet, is a pre-arranged gathering of aircraft, pilots and passengers for recreational and Socialization, social purposes. Fly-ins may be formally or informally organised, members of the public may or may not be ...

events since its opening in 1970.

History

Several wartime airfields were built at Woodstock by the 46th and 91st Engineer Battalions of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during 1942. Although in close proximity to the location of Donnington Airpark, these runways fell into disrepair following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The current facilities and associated grass runways were constructed on virgin bushland by Ray Smith in 1969, who intended to develop the 160-acre site as a satellite airfield to

Townsville Airport Townsville Airport is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Townsville, Queensland. The airport is also known as Townsville International Airport, and Garbutt Airport, a reference to its location in the Townsville su ...

for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

users. The Donnington Country Fly-In, later known as the Donnington Airshow and Country Fly-In, was held annually at Donnington Airpark from 1979 to 1993. It showcased a wide range of aircraft types, from

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

s and

gyrocopter An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), gyroscope, gyrocopter or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. A gyroplane "means a rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-driven ...

s to commercial, military and

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 100 ...

s, with associated historic vehicle displays, trade displays and entertainment. Although not financially viable, the events raised funds for both the

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an Aeromedical retrieval, aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgen ...

(RFDS) and construction of the Vietnam Forces National Memorial in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Accidents and incidents

*On 10 February 2015, a

Lockwood Drifter The Lockwood Drifter is a family of high wing, single engine, pusher configuration, open cockpit, one and two-seat kit aircraft that was first introduced in the 1980s by Maxair and remains in production today by Lockwood Aircraft of Sebring, Flori ...

departed Donnington Airpark in company with a Thruster

for a local flight. The aircraft collided mid-air about south of the airfield. Both broke up in-flight, killing the pilots who were the only people on board. The accident was investigated by

Recreational Aviation Australia Recreational Aviation Australia (abbreviated to RAAus), formerly known as the Australian Ultralight Federation (AUF), is the governing body for ultralights in Australia. RAAus registers ultralight aircraft and issues pilot certificates throug ...

(RA-Aus), as well as the Queensland

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

's Court. In handing down his findings, the coroner noted that while the

Civil Aviation Safety Authority The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's civil aviation. CASA was formed on 6 July 1995 under the ''Civil Aviation Act 1988'' when the Civil ...

had delegated administration of ultralight category aircraft to RA-Aus, as a private company, the organisation lacked the legislative protections afforded to the Australian Transport Safety Board as a Commonwealth organisation. This discrepancy could potentially compromise safety by opening RA-Aus to

litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...

and

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

action when publishing findings of accident investigations.

References

Airports in Queensland Townsville Airports established in 1969 {{NorthQueensland-stub

History

Accidents and incidents

See also

References