Roxane Manley

MEET BRETT PREISIG… Look at the smile on Bretts face as he takes position in the Pilots seat of one of the Parkes Aero Clubs 2 Aeroplanes which are available for student training and private hire

Originally built in 1948, and owned by Parkes Shire Council, the clubhouse for the Parkes Aero Club is the last remaining building along with 3 hangars which were part of the RAAF training aerodrome.

Brett Preisig is the secretary of the Parkes Aero Club and a flight instructor with the Parkes Recreational Aviation Centre. 

They work together as the Aero Club provides the aeroplanes and the Aviation Centre provides the instructors. “That is how we get new members to come to the club, because people want to learn to fly and that is the club’s charter, to encourage all things aviation,” said Brett.

There are currently around 35 active members but the club is always keen to welcome new members. Students range from under 15 all the way up to retirees, and once students receive their license to fly, the club have two aircraft for hire.

Brett commented that over the years there has been busy phases such as when the military parachute jumpers were in town. However, since the flooding emergency the Parkes Airport has been busier than ever.”It’s a bit like a military operation out here with all the extra fueling arrangements. The majority of the helicopters that found themselves based here are not running on regular AV gas. They are jet turbine engines and that requires jet A1 fuel and they have been bringing that in by the semi trailer load,” said Brett.

A lot of high technology and expensive aircraft have touched down at Parkes Airport to help with the floods. Bretts personal favorite was the Sikorsky Sea King helicopter.

Flying teaches a lot of discipline and precision and Brett quoted and old aviation saying, “A superior pilot with superior skills will use his superior judgment to not have to use his superior skills.” 

Eugowra residents devastated by flash flooding can continue to call on CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes (CCWF) for financial counseling services. 

It continues CCWF’s commitment to the town of about 700 people since disaster struck on November 14, tragically claiming two lives. More than 200 buildings at Eugowra were damaged or destroyed by the flash flooding, authorities report. 

CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes chief executive officer Anne-Marie Mioche visited Eugowra, and the organisation donated goods worth thousands of dollars to provide immediate relief. 

“Members of our team at Forbes and Parkes did not hesitate, they wanted to be there for the people of Eugowra who have lost so much,” Ms Mioche said. 

CCWF staff worked alongside defence force personnel going from house to house, and listened to people’s stories of survival, and provided information about CCWF services. 

Eugowra sits outside the Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes, but has links with Forbes. 

Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, Bishop of the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes, travelled to Eugowra to support the neighboring community, where he said there were people who had “lost everything, in the true sense of the word”. 

Bishop Columba, whose father’s family came from Eugowra, offered reassurance to the “strong and resilient” residents of the small town. 

For more information on how CatholicCare can support you contact them for assistance on 1800 067 067