Dick Smith invests in more airport weather cameras in April 2024 !

[Squawk7700]

14 months on from Dick Smith's welcome donation of $10,000 towards weather cameras in 2023, we are now partnering to do it all again this year with yet another donation!

Last year we got around 26 new sites and over 60 cameras online, resulting in a huge boost to aviation safety in Australia.

I'm running it all again this year, so feel free to post below, or email me at [email protected] The more we talk about cameras and where we want them, the better for everyone.

Be sure to include the following:

- The planned location for your cameras
- How many cameras you think you'll need
- If you already have internet access or not
- A contact person and phone number (especially if it's not you that will be organising it)

Once I collate all the responses I'll assess and prioritise the submissions and start rolling out the gear. We won't be able to pay for your new Starlink, but I'll do my best to help you out!

A HUGE THANKS to Dick Smith for making this a reality again!

[rioncentu]

Well done to Dick and everyone involved in this. It sure makes for better planning being able to "look ahead"

Always gets me that the major airports don't seem to have them it's the smaller guys that do.

Keep up the good work !!

[Squawk7700]

As you can probably imagine, the bigger ones are the hardest to deal with!

[tail wheel]

Dick is a great Australian carrying out philanthropic acts mostly unknown to the public.

This is another great contribution by Dick, a great opportunity for smaller and remote airports and worthy of our strong support.

Thanks Dick! :ok:

And thanks to Squawk 7700 for organising this program. :ok:

[Squawk7700]

Lots of interest thus far and I'll post an update on where we're looking at making some inroads, particularly into areas with limited to no current coverage, outside of the J-Curve.

[Squawk7700]

Kilcoy Airfield Aero Club to the north-west of Brisbane are the first cab off the rank for a set of cameras thanks to Dick.

They will be shipped up there tomorrow and with any luck may be running by the weekend.

Nice work guys for being a pleasure to work with and make it happen quickly :-)

[tail wheel]

What is the URL link to the cameras?

[Squawk7700]

What is the URL link to the cameras?

https://myairportcams.com

[Squawk7700]

Great news!

Ballina are now onboard. I’ll be shipping their gear over next week.

We’ve located a perfectly placed hangar with a perfect view of the runway.

[Squawk7700]

More news... discussions are taking place around installing cameras at Horn Island and on some of the surrounding islands. They are desperately need up there!

[Squawk7700]

Our first set of Dick Smith sponsored cameras are already up and running thanks to the energetic members of the aero club there.

I can already tell by the surrounding mountains that these will be a valuable aviation safety asset. I also notice that there's a helipad at the nearby hospital so these have the ability to assist with the safe airlifting of passengers into and out of the hospital.



https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x741/kilcoy_2bf2989ef270ef9bdeba77c2bbeac3e9f3e6e2a6.jpg

[nomess]

More news... discussions are taking place around installing cameras at Horn Island and on some of the surrounding islands. They are desperately need up there!
That would be game changing for those folks. Don’t underestimate how important these tools are GA Pilots. Your funding and work is much appreciated gents. Your work does not go unnoticed.

[Squawk7700]

It's been a while since I've posted an update as I've been super busy organising the cameras that Dick Smith has donated.

This one has been a long time in the making and after lots of back and forth with the airport and council, nothing happened !

Hearing about Dick Smith's donation, I was contacted by Byron Air Adventures, who kindly offered to host a set of weather cameras for Ballina / Byron.

As they say, the rest is history...


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1124/camera2_a4699ddcbda8ed2e06bb9693dbbb40d7b2769506.jpg
https://view.onlyweathercams.com/engine/airports/YBNA/camera2.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1124/camera1_2a166e997488a6cfe2604735dd06489151604b37.jpg


They should be appearing in your favourite EFB very soon. If you don't have an EFB, check them out at myairportcams.com

There are others that are already online from this initiative, so I'll get an update out in the next few days hopefully.

[sagan]

All terrific stuff.

Is Lord Howe likely to come back?

[Squawk7700]

That's a very good question!

There's a cabling issue and I'm trying to get hold of the electrician over there. Simply needs a couple of cat 5 ends crimped onto a cable.

The crimper, spare ends and cable, plus spare cameras are all sitting there ready to go.... the host of the cameras tried but his eyesight may not be up to scratch to see were all the little wires fit into the plug.

If anyone is flying over there and knows how to put an end on a Cat5, I'm all ears!


Short of that, I'll give you Narrabri that recently came online, it's another from the Dick Smith 2024 collection.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/camera2_a95d6315082db2ef535f6cf76170aa91ef3fc6b5.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/camera1_b11d34ce1bdef16fcc0d4e1c20d1700ab9937636.jpg

[Squawk7700]

Another new site up today thanks to Dick Smith and the operators of YCRB Coorabie airfield.

Speaking with the RFDS onsite today, it looks like it will be a great asset for their operations!

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1665x929/ycrb_7ffbb8a2b88d50bf6ef3f29b67a705910b41a680.jpg

[PiperCameron]

Any plans for cameras at Mt Hotham (YHOT)? Just asking nicely..

[Squawk7700]

Any plans for cameras at Mt Hotham (YHOT)? Just asking nicely..

Yes.... not at the airport, but very close by. I would expect within a few weeks.

Don't get me started on the reason why they won't put them at the airport (where is the angry emoticon when you need it). Arrgh.

[First_Principal]

Don't get me started on the reason why they won't put them at the airport (where is the angry emoticon when you need it). Arrgh.

There's lots around, with thanks to toppng.com this one might suitably convey your feelings?


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/187x191/angry_and_sad_emoji_resize_e73baf45a2d7103a7e2a834671528c6dd 5ea579b.png

Good to hear there's another way of conveying the requisite information...

FP.

[Hoosten]

Squawk, are Foreflight getting onboard with the cameras?

[Squawk7700]

Squawk, are Foreflight getting onboard with the cameras?

Not yet nope.

They should be doing it in the US too as there are hundreds there and many more to come. Same with Garmin Pilot. Garmin in Aus expressed interest but they said they are limited by the slow cogs turning in the US.

I’ll do my best to convince them at Oshkosh in a few weeks.

[BronteExperimental]

Not yet nope.

They should be doing it in the US too as there are hundreds there and many more to come. Same with Garmin Pilot. Garmin in Aus expressed interest but they said they are limited by the slow cogs turning in the US.

I’ll do my best to convince them at Oshkosh in a few weeks.
Given they literally only this week turned on the ability to file a domestic flight plan from GP, I wouldn’t be holding out for cameras.
I think FF is at the margin the better EFB but there’s no way the (subjective) incremental benefits over RWY/AP are worth giving up the cameras.
GP is a distant 4th for Australia even if you have a Garmin cockpit.

[Squawk7700]

Another camera up, this time at YTYH - Tyagarah with a huge thanks yet again to Dick Smith and the locals at Tyagarah.

3 more will follow soon with another one in this location and a couple more at the gliding club. There's excellent coverage in this area now, with Tyagarah, Ballina/Byron, Lismore and Murwillumbah.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1124/camera2_75bb226ff1426b1a1c8d59e3cb6414912c63d46b.jpg

[MagnumPI]

Top work Squawk, and thanks again for your generosity Dick Smith! Aviators on the Northern Rivers now have a much better view of the coastal conditions.