Commercial Aviation in West Auckland:

Commercial Opportunities: The airport is open to all types of Aviation Operation, even if there is already an operator providing a particular service, and even (especially) if it is competition with an established Lockie family business. The Lockies have experienced periods of both monopoly and strong competition in their software businesses, and observed that multiple operators expand a market and it is much easier to sell into a market with the 'buzz' of competition... the 'Greenlane Car Zone' effect.

Aviation Events: Are welcomed. Please check with the Airport management to avoid clashes, and confirm requirements before announcing the event. Click on Special Events at West Auckland Airport Parakai for suggested requirements.

Available Buildings. As of early 2012 there is some space in existing building available for aviation businesses:

1. Western Building: A building on the western side of the carpark with its entrance onto a verandah opening onto the carpark. Available for fitout to suit a cafe or aviation business requiring a small office, waiting area and briefing room.

2. Old Bunkhouse Building: To the West of the Tower building. The northern end is the Club lounge and kitchen, available for use by visiting G.A. pilots. Several small rooms are available for rent with bunkhouse level overnight accomodation.

Looking west from the taxiway near the hangars. Visible in the distance is the Airport Office and Clubrooms which is the building with the big windows partly obscured to the left of the hangars. The Manager's House is the curved roof building behind the helicopter. The 'Western Building' is the white building in front of the Manager's house. The threshhold of runway 07 is just visible to the left. The Skydive base, Hall , Old Bunkhouse and Tower buildings are out of sight behind the hangars, to the right of the grassed parachute landing area.

New Business Ventures: The owners are happy to talk to anyone wishing to start a new Aviation Related venture on the airport. Or to open a branch of an existing operation to tap into the large tourist population of Auckland City, and those Auckland residents (around 250,000 in West Auckland) for whom West Auckland Airport is the nearest airfield. With 2011 extension to the NW motorway, the airport is now 33 minutes by road from the Auckland CBD.

New businesses wishing to establish at West Auckland need to be adequately capitalised and have a simple business plan showing how they intend to promote the business to become fully viable in a short time.

Of most interest are those operators able to provide a 'complete package' to customers...  for example, rather than considering Scenic Flights to be just an aviation activity, flights should be considered part of a complete adverture package for tourists... with a significant advertising budget, professionally produced advert materials, organised pickup from hotels, photos of the passengers in the plane, and perhaps a Tee shirt for those clients wanting a momento, and delivery back to their hotel with brochures to give their friends.  Many of these services could be subcontracted out or done in conjunction with other operators on the airfield.  It is seen as important that all businesses operating out of West Auckland Airport have a polished and professional 'complete' package in order to be successful and enhance the development of the airport.

Overview: West Auckland Airport Parakai is owned by the Lockie family, 'The Parakai Story', Pacific Wings Magazine. They are continuing to develop the airport to serve West Auckland, with a full range of aviation related services and all types of GA operation supported. The airport manager, Simon Lockie, lives on the airport to provide a good level of security for aircraft, buildings and equipment.

From the Clubrooms Building, this room currently used by Skydive Auckland.

Looking into the Airport Office with reception (with the orange desk) and the Pilot Briefing Room to the left of that, which continue to be used for Airport reception and pilot briefing.

Resource Management and Planning Consents: An airfield was established at Green Rd Parakai in the 1960s, and moved to the current site in 1984. Rodney County Council 'Planning Consent' (as it was called then) was obtained in May 1984, allowing for construction over time of a runway up to 1000m x 60m with aircraft manouvering areas, hangars, control tower, terminal and ancilliary buildings. In 2002 the Rodney District Council (RDC) formalised the existing height protection for a 1:20 approach fan out to 1200m from each end of the runway, and when this was challenged in the Environment Court, the RDC obtained a judgement in March 2009 confirming the approach fans, as part of the RDCs requirement to prevent any change that would interfere with the operations of the airfield as an essential infrastructure amenity for the district. The existing sealed runway with hard grass extension to the East gives 860m of currently usable runway, and the terrain allows this to be extended to 1000m if a new operator requires more length for their operations. The runway is set to the Western end of the property in order to give maxmum clearance from the high ground of Mt Rex to the East. The facility was known as 'Parakai Airfield' until it was renamed 'West Auckland Airport' in 2011.

West Auckland Airport (Parakai) from the South West, May 2009. The property is rectangular, just over 1km long.

Opportunities:

Cafe: Operations have now built to the level where it would be viable for a cafe to serve the (often 40 to 60 people) on the airport at one time, and this in itself would become a destination for those wanting lunch in an interesting environment.

Aerobatics: Local adventure tourism operators (Horse trecking, Quad bikes, Tree Adventures, Hot pools, Paintball, Flight Experience, Skydiving) are increasingly working together to promote a 'West Auckland Adventure Tourism' circuit, and there is an obvious opening for a Tourist Aerobatic Operator, ideally with a Yak or similar tricycle aircraft.

Existing Operators 2012:

Blue Skies Skydivers: Operates a commercial tandem skydive business from their own Skydive base building.

Skydive Auckland: Operates a commercial tandem skydive business from the Clubrooms building and Hall.

The Skydive operators bring a lot of tourist business and commercial activity into the Parakai/Helensville area for tandem jumps. When Skydiving is active the jump ships make radio calls as required to advise other traffic.

Leading Edge Aviation: Bryn Lockie's aircraft engineering business operates from its own engineering hangar in the Tower building at West Auckland. The Leading Edge engineers can also carry out minor jobs at an aircraft's home hangar at North Shore or Whenuapai airfields, or fly to remote airfields on rescue missions. Leading Edge is the Australasian distributor for BRS 'whole aircraft' parachutes, and the only authorised repack station for these 'chutes in the Southern Hemisphere

Aircraft being serviced at Leading Edge Aviation's maintenance hangar.

Fly West Flying School: The school handles training for Private Pilot Licence (PPL) for certified aircraft, and Microlight Pilot Certificate for modern advanced microlights.

Piper Warrior certified aircraft are available for PPL/CPL training, and Tecnam advanced microlight aircraft for ML training. These aircraft available 'on line' for hire by existing or new flight training organisations, and for hire by suitably licenced and experienced pilots.

Aerial Imagery: Simon Lockie operates the aerial photography service. Living on the airfield he can take advantage of small breaks in the weather to take aerial photos and his computer skills (Simon was a Computer Technician in a previous life) come in handy when images need manipulating to remove the neighbour's old cars from a photo.

Flight Hauraki provides scenic flights for one to twelve people, and aircraft charter flights to anywhere in NZ, from West Auckland. Bookings taken by Simon Lockie on behalf of Flight Hauraki, 0800FlyWest or 0800 359 9378.

Greasr Aerodromes Clearing House 'Greasr' is a 'Cloud' (Internet) based Clearing House for processing landings fees for pilots and aerodromes throughout NZ with all payments being electronic. Greasr has its physical presence at West Auckland Airport, for logging radio calls from across the country.

Parakai Aviation Club (PAC) organises events for aviators operating from West Auckland, and for those who live nearby and have an interest in aviation.

Northland Microlight Club (NMC) holds organised club events, either at West Auckland or at nearby airfields.

Auckland Regional Microlight Aircraft Club (ARMAC), orginally based at Pikes Point, makes use of West Auckland as its West Auckland base.

Outlook from the deck on the Western Building (available for fitout). The airfield courtesy car, available for visiting aviators (just replace the fuel used), is parked against the white posts.

Facilities:

A shared serviced office is available for new businesses in the early stages, providing customer reception, EFTPoS, phone, fax, copier, computer and printer, broadband, briefing room and links or pages on this West Auckland Airport Parakai website.

Clubrooms: With waiting area and kitchen for visiting GA pilots and those based in the airport, is at the North end of the bunkhouse building.

Fuel: Avgas and Mogas 97 octane are available for visiting aviators during business hours (and after hours by arrangement). Skydive Auckland have JetA1 for their own use.

Tauranga Aero Club Rally waiting for their briefing in the hall (currently used by Skydive Auckland as a repacking area)

Syndication Shares in the Airport business and Land Ownership: For some types of operation, such as flight training of young overseas students where their parents require reassurance as to the stability of the training organisation, it could be a major sales advantage if the operator was also a part owner of the airport. In this situation the Lockie family would consider sale of a small shareholding in the 'Lockie Properties Ltd' company that owns the freehold land, to a suitable aviation buyer who was able to bring significant business to the airfield. This would be subject to conditions that ensured the continuing availablilty of the property as an established GA airport. A substantial majority of the proceeds of any such sale of shares would be reinvested in further development of the airport.

Contacts:

-- For Airport Operational Information, fuel sales, flight training, trial flights, aircraft hirage, new business enquiries, building of hangars, hangar space etc: Airport Manager, Simon Lockie, Ph 021 354 458. Or 0800FlyWest. Email: Simon@ParakaiAirfield.co.nz

-- For Aircraft Maintenance, Repairs, Import/Export of aircraft: Bryn Lockie, Leading Edge Aviation Ltd, Ph 021 681-900. Email: Bryn@ParakaiAirfield.co.nz