Royal Victorian Aero Club - Club History

Club History 

The history of the Royal Victorian Aero Club is an integral part of the history of the development of aviation in Australia. The Club traces its history and beginnings back to 1914, only eleven years after the Wright Bros famous first powered flight in December 1903 and only four years after the first powered flights in Australia in 1910.

It was at Point Cook, on 28 October 1914, that two instructors and three army officers under instruction, (the first members trained for service with the Australian Flying Corps), unanimously decided to form the Australian Aero Club and to affiliate with the Royal Aero Club of Great Britain. The Club holds the original hand-written minutes of this historic meeting. The Australian Aero Club was formally established on 9 April 1915, when military and civilian aviators and others directly interested met to elect office bearers.

Yesterday and today at operations.

One of the original three officers under instruction, then Capt. Thomas White, later became a long-serving member and president of the Club. Another of those three, then Lt. Richard Williams was also a Club member and is the person after whom the RAAF base at Laverton/Point Cook, (“RAAF Williams”) is named. Subsequently, both these men had illustrious military and public careers. Sir Thomas White KBE, DFC, VD served with distinction in both World Wars, becoming Minister for Air and Civil Aviation in the Menzies’ Government and Australian High Commissioner in London. Sir Richard Williams, KBE, CB, DSO was the founder of the Royal Australian Air Force and later the first Director-General of Civil Aviation.

Tiger Moth

In 1918 and 1919 State sections of the Australian Aero Club were formed in all states, the original Club changing its name at that time to the Australian Aero Club, Victorian Section. Between 1922 and 1924 the Victorian Section became totally inactive, as soon after did all the other Sections, except New South Wales. However, a bank account in the name of the Victorian Section remained in existence to maintain the lineage. In November 1924 the Victorian Section was revived to keep alive the flying skills developed by wartime airmen and to train new pilots to meet the increasing popularity of flying. The Australian Aero Club, Victorian Section was incorporated under this name, as a company limited by guarantee, on 13 August 1926, under the then Victorian Companies Act of 1915. The Club’s annual general meetings are numbered from this date of incorporation.

The Australian Aero Club, Victorian Section was renamed the Victorian Aero Club on 29 October 1934. Just a few months later, on 13 March 1935, the privilege and honour to use the “Royal” appellation was granted. Since that date the Club, following an official change of name, has been known as the Royal Victorian Aero Club.

 Until the mid nineteen twenties there was little government control or regulation over flying activities, particularly in regard to training pilots, conducting commercial flights carrying paying members of the public and maintenance of aircraft in an airworthy condition. In 1926, the Club, along with the New South Wales section, was the first to be approved by the Defence Department, which then controlled aviation, to train pilots to the Private Pilot’s Licence standard. To enable this to be accomplished and to ensure a ready supply of pilots for commercial and military purposes, the Department made available two “Moth” aircraft and paid a grant or bonus of £20 for each licence granted.

The nineteen twenties and thirties were the days of achievements and records. Between 1927 and 1935 Bert Hinkler and Sir Charles Kingsford Smith made many famous flights and established numerous records. Likewise Hudson Fysh continued his fine work establishing Qantas.


Today and Yesterday - MB Control Tower

In 1934 one of our own members made a remarkable flight for which she received little public recognition. Miss Freda Thompson, then aged 28, flew her own Moth Major solo from England to Australia in 19 days flying time. She was the first Australian women to do this. On the same flight she made a record five and a half hour flight from Koepang to Darwin. All this was achieved with only a compass and basic maps by which to navigate. Freda Thompson was a very competent pilot and won many of the Club’s competitions. She served on the committee of the Club for three years between 1947 and 1949 inclusive and was President in 1948.

During the Second World War, the Club became quite small as members joined the armed services, aircraft were seconded by the Government and fuel was severely rationed. In 1944 there were only 73 members and only 387 hours were flown. After the war and for the next twenty years a substantial expansion occurred. Again in the post war years, private flying training was subsidised by the Commonwealth Government to ensure a constant pool of trained pilots, particularly for the R.A.A.F.

By 1968 the Club had 1426 members and was flying over 25,000 hours per year. During those years the Club established sections at many country centres. At various times, some for long periods, others short, there was representation at Nagambie, Shepparton, Tocumwal, Kerang, Wangaratta, Albury, Mildura, Benalla, Ballarat, Ararat, Mount Gambier, Swan Hill, Warrnambool and Millicent. Some of these sections subsequently became independent local flying clubs. The last country sections closed in 1962

There was then a substantial business decline, starting in 1969 and continuing through to the first half of the 1970’s. This was brought about by a number of reasons, some of which relate to increasing costs as subsidies were steadily replaced with the user-pays system and of course increasing competition. Since the early 1980’s the Club has been relatively stable in terms of membership numbers and flying hours.

The Club operated at the “Commonwealth Aerodrome”, Bulla Road, Essendon from the early 1920’s and remained there for nearly thirty years. With the advent of significant regular public transport in larger aircraft following the Second World War, the Club was no longer able to operate satisfactorily at Essendon. In December 1949, it moved to the newly established Moorabbin Airport. It was the first flying school operator at Moorabbin. The Club was provided at no cost with some of the many refurbished RAAF buildings and hangars transported from wartime training establishments. Many of these buildings and hangars, since renovated, are still in use today at Moorabbin, including some occupied by the Club.

Training and recreational flying was conducted up until the early 1950’s mainly in the de Havilland “Moth” series of aircraft. The Club still has numerous members who learned their flying skills in these aircraft. Then came the Chipmunk, followed in 1958 by the Piper and Cessna aircraft, updated models of which are still with us today.

Financially, the Club has had numerous highs and lows. In the thirteen years between 1926 and 1939 there were eight years of surpluses and five of deficits, both being relatively small. During the war years from 1939 to 1946 inclusive there were seven straight deficits, which reduced accumulated reserves to a very low figure. During the boom years from 1947 to 1966, there were thirteen profit years and seven loss years, reasonably well spread. Accumulated reserves rose substantially to $123,487 in 1966 dollar terms.

During the next twenty years from and including 1967 to 1986 there were eleven profit years and nine loss years, again well spread. However there was a substantial downturn in flying hours in 1969 and loss years followed. By 1973, the Club’s liquidity and financial position was extremely poor, accumulated reserves having fallen to $65,039. In October 1973 drastic action was taken to restore liquidity by the sale of 17 aircraft, thereby reducing the Club fleet from 21 to only 4. Accumulated reserves recovered to $200,074 by 1986, and there were then 662 members. In the twenty years up to 2006, there were only six years of deficits. Liquidity is now high and accumulated reserves have risen to over $800,000 as a result of strong trading surpluses.

Over ninety years have passed since that first meeting at Point Cook and over fifty years have passed since the move to Moorabbin. During that time a constant stream of members and new pilots has passed through our doors, many famous, many unsung.

It behoves the young and the new to maintain the history and traditions of the Royal Victorian Aero Club.