Dick Smith - Dangerous Australian Airspace and a Dying Industry

Aussie icon Dick Smith joined me to discuss dangerous airspace and a dying aviation industry in Australia.  

After news broke that John Anderson (former Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister) is running for parliament again, Dick Smith wrote an open letter (https://aopa.com.au/dick-smith-issues-open-letter-to-former-aviation-minister-mr-john-anderson/) laying out the deaths caused by a failure to fully implement the National Airspace System (NAS) announced in 2002 by John Anderson.  

We also spoke about what happened to Dick Smith Foods.  

Dick Smith is not only an Aussie iconic entrepreneur (Dick Smith Electronics) but also a lifelong aviator and former Chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.  

Read Dick's open letter to John Anderson: https://aopa.com.au/dick-smith-issues-open-letter-to-former-aviation-minister-mr-john-anderson/ 

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2:25 The National Airspace System (NAS) that was never implemented 

3:32 People are dying in airplanes 

4:13 Massive roadblocks in the sky 

8:23 Dick wrote this letter for the National Library to document aviation in Australia 

9:31 The demise of Australia’s small airports 

14:26 Privately owned air traffic control towers and aviation firefighting 

16:15 Why write an open letter instead of a private conversation? 

17:19 Dick Smith in politics 

18:37 Dick’s philanthropy and charity work 

19:48 Was Dick Smith Foods too early? 

21:20 Matt explains the technicalities around Dick's airspace concerns