Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage fly over

With airlines crippled all over the world and airlines storing aircraft for months on end, many Asian airlines have been sending their idle aircraft to the APAS facility in Alice Springs. APAS (Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage) provides an aircraft storage facility that caters for short, medium and long term storage needs for the airline industry. The formation of the APAS facility is an extremely exciting step for the Australian aviation sector, representing the first Asia-Pacific based alternative for customers with aircraft based, or operating through the region. Their objective is to establish APAS as the leading storage facility in Asia Pacific, and in the process, offer a local alternative for Asia Pacific based airlines which have to date, had no other option than to ferry their aircraft at significant expense to the other side of the globe. Located in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia, the facility is based in a dry arid environment ideally suited for the storage and preservation of aircraft. Operating from a 100Ha site within the Alice Springs Airport complex, which occupies 3,550 hectares, the facility has almost unlimited expansion capabilities.  With growth forecasts for the Oceania region outpacing the rest of the world, the APAS facility is ideally situated to cater for the demands of rapidly changing fleet requirements. 

Aircraft Storage – Facility Features

• The first purpose built aircraft storage and recycling facility for Asia Pacific
  
• Dry, arid, low humidity environment ideal for the preservation of aircraft
  
• Proximity to Asia delivers flexibility for customers operating aircraft throughout the Asia Pacific region
  
• Same time zone for Asia Pacific based customers
  
• Effectively no sovereign risk
  
• Autonomous site access
  
• 24/7 operations with no flight restrictions
  
• Full support of Alice Springs Airport

So this weekend just gone I flew out to Alice Springs for the night especially to view the aircraft parked at the APAS. I had organised a 20 minute helicopter flight over the site and below are some of the 120 photos I took. I had organised my helicopter flight through Alice Spring Helicopters for 2pm. On arrival I meet a lovely young lady called Katrin who was my pilot for the photo shoot. The aircraft for today was a Robinson R44. This was my first time in a helicopter and not having a door put me on edge for the first few minutes. Kat took me through all the safety procedures and explained in detail what each instrument and control did. Once airborne we climbed up to 500 feet and then with each full circuit we dropped 100 feet.

ALICE SPRINGS HELICOPTERS ROBINSON R44 VH-WFF (CN 2399)

Special thanks goes to Kat for being an amazing pilot and being patient with me, 

Also thanks to my beautiful amazing wife for letting me follow my passion and for her continued support and encouragement.