Reece

Farewell Credibility, Farewell!

December 16th, 1985 was a sad day for the Australian aerospace industry for it was the day that whatever remained of an indigenous design and development capability within Australia well and truly died. The Government’s decision to purchase the Pilatus PC-9 over the locally bred A1OB represents the final blow to the long-eroding credibility of the Australian aircraft industry.

I remember talking with a senior executive of one of Europe’s largest aerospace companies at the 1982 Farnborough Air Show, at the time he couldn’t believe that we would actually abandon the Nomad programme due to the obvious loss of credibility that would ensue. What my friend might have said regarding the death of Wamira is not known except that the credibility he mentioned back in ’82 is now well and truly gone.

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