Probus club hears tales of the aviation industry with Chris Hansen

PROBUS Club of Coffs City members were regaled with tales of the aviation industry from guest speaker Chris Hansen at their recent annual general meeting (AGM).

Mr Hansen said he realised at the tender age of four that he was born to fly.

However, finding out he was red/green colour deficient meant his dream of a life in the air quickly came crashing down.

“I muddled through school and university and was working in Darwin as a builder’s labourer when Mum sent me a cutting from the West Australian newspaper about careers in the aviation industry, specifically Flight Service,” he told News Of The Area.

He applied and got a job.

Flight Service, phased out in 2000, looked after smaller aircraft flying below 20,000 feet in uncontrolled airspace, while Air Traffic Control (ATC) looked after the higher levels (above 20,000 feet) in controlled airspace.

“Our job as Flight Service Officers (FSOs) was to keep in touch with pilots in our airspace and advise them of any en-route problems with weather, navigation aids or any conflicting traffic they were likely to encounter.

“We didn’t separate aircraft in our airspace; all we had to do was bring any conflict to the attention of the pilots and they organised their own separation.”

Seeing the role of the FSO becoming duplicated, Hansen diverted to college in Launceston to become an Air Traffic Controller.

He became a rated controller in Perth in 1994, but it wasn’t a perfect fit.

“Due to the added responsibility, stress, shift work and a new family, I realised that it wasn’t for me and luckily was able to return to Flight Service.

“I had another six years in Perth before Flight Service was extinguished and we all had to take redundancy or move to Melbourne or Brisbane.”

Mr Hansen chose Brisbane, where he went on to work for 20 years as an intermediary between ATC and pilots operating outside of ATC radio range.

“But when the children of my peers started telling me what to do, I knew it was time to hang up my headset,” he said.

He later moved to Coffs Harbour with his wife Rosemary.

“My 35 years in the industry was full of challenges and rewards and we got to see a lot of Australia with various postings.

“It is an interesting industry to work in but not for the faint-hearted,” he said.

Also at the AGM, Probus members re-elected John Williams as Chairman of the club.

Club meetings take place at Sawtell RSL on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 10am.

By Andrea FERRARI