Impressive air force planes to visit King Island

King Island Airport will soon play host to some of the Royal Australian Air Force’s most impressive aircraft, with Canberra’s RAAF No. 34 VIP Squadron confirming it will conduct flight training to the island in its Falcon 7X “Skycandy” jets.

The visits follow an invitation from King Island Council, which is keen to see the island used more regularly for Air Force training.

Mayor Marcus Blackie welcomed the news, noting the island had already seen a Falcon 7X in action during the Governor-General’s 2023 visit and a recent Falcon 7X visit in May this year.

In correspondence confirming the training, the Falcon 7X airfield manager wrote:

“Thank you for reaching out, 34SQN would love the opportunity to conduct training sorties to King Island – no encouragement required! WGCDR Leech has directed me to organise the necessary paperwork… we look forward to visiting soon.”

Alongside 34 Squadron, discussions are also under way to bring the RAAF Flight Training School from East Sale, Victoria, which is considering King Island Airport as a forward operating base.

Mayor Blackie said King Island Airport offers unique conditions for training: its geographic isolation in Bass Strait; challenging weather and winds; a mix of sealed and unsealed runways; uncontrolled, relatively vacant airspace; and even “a good old-fashioned NDB” for navigation training.

“Once on the ground,” the Mayor said, “our landing and handling fees are very reasonable and we have JET A-1 fuel via hand fill. The absolute bonus would be filling up your helmet bags with King Island Cheese and other great produce during a brief shutdown and leg stretch!”

Council-owned and operated, the airport has an experienced team and is eager to build stronger ties with the RAAF. Airport Manager Chris Newton is liaising directly with Defence to facilitate the visits.

Mayor Blackie concluded:

“As Mayor of King Island Tasmania, I would like to invite and encourage more RAAF aircraft to visit King Island Tasmania Airport for training purposes. I sincerely hope to see the RAAF down here more regularly.”