✦ The Isis Flying Club manages and maintains the Childers Aerodrome on behalf of the Bundaberg Regional Council
Trevor Kee is known as the magic designer and visionary behind TG's Child Care's award-winning gardens that have been providing the space for children to enjoy so many beautiful moments of Playing is Learning for Life.
Beyond his talents in landscape designing and creating natural spaces teeming with green life, Trevor's other skill is way up in the air.
Trevor has recently been appointed as President of the Isis Flying Club. We spoke to him about his other passion - flying.
Photo 1: Trevor Kee at Old Farts Day
Photo 2: Gayle and Trevor Kee with Chris Hollis at Orchid Beach, Fraser Island
What is this flying club about?
The Isis Flying Club essentially manages and maintains the Childers Aerodrome on behalf of the Bundaberg Regional Council. The club services the recreational aviation community of the Isis District in Queensland, including Childers and its surrounding areas.
It is a magnificent 1000m all weather (east/west) grass runway with well set up club rooms. There are currently 14 owner/occupier hangars on-site, with future development sites available. Members can lease the land for their own hangar from the club at $200 per annum (so that's less than $4 per week)!
What kind of activities are conducted at the club?
The Childers Aerodrome is an Ultralight flying community. However, we do not discriminate against general aviation. There are many active recreational aviators and clubs in South East Queensland nearby as well. There is a very special activity that takes place at this club.
"Old Farts Day" is what Childers is famous for.
Every Wednesday morning, up to 30 pilots from all around converge on our airfield to chew the fat and catch up together. It's a great get-together we all look forward to, and in good old-school fashion, everyone brings a plate for morning tea. You must be wondering why in the world did we name this weekly routine Old Farts Day - that's because "old farts" (we feel very young!), make the best leaders, entrepreneurs and pilots because of our experience and maturity!
There are usually activities on the airfield most days of the week. On weekends we are a lot busier as hangar doors are opened, planes are re-fuelled and people take to the skies.
What are your plans for the club?
I want to foster fun, friendship and flying in our club. (We know where that FUN BUG comes from - TG's Child Care right?). And it's also really important we help maintain the physical environment to the high standards of the past.
We have quite a big event coming up as well this month (September) which is our 30th anniversary of the club. So we're busy preparing for that, and what's really fun is that day also happens to be international "Talk like a Pirate" Day!
Now that you are President of the club, how would you do things differently?
I'd start by finding the club a better president! Actually, I want to extend an open invitation to anyone to drop in to experience good old country hospitality at its best, Queensland style. Can't get it anywhere else!
Can you tell us a bit about your personal flying history?
I was four years old when I started flying. I had my Batman suit on and it lasted all of 1.6 seconds. It was a bit of a rough landing with my mouth full of dirt and a broken right arm.
That was a bit of a rocky start but in Easter 1994 I did my first hang glider solo flight in a Moyes Mars 190 off "Mystic Hill" in Victoria. And I couldn't stop flying since then. I moved from trikes to recreational flying and I achieved my Pilot Certificate on 26th July 2017, so that was a really big moment for me. My wife Gayle flies with me as well and she has been with me on nearly half of all my flying hours over the years.
What interesting moments have you experienced in your flying?
We purchased a Vixxen so that was a proud moment. It's not quite the same as buying a car. For me, a plane is like a trusty friend for life! It allows me to go on lots of weekend adventures with fellow aviators - once we even found a shipwreck!
Gayle and I were on one of our weekend pleasure flights over Fraser Island and we were just dumbfounded when we spotted the shadow of the luxury liner S.S.Marloo in the waters. It sank in 1914 and when we saw all 2,268 tonnes of it just lying quietly in the waters, it was unbelievable. It makes you want to take your plane up there and explore many more places! Who knows what you'll find! That find made us famous. We were on the news and on TV!
"What a wonderful effort to add yet another incredible aviation achievement to his arsenal of skills. Trevor is not a newcomer to aviation as he has been flying his own Trike Aircraft for many years. However to adapt from ‘weight shift’ control to ‘three axis’ control is no easy matter as control is maintained with completely opposite movements. Trevor did his flight test this afternoon in quite rough flying conditions with a brisk crosswind but these conditions didn't really pose a problem for our seasoned pilot. Well done Trevor." - Ray Lind, CFI, 26 July 2017 (Passenger Endorsement - 2nd Nov 2017)
Trevor Kee is the co-owner of TG's Child Care
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