SAFA Skysailor Magazine

24 SKY SAILOR December-January-February | SUMMER 2025/2026 It wasn’t adversarial, just detailed. Airser- vices needed confidence that the club was organised, communicative, and aware of its responsibilities to ensure safety. Once those boxes were ticked, they issued the LOA, clearing one of the big hurdles in the entire process. Other Stakeholder Consultation While working through the formal steps with Council and Airservices, we also had to consider and reach out to other stake- holders who regularly interact with the Carties area. One part of this included identifying every helicopter operator who flies in the Sunshine Coast region. We contacted each one of them to explain what we were working towards and to check whether they had any concerns. Some replies were casual and positive, and others were… less formal. One oper- ator responded with, “I don’t give a *#*#* what you do,” which still counted for us as a clear ‘no objection’. We also had to consider local residents around the headland. Because Carties is so visible to the public, we needed to assure CASA that the club was approaching the reopening responsibly and transparently. Re-Opening Carties