And the town and Cohuna Aviation Club expect that profile will expand dramatically as it looks to host an international flight school.
The sweeping vision got a $2.57 million boost yesterday when Nationals federal candidate Anne Webster and Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh announced the funding from the Regional Aviation Fund (RAF).
Club chairman Andrew Gibbs said the multi-million dollar allocation will go ahead regardless of who wins government after Saturday’s election.
Changes being paid for by the money include extending the existing runway to 1300m long and 30m wide — and with an upgraded load bearing so it would be capable of taking ‘‘force and effect landings of a 737 in an emergency’’.
There will also be advanced approach lighting, state-of-the-art GPS landing protocols and 24-hour fuelling facilities.
These works will make the airport the perfect landing for future pilots, with a memorandum of understanding already signed that could see the placement of 40 full-time cadets living and working in the town in coming years.
Mr Gibbs said the project had been on the town’s radar for the past eight years and will bring a considerable economic benefit to Cohuna.
‘‘This town has copped a hiding in the past six months and anything we can do to reverse this trend is important,’’ he said.
‘‘Hopefully this will be the future industry that kick-starts a whole lot of other industries. The dairy sector has been too heavily relied upon as the main biscuit and we need to now realise it may not be the future and it is time we look at future industries and modern industries.’’
Mr Gibbs said the eight-year journey to this point wasn’t without turbulence, as the decision for such a large expansion divided the community.
‘‘Some people might see this as overkill, it’s not,’’ he said.
‘‘Cohuna has a great little strip here but sometimes in bad weather there are certain protocols that have to be followed — there has to be a certain length for the air ambulance to operate in all conditions, we have cross-wind factors that limit the air ambulance’s ability to get in here and we have fog.
‘‘So it takes out all those marginals and pushes out the boundary. It’s not just good for us, it’s good for Kerang, Swan Hill, Echuca and our regional areas in an emergency situation.’’
‘‘It’s also ensuring we make our mark so we get the best international academies here, get cadets out of Tullamarine so they can finish their career here in our town rather than being shipped off to the city for their final, technical-based flying service.
‘‘Service delivery is something Cohuna has always done well and the thing that makes this town so attractive for international students is that we are such a diverse and open-minded community.’’
A cadet training facility hasn’t been confirmed but Mr Gibbs said the signed Memorandum of Understanding means cadets would soon be flying into town.
Mr Gibbs also thanked donors for the $130,000 for the application with Mawsons, Elliott Holdings, John Smith, Peter Barker, Northern Constructions, Aus Corp Jet Centres and Primary Policy Partners.
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