John Reynoldson <>
writes:

Sportavia closes its doors permanently after originally announcing
last March that it was moving to seasonal operations and shedding most staff
over winter.


http://www.sportavia.com.au/sportaviacutomerletter22july2006.htm


Richard Cawsey writes:


22 July 2006 Dear Gliding Friends,


It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce the closure of Sportavia’s
commercial gliding operations. Since March we have been trying to sell the
business and its assets or just the management rights. The last of the potential
buyers withdrew their interest on Wednesday.


This is a very sad outcome for all of those who have been involved in the
business over the past 30 or so years. We would like to thank all who have
contributed through the years – customers, suppliers, staff and the local
community. Sportavia at Tocumwal was an extraordinarily wonderful place and,
while it was disappointing to only break-even this past season, its final season
will be remembered as a great one – one of the busiest and most enjoyable in
years!


In the Australian spring-time an auction will take place on site to sell most of
the assets. I expect that the land and buildings, a tug or two, and a couple of
gliders will be retained. The exact timing of the sale and an information pack
will be finalised over the next few weeks.


Those with gliders, caravans or both at Tocumwal will need to remove them by the
end of October. Special arrangements may be able to be made for our
international customers to extend this into November but this will only be done
on an as needed basis. Hangarage and site-rental invoices will be prepared up to
the end of October and sent to the affected parties. If any-one wishes to
include their aircraft or caravan in the spring sale process please email us as
soon as possible. All correspondence should be sent to
.


For those customers who have paid a deposit for flying in the next season,
refund cheques are being prepared and will be sent out by the end of August.


Some customers have expressed interest joining a club whose annual membership
fee would cover a CFI/Tug master salary plus basic club running and insurance
costs. All other club services (towing etc) would be charged on a cost recovery
basis. Hangarage would be additional and directly paid to the property owner. It
is expected that membership will be limited to those who have an aircraft based
at Tocumwal. If there is enough interest this may allow the caravan park, some
basic accommodation to be retained and, perhaps, a couple of club aircraft. For
those interested in becoming a member of such a club please contact us on the
above email.


Again, I wish to thank all of those who have helped make Sportavia a truly great
place to visit over the years.