Archerfield's Sunland Aviation with Gordon and Jean
Jenkinson words synonymous with the best of flying training instruction
available during the years 1969 1999 in South East QLD
If you were a pilot or learnt to fly at Archerfield during
this time period you would have known of or were directly involved with Gordon
and Jean either in the pilot training or charter operations area
One of the last and longest operating family run flying training
schools - Sunland survived against all odds associated with running a small
business during a period where new regulations were issued on an almost daily
basis and the funds required to survive at the time were scarcer than 'hen's
teeth'
Starting out at Archerfield airport in 1969 with nothing
more than a licence to instruct Gordon turned out pilots over the next 30
years who were confident in their ability to handle a flying machine in all
types of weather conditions knowing that the training they had received was one
of the best available which also just happened to be at an affordable price
Respected by competitor operators and government officials
alike from various aviation departments - Gordon's unique and unflappable style
of operation left it's mark within the minds of all those involved in the
aviation scene
Quite - reserved - conventional with an unswerving loyalty
and integrity to be the best in the business it took a little while in some instances
for these attributes to sink in and for pilots to understand that Gordon's
approach to flying training was as professional as one could get and that the
knowledge he had of his job was unlimited - it was up to you as a trainee pilot
to get it right 'Gordon's Way' and to Gordon's satisfaction
Several Qantas pilots - past and present are by-products
of the 'Sunland Way' along with numerous other professional pilots flying for
airline companies and an assortment of private pilots - many of them scattered around the world
HISTORY
Gordon started out learning to fly in gliders after the war
years in Britain eventually obtaining his commercial pilot's licence in the
early 1960's
Gordon married and with a wife to support (as was the custom
back then) he was determined to fly for a living his "real job" was as an
Electrical Designer in the Drafting Office of British Aircraft Corporation
Gordon had to fall back to 'drafting' a number of times
during his early days in OZ as he struggled to make end's meet in the then
unstable commercial flying arena that existed
Australia beckoned and in October 1964 with only 10 pounds
to his name along with wife Jean and new family in tow Gordon plunged into the
Land Down-Under two months later he resurfaced and with his newly converted
commercial pilots licence Gordon commenced to fly for Bush Pilots
After a short stint with 'Bushies' in Townsville Gordon and
tribe moved onto Roma where he flew for Carnarvon Air as a charter pilot he
then moved to QLD's Gold Coast where he started to get serious about flying
training and became a junior flying instructor as well as a charter pilot with
the then Northern Rivers Aero Club based at Coolangatta airport
Three years later he 'saw-the-light' and signed up to take
over the Hawker De Havilland (Australia) owned flying school at Archerfield
Sunland Aviation Services Pty. Ltd - that was for sale at the time
After an initial shaky start Sunland started to grow both in
size and influence on the airfield as Gordon's reputation as a skilled trainer
of pilots expanded
During the next 30 years Gordon flew a variety of aircraft from
instructing in 2-seat puddle-jumpers to piloting corporate jets in all types of
weather conditions
In 1999 Gordon and Jean sold Sunland and retired to
'the mountain' a small self-made avocado farm on Mount Tambourine west of the
Gold Coast where they had built their own home over a number of years after previously
residing at Rochedale and Sunnybank
In late 2006 Gordon was diagnosed with cancer that
eventually claimed his life in March 2008 aged 76
FOOTNOTE
A few months before Gordon died the palliative care people
suggested in a phone call to Jean that playing a CD that contained sounds of
water falling and birds singing in the bush had been proven to be a southing
remedy for cancer patients on visiting the Tambourine property a short time
later the person apologised to Jean for being so ignorant Gordon was already
living in this type of paradise on the mountain
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