AA deputy editor Andrew McLaughlin, business development manager Lee-Anne Simm, managing editor Gerard Frawley, and AA founder Jim Thorn share the honours of cutting the 30th anniversary cake.

Over 60 guests gathered in Canberra on September 15 to celebrate ‘Australian Aviation’ magazine’s 30th anniversary. Managing editor Gerard Frawley gave this speech to guests including former staff, contributing writers, industry and Air Force representatives, friends and family:

Thank you all for coming; this is a terrific occasion for the ‘AA’ crew and the magazine itself.

For almost of all of us family is the most important thing in our lives. And I’m probably not alone in thinking of ‘Australian Aviation’ as family.

And the magazine’s 30th anniversary is a great opportunity to get the ‘AA’ family together, probably like never before. We’ve got the current immediate family of Lee, Andrew, Paul, Danielle and myself, plus Belinda and Bruce. Jim is probably now the grandfather, long time contributors like Gordon and Dave are the uncles.

But everyone in this room is ‘AA’ family in some way, a cousin, niece or long lost aunt who in some way has contributed to the magazine, so we thank you for coming along and being part of our little gathering.

For those partners that have married into the family, like Kerrie and Jacqui, Lisa and Ricki, plus people like Maureen and Mitch in days gone by, we know how the inlaws can try your patience, but we appreciate your patience with the relentless march of deadlines, the trips away and airshow expeditions.

I often joke that the constant magazine deadline cycle is like being in a big surf. You get dumped by one big wave of deadlines, dragged along the ocean floor, then get a second or two to pick yourself up, catch your breath, and shake the sand out of your swimmers before another wave of deadlines comes crashing down on you!

They’re relentless, 11 times a year, but definitely give life a certain rhythm. It certainly guides your life, and I think I’m passing down that rhythm to a second generation – both of my daughters were born during deadline friendly times of the magazine production cycle. Indeed little baby Audrey was due to be born right in the middle of what we call ‘deadline week’, but the little angel was born nearly three weeks early, just days after September issue went to press, giving Dad plenty of time to spend at home with the newly expanded family before the next set of deadlines came crashing down.

But working for the magazine is not all about deadlines and hard work. Although, attending the Regional Aviation Association convention at the Hyatt Regency Coolum on the Sunshine Coast is always a hard assignment. And the Paris Airshow in June? An unspeakable hardship! Who would do it?

But there are lots of perks. Just Thursday night, Paul, Dan and I went along to Virgin Blue’s black tie function at Canberra airport to celebrate the announcement of the airline using new Embraer E-Jets from Canberra to Sydney. The room was full of politicians and senior Virgin Blue executives dancing the night away to some rock band called Evermore. I’d never heard of them either, but apparently they’re very popular with the young things these days!

The people that you get to meet are certainly a really rewarding part of working for the magazine. At last Thursday’s event we got to skylark with Virgin CEO Brett Godfrey. Two days before Paul and I were out at Canberra Airport for the C-17 entry into service ceremony, where we could mix with everyone from C-17 pilots and loadmasters to the Chief of Air Force. On both the civil and military sides you get to meet a great range of interesting people in a variety of jobs, all with interesting stories to tell, and all really interesting to talk to.

But there are also some really interesting, talented people in this room. Book authors, photographers and illustrators, pilots. Stewart Wilson is Australia’s most prolific aviation author who for a long time was producing mountains of material for both the magazine and the books we used to publish. Paul Sadler is without doubt Australia’s best aviation photographer, who has shot everything from F-111s from mountaintops to Red Bull air racers. Owen Zupp is the time management master, managing to combine being a long haul airline pilot with regular, award winning contributions to ‘AA’ as well as writing his own books. Juanita Franzi is a world class aviation artist, whose work was integral to a number of books that we’ve done, and most recently appeared on the cover of our April Avalon Airshow issue – our best selling in six years. And I think we might even have a future airline CEO in the room in the form of young Ellis Taylor. I think we’ll always regret losing him to Jetstar!

Gordon Reid and Dave Prossor too deserve special mentions, they both write what I would consider as ‘foundation’ columns of the magazine in Traffic and Warbirds, which for many years have been amongst the magazine’s most popular.

It’s great to get you all together in the same room. You all contribute, or have contributed in different ways to making ‘AA’ the success that it is, so thank you.

Unfortunately there’s a few other talented people who have been big contributors to the magazine that couldn’t make it tonight. Mac Job, ‘Air Disaster’ author and Air Safety columnist. Bob Grimstead, our world class airtest reporter. Register Update columnist Tony Arbon, Yesteryear’s Eric Allen, airline industry feature writer Geoffrey Thomas, and former staff like Maria Davey and John Moremon.

A quick mention too for our printers, Pirion. Pirion has printed the magazine here in Canberra for about two decades now and has done a terrific job. Our relationship with them is by far our most important business relationship, and it’s great that it has been so enduring. Many of their staff are here tonight, we really appreciate having you here.

The current AA team - Paul Sadler, Gerard Frawley, Lee-Anne Simm, Andrew McLaughln, Belinda Stamatis, Danielle Cregan, and Bruce McLaughlin.

Of course there’s one person in the room who deserves extra special mention, Jim Thorn. Jim of course founded the magazine, along with then wife Margaret - who I’m really pleased to see is here tonight, and was for many years a pivotal part of the business. Jim was managing editor for the magazine for 27 or so of its 30 years, and without his vision for starting the magazine, hard work and perseverance in adversity, we wouldn’t all be sitting here today celebrating the magazine’s achievements. Hopefully Jim can share with us his own thoughts and memories of the magazine, such as when ‘AA’ was mentioned in federal parliament, or when he received a threatening phone call from a former airline CEO, who railed, after a famous JT Recce editorial, that “this time you’ve gone too far!”

One important point about Jim, in employing both Lee and myself as 17/18 year olds, he was always willing to give young people a go. We both thank him for that, and it’s a tradition that I believe we should carry on with, which is why it’s been so great to see Danielle Cregan flourish in her role as circulation manager. When she started she was just 16. At least now she is a very mature 18 year old who can share a drink with us tonight!

Me, I know from the very first time I saw a job advertisement for a cadet journalist in the August 1991 edition of ‘Australian Aviation’ that that was the job, and the place, for me. So I’ve been part of the team – part of the furniture? - for over 15 years now, and have had some terrific experiences in that time. Suffice to say I enjoy my time at ‘AA’ even more than ever, and I’m acutely aware of my responsibilities of guiding Australia’s most prestigious aviation magazine ever forward.

Of course, my business partners Lee-Anne Simm and Andrew McLaughlin are just as critical pieces of the ‘AA’ pie as I am. Lee, despite her still relative youth (and beauty), is an ‘AA’ institution, the glue that holds the organisation together. We’ll be really sad to see her go to Queensland, but at least there she’ll still be a big part of ‘AA’. And Andrew, a more enthusiastic and supportive deputy editor you couldn’t ask for. A great and energetic writer and a fantastic networker, more than that he’s just a genuinely good bloke!

But finally the people that are more important to ‘AA’ than any of us here, of course, are the 15,000 plus readers. Unfortunately we couldn’t invite them all here tonight, but it goes without saying that without all them, there wouldn’t be such a significant anniversary to celebrate. . . .