About Royal Queensland Aero Club

Royal Queensland Aero club is one of the worlds oldest flying schools. Our club members have included some of Australia's pioneer aviators; Bert Hinkler, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Lores Bonney.

Accredited by the Queensland Government as a registered training organisation, Royal Queensland Aero Club offers pilot training in the areas of:

General Flight Progress Test (GFPT)
Private Pilots Licence
Commercial Pilot Licence

We also provide training for:

Night VFR
Multi-engine Endorsement
Command Instrument Rating
Formation Endorsement

RQAC History

The Royal Queensland Aero Club is one of the longest established flight training schools in the world. First formed in June 1910, it was called the "Australian Aero Club - Queensland Section". The name was abbreviated in 1920 to the "Queensland Aero Club".

1919 Flying Training Commenced
1920 Granted first licence for the carriage of passengers in Australia
1920s Aerodrome site at Archerfield purchased
1929 Took over flying training in Queensland under contract with Qantas
1931 Eagle farm airport closed and facilities transferred to Archerfield Airport
1935 Royal Charter was granted resulting in the title “Royal Queensland Aero Club”
1940 Club’s hangar, aircraft and spare engines requisitioned by the Empire Air Training Scheme which trained RAAF pilots for the war.
                                            1966 Current clubhouse officially opened
                                            1984 Hangar one purchased from the Commonwealth
                                            1996 Awarded the “Sword of Honour” by the Guild of Air Pilots and                                             Navigators

The Patron of the Royal Queensland Aero Club is the duly appointed Governor of Queensland. Probably the two most identifiable members of the Club have been Bert Hinkler and Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. The Club has always catered to the flying aspirations of men and women alike, one of the more prominent lady members being Mrs Lores Bonney in the early 1940’s.

Countless students have gained their wings, achieving successful careers with the world's airlines and making significant contributions to general aviation.

1999 was the Club’s 80th training year. No other flying organisation in Australia has been training pilots for more than eight decades. Now in the new millennium, RQAC is poised to take aviation training to a new level in Queensland.