Parafield Airport is located 18 km north of the Adelaide CBD and enjoys the facilities that come with being one of the busiest General Aviation (GA) airports in Australia.
Parafield Airport was first used as an "all over" aerodrome in 1927, when Miller Aviation Company (later MacRobertson Miller Airways in Western Australia) and Australian Aerial Services moved from "the main aerodrome" at Albert Park. Later that year, on 26 November 1927, the Royal Aero Club of South Australia built a hangar at Parafield, and bought two aircraft for passenger and training purposes. On May 29, 1929 two De Havilland Hercules Airlines, carrying 21 passengers, arrived at Parafield from Perth on the inaugural flight of the East-West Service. On October 1, 1929, 16 aircraft landed at Parafield in the course of the East-West Air Race from Sydney to Perth.
On July 1 1936, Australian National Airways was formed with passengers flying from Parafield to Perth, Melbourne and Sydney as well as country centres in South Australia.
During World War II, Parafield Airport was used by the RAAF as a Flying Training Unit using mainly Tiger Moth aircraft, with occasional use by a heavier general service aircraft such as the Liberator Bomber.
At the end of hostilities in World War II, the airfield plus numerous buildings were handed back to the Department of Civil Aviation and it continued to operate as the only civil airport for Adelaide until Adelaide Airport was opened for regular public transport (RPT) operations on February 16, 1955. Parafield was to become the secondary airport and training field.
In the early 1980's the Federal Government was laying the foundation for privatisation of its airports. The final stage of the program took place at midnight of 28 May 1998 when PAL commenced the long term leasing of Parafield, inheriting identified staff, facilities and equipment.
The main building area, covering 19-20 hectares is located in the northern area of the airport, and mainly accommodates commercial lease properties. The facilities include aircraft hangars, workshops, student accommodation, flying schools and a range of non-aeronautical facilities (e.g. clubs, sporting/recreational reserves etc.), with the control tower being located on the southern boundary.
The Commercial Estate is the most recently developed precinct of the airport, providing approximately 17 hectares of serviced commercial land in the north-east corner of the airport.
 | Parafield Grounds Map October 2005 257 kB |
Below are some useful links to Flying Training Organisations
Flight Training Adelaide
www.flighttrainingadelaide.com
Flight Training Adelaide (Helicopters)
www.flighttrainingadelaide.com/helicopter-training
Adelaide Flight Training Centre
www.adelaideftc.com
Bruce Hartwig Flying School
www.learntofly.com.au
Forsyth Aviation
www.forsyth-aviation.com
UniSA Flying Academy
www.unisa.edu.au/aviation
