Helicopter Lifting in Mackay and the Whitsundays
Two economies, one region: the Bowen Basin behind it and the island resorts in front of it. Both share the same problem, no road to the load point.
Coverage
Where we fly around Mackay & Whitsundays
Suburbs and localities served
Mackay, Sarina, Proserpine, Airlie Beach, Cannonvale, Bowen, Moranbah, Dysart, Hamilton Island, Hayman Island, Daydream Island, Eungella
Local government areas
- Mackay Regional Council
- Whitsunday Regional Council
- Isaac Regional Council
- Departure base
- Mackay Airport (YBMK) / Whitsunday Airport
- Mobilisation from base
- 3.4 hrs transit
- Service radius
- 280 km
- Typical response window
- 72 hours standard, 5 days for island and marine park coordination
- Typical on-site duration
- 2 day(s) per mobilisation
- Aircraft available
- AS350 · 800 kg working hook · about 20 min flight time per lift
We operate statewide, the radius shows the area typically covered from this base without additional fuel staging.
What we lift here
Mackay & Whitsundays demand, weighted by job volume
- Island & remote access lifting28% of jobsResort plant, tanks and construction materials to the islands
- Mining & resources lifting25% of jobsBowen Basin component and conveyor work
- Emergency & disaster response13% of jobsCyclone reinstatement across the coast and islands
- Powerline & utility lifting12% of jobsCoastal and hinterland network reinstatement
- HVAC & rooftop plant lifting11% of jobsResort chiller and plant changeouts
- Construction lifting11% of jobsIsland jetty, villa and structural steel placements
Local operating considerations
What actually governs a lift in Mackay & Whitsundays
Airspace, weather, terrain and approvals decide whether a lift flies, not the hook rating. This is the operating picture we plan every Mackay & Whitsundays task against.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park permitting
Island and near-shore work sits inside the Marine Park. Operations require permitted landing areas, minimum altitudes over sensitive zones, and strict controls on anything that could enter the water. Approvals are the long pole in the schedule, assume weeks, not days, for a new island site.
Cyclone season, November to April
This coast takes direct hits. Two effects follow: a hard planning season where bookings carry weather clauses, and a surge in reinstatement work immediately after, when islands are cut off and aerial delivery is the only functioning supply chain.
Salt spray, over-water profiles and jettison planning
Inter-island transits are flown as over-water tasks with flotation, and the jettison plan must consider vessels, moorings and reef. On short island hops we plan the load path over open water rather than over anchorages, which sometimes adds distance to a five-minute crossing.
Bowen Basin shutdown scheduling
Moranbah, Dysart and the surrounding operations plan shutdowns to the hour. Aerial lift is chosen because it compresses a crane's mobilisation, assembly and dismantle into a single flying window, but it only pays if the aircraft, permit and component all land on the same date. We lock these programmes months ahead.
Resort operations and guest impact
Island resorts do not close for a lift. Work is scheduled around guest movements and ferry arrivals, typically before 08:00, with resort management controlling the ground cordon and a briefed comms channel between the pilot, the resort and the ground team.
Projects in this region
Lifts we have flown here
740 kg
Resort chiller replacement, Hamilton Island
Two smaller units exchanged before the first ferry; barge and crane alternative quoted at nine days.
Hamilton Island · AS350
560 kg
Conveyor idler frames, Moranbah
Twenty-eight smaller frames placed along an operating corridor during a 36-hour shutdown.
Moranbah · AS350
700 kg
Post-cyclone pole reinstatement, Proserpine
Forty-one poles over five days into cane paddocks still impassable to vehicles.
Proserpine · AS350
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