High-risk aircraft practices, including using kerosene lamps and flaming toilet rolls to light remote runways, will be stamped out under a government upgrade program.
And even more airstrips are to be upgraded after a substantial contribution from an anonymous donor to the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS).
The donation will complement the Federal Government's Remote Airstrip Upgrade Programme in the organisation's south-eastern section.
Dozens of runways will get facelifts, including at Coolah, Louth, Goodooga and Tilpa in New South Wales.
Improved lighting, animal-proof fencing, surface upgrades and navigation aids will be among the works undertaken.
RFDS pilot Craig Nethery said the works would serve as a major boost to aeromedical services in remote areas.
He said he had been in situations were the crew were forced to rely tail lights of farmers' motorbikes to navigate a take-off in the dark in a high-risk practice dubbed "a mercy flight".
"We're able to then identify [and] aim between the two sets of tail lights," Mr Nethery said.
"That gives you an idea of how to remain straight on the runway and then, where the tail lights are, that indicates the end of the runway."
Upgrades signal end to 'crazy' solutions
While Mr Nethery said he had not had to navigate a runway using diesel-lit toilet rolls before, he had used kerosene lanterns.
"The thing that you find with the kerosene lanterns is the flickering light," he said.
"There is nothing constant about the light that you get with the electric lighting or the LED lighting that we are now upgrading to."
Sarah Little, the RFDS community development co-ordinator, said poor conditions on runways could be the difference between life and death for people who needed medical help in remote areas.
"In situations where you have someone's life on the line — and we could save them if were able to land the plane or we can't get in — means we are literally either saving a life or are unable to," she said.
Ms Little admitted diesel-soaked toilet rolls were sometimes used to guide planes in to land or to help them take off, with Queensland the last state where this technique was utilised.
She said it had been pouring with rain at the time.
"We are trying to make it safer so that things like that don't happen and people don't have to think of these crazy things," she said.
The upgrades are not expected to be completed for another year.
