Tired of traffic snarls and road closures, a far north Queensland man wants to be able to fly his replica World War II-era Spitfire to work each day.
Patrick English has put in an application to the local council to fly the plane from his private airstrip in the rural township of Koah to Cairns.
"Why drive if you can fly?" he said.
"I just want to be able to fly out here once a day, if I choose to do it."
Fly-in fly-out every day
Mr English, an engineer who runs a firm in Cairns, said it took him about 45 minutes to drive from his rural property to the city on a good day.
In his Spitfire — which took him six years to build — it's a five-minute trip.
Mr English is currently allowed to fly out from his private airstrip 52 days a year, but he has applied to the Mareeba Shire Council to increase that to 365 days a year.
"People also want to visit so I've asked for once a month or 12 times a year for someone else other than myself to be able to use it," he said.
"If someone wants to visit you they should be able to do it."
Flying commute stalls
But not everyone is happy with Mr English's plans to soar high above the traffic congestion each day or host his flying friends.
Several submissions opposing the changes have already been received by the council, including one from Nadine O'Brien, who lives next door.
"If you imagine you are standing next to a jackhammer with roadworks being done, that is the noise we are subjected to," she said.
Another resident, Bruce Copeland, runs an Arabian horse stud in the area.
"It disturbs the horses and the peace and tranquillity of the area," he said.
Mr English has fired back.
"I've had a noise study done and there is no noise problem," he said.
"If I fly this aeroplane over 1,000 feet [305 metres] it makes less noise than the commercial jets flying to Cairns all day long.
"I have no problem with people being opposed to the idea, but basing it on noise is not correct.
"Some of my closest neighbours have no problem at all with it."
The application is expected to go before the council before January.
