RAAF Base Curtin

RAAF Base Curtin
Curtin Airport
Derby, Western Australia in Australia
RAAF Base Curtin
Location in Western Australia
Coordinates 17°34′53″S 123°49′42″E / 17.58139°S 123.82833°E / -17.58139; 123.82833Coordinates: 17°34′53″S 123°49′42″E / 17.58139°S 123.82833°E / -17.58139; 123.82833
Type Military airfield
Area 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres)
Site information
Owner Department of Defence
Operator  Royal Australian Air Force;
Shire of Derby-West Kimberley
Website RAAF Base Curtin
Site history
Built 1983 (1983)
In use 11 June 1988 (1988-06-11) – present
Garrison information
Occupants 'Bare base'
Airfield information
Identifiers IATA: DCN, ICAO: YCIN
Elevation 91 metres (300 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
11/29 3,049 metres (10,003 ft) Asphalt
Sources: Australian AIP and aerodrome chart[1]

RAAF Base Curtin, also sometimes RAAF Curtin[2] (IATA: DCN, ICAO: YCIN) is a joint use Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base and civil airport located 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi) southeast[1] of the town of Derby on the north coast of Western Australia in Australia As it is one of the RAAF's three 'bare bases' no RAAF units are permanently based at Curtin and it is maintained by a small caretaker staff during peacetime.

The base is named in honour of former Prime Minister John Curtin.

History

RAAF Curtin was the first new major military airfield to be built in Australia since World War II. Construction on the base began in 1983 and it was opened on 11 June 1988.[3] The 25,000-hectare (62,000-acre)[4] base was activated twice by the RAAF between 1988 and 2013.[3] It was activated again in 2016 as part of Exercise Northern Shield.[5]

From the late 1990s the base operated as Curtin Immigration Reception and Processing Centre, an Australian Government immigration detention centre, which closed in September 2002.[6] However the centre was reopened in April 2010 to house around sixty Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers whose applications were suspended.[7]

In 2007 direct flights recommenced between Perth and Derby (RAAF Curtin) for the first time since Ansett Australia stopped the service in 1992. However, the flights ceased in February 2016.

In 2016 and 2017 the Australian Government announced that facilities at Curtin would receive a A$100 to A$200 million upgrade,[8] in addition to a range of other defence facilities in Western Australia.[9]

Climate

Climate data for Curtin RAAF Base, Western Australia
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 44.5
(112.1)		 44.4
(111.9)		 42.3
(108.1)		 41.5
(106.7)		 40.2
(104.4)		 36.1
(97)		 36.7
(98.1)		 39.1
(102.4)		 42.4
(108.3)		 44.7
(112.5)		 45.9
(114.6)		 45.7
(114.3)		 45.9
(114.6)
Average high °C (°F) 36.3
(97.3)		 35.5
(95.9)		 36.2
(97.2)		 36.5
(97.7)		 33.3
(91.9)		 30.8
(87.4)		 31.0
(87.8)		 33.2
(91.8)		 36.6
(97.9)		 39.0
(102.2)		 39.9
(103.8)		 38.3
(100.9)		 35.6
(96.1)
Average low °C (°F) 25.0
(77)		 24.6
(76.3)		 24.2
(75.6)		 22.3
(72.1)		 19.1
(66.4)		 16.7
(62.1)		 15.5
(59.9)		 15.8
(60.4)		 18.3
(64.9)		 21.8
(71.2)		 24.2
(75.6)		 25.1
(77.2)		 21.0
(69.8)
Record low °C (°F) 16.0
(60.8)		 16.0
(60.8)		 14.6
(58.3)		 11.4
(52.5)		 9.0
(48.2)		 8.5
(47.3)		 6.2
(43.2)		 6.9
(44.4)		 8.1
(46.6)		 13.2
(55.8)		 15.0
(59)		 16.0
(60.8)		 6.2
(43.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 225.0
(8.858)		 197.8
(7.787)		 148.0
(5.827)		 39.2
(1.543)		 13.7
(0.539)		 7.9
(0.311)		 8.6
(0.339)		 2.5
(0.098)		 0.1
(0.004)		 7.5
(0.295)		 21.9
(0.862)		 153.6
(6.047)		 838.2
(33)
Average rainy days 14.4 13.2 10.8 3.3 1.8 1.0 0.7 0.3 0.3 1.6 3.7 10.8 61.9
Source: [10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 YCIN – Curtin (PDF). AIP En Route Supplement from Airservices Australia, effective 01 March 2018, Aeronautical Chart
  2. ↑ "RAAF Curtin". Royal Australian Air Force. Australian Government. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 Biggs, Gavin (18 July 2013). "RAAF Curtin Marks 25 Years". Air Force. p. 15. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "RAAF Base Curtin, Western Australia" (PDF). Department of Defence. Australian Government. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  5. ↑ Donnelly, Shaun (22 September 2016). "Curtin Lifted Thanks to 'Outstanding' Work". Air Force. Department of Defence. p. 12. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "Curtin centre closes". The World Today. Radio National. 24 September 2002. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  7. ↑ "Curtin Air Base re-opened to hold asylum seekers". The Age. 18 April 2010.
  8. ↑ Turner, Rebecca (26 February 2016). "WA defence capabilities to get $4b upgrades under white paper plan". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Turnbull, Malcolm; Pyne, Christopher (20 February 2017). "Government invests heavily in Western Australia's future" (Press release). Australian Government. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Climate Statistics for Curtin Aero". Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 7 June 2018.


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