Bindook NDB

Technological obsolescence. The decommissioning was part of a nationwide strategy by Airservices Australia to transition from older, ground-based navigation aids like NDBs to more accurate, reliable, and cost-effective satellite-based navigation systems, primarily the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), also known as GPS.

The site is located in a remote, heavily forested area within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area in New South Wales. Following the decommissioning, the physical infrastructure of the NDB (antenna, transmitter hut, and associated equipment) has likely been removed by Airservices Australia. The land has reverted to its natural state as undeveloped bushland and serves no aviation purpose.

Bindook NDB was not an airport and therefore handled no aircraft landings or takeoffs. Its significance was as a critical en-route navigational aid for aircraft operating under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). For decades, it served as a key waypoint for flights on routes to and from the Sydney basin, particularly from the south and west. Pilots would use its signal (Morse code identifier: 'BIK') with their onboard Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) to determine their position and track.

There are zero prospects for 'reopening'. The site was never an airport, and the NDB technology it used is now considered obsolete for primary navigation. The global trend in aviation is to continue decommissioning such ground-based aids in favor of satellite-based systems, making a return of the Bindook NDB technically and economically unfeasible.