Having heard of our innovations in the air and on the water – two passions dear to his heart – Dick Smith paid a visit to Carbonix this week.

In inimitable style, he flew his helicopter in and landed on the green at the North end of Cockatoo Island.

He stayed for a lengthy tour of the Carbonix workshop and asked expectedly technically savvy question about the carbon composites, the dynamics, the business and the market.

It is an honour to have the admiration and support of someone so successful, and it is uniquely Australian that someone with such a high profile would take an interest in a promising but very young venture such as Carbonix.