Register Update Service

A couple of interesting aircraft returning to the register this issue. Lear 36 BIB was owned by Bib Stillwell in Australia when his company were an importers for the type. During 1979 he joined the Learjet marketing section in the USA and took the aircraft with him as N266BS. It now returns to this country to join the Lloyd fleet and will be used for the target towing contract with the Navy, based at Nowra NSW. Rutan Vari Eze, EZI also returns from a stint overseas, this time in England. Mr Sutcliffe’s aircraft was registered G-BKNK during the three years it flew from Ringway, near Manchester in the north of England. In the deletions section five aircraft appear because they have had their registrations changed. The Air North Queen Air BOA has taken up a more suitable registration as has the Cessna 425 JEC, EGS standing for the Eastern Goldfields Section of the RFDS. Cheyenne LJK and Citation TNP have simply exchanged their registrations and no doubt the reason for this is that Bacritas P/L have sold the Cheyenne and bought the Citation and wish to retain the same letters on the tail of their aircraft. Robinson CIU rolled onto its side at Hoxton Park just after takeoff when the student pilot did not take into account the different flying characteristics of the helicopter with only one person on board during his first solo flight. The aircraft was not badly damaged and appears in the restoration section of this issue. Hughes GMO collided with a parked utility at Amaroo Homestead and Cessna 150 KOF cartwheeled and came to rest inverted at Alice Springs after a wing came into contact with the ground whilst landing. Meanwhile, the hull of Lake Buccaneer XDH was badly damaged when it collided with debris whilst landing on the water at Strahan in Tasmania and the aircraft pitched forward and overturned. Five exports appear in this section, the two ex-Ansett Sikorsky S61s to the USA, the Victorian.

Police Force Cessan Titan, PVG, to Sweden and Aztec ETJ to Helicopter Services at Taupo, New Zealand. The Aztec was delivered via Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island on the 2nd of July. Cessna 402 LCF travels north to join the fleet of Morobe Airways in PNG where the local operators are looking to expand their routes following the collapse of Co-Air at Lae. Aquatic Airways have added Nomad BRQ to their fleet of two Beaver floatplanes. The only Nomad on floats operated in Australia was taken over from Barrier Reef Airways of Queensland and is used mostly for charter work from Aquatic’s Palm Beach base on Sydney’s northern beaches. Other interesting changes of ownership show Shorts KNO to Pelair to be used on overnight freight runs and Cessna 310 LAF to Easter Airways to be used on their Williamtown to Wollongong twice daily service.

Several aircraft have been delivered to Australia during June and July including another five aircraft from South Africa and an Islander from Botswana. The Islander will go to the Wilton, Parachute Centre which is about 50 kilometres south west of Sydney. Two new Piper Aerostars arrived in Sydney from Honiara on the 22nd of July and although not yet shown in the official listing, have become NOA and NOE with Aviation Centre at Bankstown. The most exotic aircraft to arrive in Australia for some time is a Sindlinger Hawker Hurricane. This 5/8th scale wood and fabric replica of the famous British WWII fighter has arrived from England and no doubt will make an interesting addition to Australian airshows. Sydney radio station 2UE, which presently operates a Robinson R22 helicopter on news gathering and traffic watch duties for the NRMA is hoping to upgrade to a Bell 206 and have reserved NUE for this machine. Meanwhile HYE has been reserved for the new Taylorcraft F21B pictured on p119 of the last issue of Australian Aviation. Hawker Pacific, Air North and the NSW Air Ambulance have all reserved registrations relevant to their identities with Hawkers reserving several in the HP block and Air North in the AN block. The Air Ambulance have reserved AMB and AMS for future Beech 200s, AMB was the marking used on the Air Ambulance’s first Queen Air which has gone to the Powerhouse Museum via the Aviation Historical Society of Australia (NSW Branch) and AMS was the Queen Air which was destroyed by fire at Dubbo during July 1982. Vintage and homebuilt aircraft figure prominently in the reservations with OVL. AAP, LRB and BEN all reserved for Tiger Moths, UQV for a Gipsy Moth, AAM for a Moth Minor and MJB for an Auster.