Traffic

Two new Aerostars delivered to Australia were N60700 c/n 61-0682-7962142 which flew from Honiara to Sydney on February 20th, while flying over the same route on March 1st was N82RS c/n 61P-0668-7963312. The eventual destination for N82RS was the Aviation Centre at Bankstown.

Arriving in Brisbane from Norfolk Island on January 18th was PA31 N38335. In Traffic March 1987 we suggested that PA31- 350 VH-SFH had been exported to New Zealand. This was not the case as its flight across the Tasman was apparently made as part of a holiday trip. Noted at Rockhampton on January 27th was PA31 P2-NGM. This aircraft previously operated in Australia as VH-DXM.

An unusual type on the Pacific ferry route was a BN-2A Islander. N59JA c/n 406 was previously operated out of McCall, Idaho and was noted at Oakland, California on December 17th while preparing for its Pacific crossing. On January 8th N59JA flew into Cairns on delivery to Sunbird Airlines.

Friendly Islands Casa 212 ZK-THV transited Brisbane on February 8/9 en route from Darwin to Lord Howe Island. The Casa was evidently returning to Tonga after a maintenance layup in Singapore. Casa 212 VH-KDV of Transecutive Airlines at Essendon was noted with Lloyd Aviation in Adelaide on February 1oth. Lloyd already operates Casa 212 VH-ICJ in their colours and in late February it was preparing to return to Darwin after spending a few months operating commuter flights between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.

After seven months of storage at Perth Airport, Skywest Bandeirante VH-WBI departed there on February 6th en route to Forrest and Adelaide. The Bandeirante has been leased by Lloyd Aviation to operate some of their commuter services out of Adelaide. Bandeirante VH-MWX was noted at Rockhampton on January 16th having its titles changed from ‘Aeromil Executive Airlines to that of Countryair. VH-MWX has been operating with Countryair since mid-December and is used on their night freight service from Mackay, Rockhampton to Brisbane and return. Another Bandeirante on the move, but at a slightly slower pace, was VH-MWU. On February 26th VH-MWU was moved by road from Kingsford Smith to Bankstown for overhaul by Pacific Aviation.

Shorts 330 G-BIFK departed Sydney for Mount Isa and the UK on February 15th. This Shorts 330 is the former Wings aircraft VH-KNN. Its destination in the UK was Biggin Hill where sister ship G-BIOE ex VH-KNP was noted in late December. Both Shorts 330s will enter service as freighters with British operator Fairflight.

F27-600 C-GSFS of Connair flew into Sydney from Norfolk Island on January 19th. The F27 has been converted as a fire bomber and its destination was West Sale where it spent the summer with the National Safety Council.

A surprise but very welcome arrival at Moorabbin on March 11th was the former MacArthur Airways Dove VH-DHD. The Dove has been in open storage at Wedderburn near Sydney for a number of years.

International Transport Visitors

Quite a variety again during this period with the star attractions being an Air France Concorde, a Swissair DC-10 and an Aeroflot IL- 62M.

Air France Concorde F-BVFF c/s Air France 4949 flew into Sydney from Deripasar on February 27th. The Concorde was carrying ninety passengers on a Round the World charter. Flight time from Denpasar to Sydney was 2 hours 49 minutes. As AF4950, F-BVFF departed Sydney the following day for Nadi.

Meanwhile, a fatal bus accident near Melbourne involving a load of Swiss tourists brought Swissair DC-10-30ER HB-IHM to our shores. As Swissair 2082 HB-IHM flew into Melbourne on February 24th from Zurich and Bangkok. The rear cabin of the aircraft was fitted out to uplift fourteen stretcher patients. After crew rest the DC-1O departed the following evening for Bangkok and Zurich.

A visit to Australia by the Russian Foreign Minister saw Aeroflot IL-62M CCCP-86536 fly into Canberra on March 3rd. The following day as Aeroflot 4126 the IL-62M flew from Canberra to Sydney.

Brunei Government Boeing 727-30 V8-BG1 els Bravo Golf One flew into Melbourne from Brunei and Darwin on February 26th. Though operated as a VIP aircraft by the Brunei Government the Boeing carries the colours and titles of Royal Brunei Airlines.

V8-BG1 is an early production Boeing 727 that was built on order for Lufthansa and was delivered to them in May 1965 as D-ABIQ. On March 1st V8-BG1 departed Melbourne for Wellington.

With Continental and Eastern now under the same ownership it was no surprise to see ex-Eastern DC-10-30 N390EA operating into Australia in Continental colours. N390-EA was noted as such at Melbourne on January 22nd. This DC-10 has previously visited Australia when in service with Alitalia as I-DYNE.

Another airliner to change its colours is Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-2128 9V-SQO. It was noted at Melbourne on January 17th in full Malaysian Airlines colours though it still retains its Singapore registration.

Ligne Aerienne Seychelles are now operating a weekly service on the Seychelles/Perth/Seychelles route. Their own Boeing 707 S7-LAS visited Perth for the first time on January 22nd. This aircraft is a model 707-3238 that was built on order for American Airlines and was delivered to them in September 1969 as N8440. LAS purchased the Boeing from Global International Airways of Kansas City.

United Parcels Service Boeing 747-123F N671UP flew into Melbourne from Nadi on March 12th. The Boeing was carrying a load of computer equipment from Los Angeles. The following day it departed Melbourne for Auckland and the United States.

Three interesting US military transports were also noted in this period at Perth Airport. On February 3rd US Navy VP-3A 149675 els PF675 flew in from Surabaya. On the 6th the Orion headed east to Sydney. US Navy C-98 159113 brought in a military band on January 29th, while United States of America VC-135A 12668 arrived on February 17th from Learmonth with a group of US Government VIPs. The VC-135A then continued east to Canberra on the 19th and was noted at Sydney on the 22nd outbound to Honolulu using the call sign ‘Pacom 01’. Finally USAF C-135A 12669 call sign Trout 99′ visited Melbourne on March 3rd while en route from Canberra to Bangkok.

Nomads on the Move

There appears to be renewed interest around the world in the Nomad as can be seen from the following.

The United States Custom Service have purchased seven N-228 aircraft. These Nomads are presently in storage at Oaklands, NSW and will be brought up to Searchmaster standard before delivery (refer p11, Mar 87 AA).

In the United States the remains of the Hughes Corporation have sold fifteen N-22B and N-24As to Dolphin Aviation. These Nomads have been stored for a number of years at Las Vegas Airport they will be flown to Florida where Dolphin Aviation will refurbish them for sale to commuter operators.

In the Netherlands, Holland Aerolines have sold their two N-24As PH-HAL c/n 072 and PH-HAG c/n 074 to Shannon Executive Aviation in Ireland. It would appear that Shannon Executive Aviation will use the aircraft as freighters.

In Japan, Nagasaki Airways have retired and offered for sale their two N-24As JA8834 c/n 062 and JA8827 c/n 119.

Polynesian Airlines have sold their two Nomads to Air Safari’s of Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. N-22B 5W-FAR c/n 070 was registered ZK-NOL while N-24A 5W-FAT c/n 122 was registered ZK-NME. Both aircraft departed Apia on February 4th for Wallis Island and Nadi en route to New Zealand. Air Safari already have in their fleet N-22 ZK-NOM c/n 004 and N-24A ZK-NMD c/n 036.

At Bankstown, Hawker Pacific are nearing completion of modifications to two N-22B aircraft for the Royal Thai Air Force. In mid-February they were both noted in a camouflaged colour scheme carrying Australian registrations VH-XZA c/n 152 and VH-XZB c/n 154.

Former Twinair N-22SB VH-SNX (see Traffic March 87) was noted at Essendon on February 21st. The Nomad has remained in residence and is believed to be for a local freight operator.

Meanwhile, Sunstate N-24A VH-FCX was badly damaged in a ground accident at Noosa on March 5th. After being broken into, the aircraft was started up before hitting an empty fuel tanker.

Airline Movements

Another busy period with Ansett and Australian Airlines generating the most information as they continue with their fleet changes.

Ansett have withdrawn from service and sold overseas the last of their twelve Boeing 737-277 aircraft. The honour of making the last flight by this type went to VH-CZR which operated AN37 from Sydney to Melbourne on February 6th on delivery to America West Airlines. Other Boeing 737-277s to leave in this period were VH-CZU on January 23rd and VH-CZV on January 3oth.

Boeing 727-277 VH-RMY returned to the Ansett fleet on February 10th after its lease to Air Jamaica. It replaced in service Boeing 727-277 VH-RMN which was withdrawn for operation by the Ansett Pacific Airlines Division. At present VH-RMN operates AN580/581 which is the weekly Sydney/Brisbane/Port Vila and return service. When VH-RMN operated its first flight to Port Vila on March 1st it did so in a most unusual colour scheme. The port side of the aircraft was all white while the starboard side only had the Ansett tail colours. In early May VH-RMN will replace in service the Boeing 737-2U9 operated by Polynesian Airlines and the Boeing 767-277 operated by Cook Islands International. By then VH-RMN will be painted in a split Cook Islands International/ Polynesian Airlines colour scheme.

Airlines of South Australia F27-200 VH-FNP departed Melbourne on January 23rd on delivery to Air UK in Norwich, England. It was followed on March 6th by F27-400 VH-FNT which was the last aircraft in the Ansett fleet to carry the red Ansett Airlines of Australia colours.

Australian Airlines DC-9-31 VH-TJJ was sold through Australian Aircraft Sales to the UK operator Midway Airlines. VH-TJJ departed Melbourne on January 27th on delivery to its new owner. Though Midway Airlines are based in Chicago their maintenance is carried out in Miami so this was VH-TJJs final destination in the United States. With Midway Airlines, VH-TJJ will be registered N938ML. It is interesting to note that Midway Airlines already have in their fleet eight ex-Ansett Airlines DC-9-31s registered N930ML thru N937ML.

Al 300B4-203 VH-TAC returned to Australia on January 31st after its dry lease to Air Niugini which commenced on December 8th. TAA Cargo 727-77 C2-RN7 meanwhile was ferried from Melbourne to Christchurch on January 28th for overhaul by Air New Zealand. While in New Zealand C2-RN7 is expected to become VH-TBS and be painted in Australian Cargo colours.

Transiting Brisbane on February 14th was Royal Brunei Airlines Boeing 737-2M6C V8-UED. The Boeing was on ferry to Christchurch where it commenced a six week dry lease to Air New Zealand on February 16th.

With the delivery of their two DHC-8 aircraft ZK-NEY and ZK-NEZ, Newmans Air are disposing of their two DHC-7s ZK-NEW and ZK-NEX. First to go was ZK-NEW which was noted at Christchurch on February 3rd in the markings of Eurocity Express and carrying the registration G-BNDC. For its ferry to the UK the DHC-7 wore its New Zealand registration ZK-NEW. Eurocity Express are a new airline formed by the British Midland group to operate services out of the London Docks STOLport. Until that is operational the DHC-7 will operate with another British Midland subsidiary, Loganair.

Passing through Cairns on January 2oth was ATR42-300 F-ODUD c/n 035 which was the first of three on order for Papeete-based Air Tahiti. The delivery of F-ODUD means we now have four airlines in our region operating the ATR42 – Air Caledonie, Air Pacific, Air Queensland and Air Tahiti.

Bizjet News

Highlight of the bizjet scene in this period was the delivery of a Boeing 727 to Ric Stowe. Registered N505T the Boeing 727-31 flew into Perth from Cocos on January 22nd. Built in 1969 for TWA the Boeing was delivered to them in July of that year as N7893. It was later purchased b)’ Tenneco Inc. , converted to executive configuration and registered N505T. In January 1987 N505T was registered to one of the Ric Stowe companies F. B. Transport lnc/W. R. Carpenter of North America. Though N505T will spend most of its time in Monaco it will still be a regular visitor to Perth. The Boeing replaces in service Falcon 50 VH-SFJ and this aircraft is now being offered for sale.

As we predicted in the March issue of Traffic, Hawker Pacific have registered their Falcon 20F demonstrator in Australia. N876SC c/n 391 was noted at Sydney on January 13th carrying its new registration VH-HPF. In the same issue of Traffic, we mentioned the delivery of a second Falcon 20E to Australian Jet Charter. Though the aircraft identity was correct the registration was incorrectly quoted. For the record the Falcon 20E delivered to Australian Jet Charter in early December was VH-RRC c/n 325 ex N400GN.

Quintex, Brisbane have re-registered their Falcon 20E and painted it in a new scheme. Noted at Brisbane on February 6th was VH-MIQ which was previously registered VH-HIF. The Falcon now carries the colours of Mirage Resorts.

Falcon 200 N221FJ c/n 505 was delivered to the Goodman Group/Moana Airlines at Nelson, New Zealand on February 12th after it flew in from Pago Pago.

Meanwhile, Hawker Pacific brought the second production Falcon 900 on a demonstration tour of Australia and New Zealand. F-GJFC flew into Sydney from Auckland on January 27th and after an extensive tour departed there on February 9th for Jakarta. The Bond Corporation in Perth were due to take delivery of a Falcon 900 in late March. At present, they operate Falcon 200 VH-BGL and have on lease Boeing 727-100 VR-BHK. Lloyd Aviation have sold two of its Citation 550s. VH-WNZ was handed over to the Queensland State Government for operation by the Queensland Police at Brisbane Airport on December 23rd. The Citation will replace King Air C90 VH-CRG, which is now being offered for sale by Aeromil. Citation 550 VH-JBH has been sold to an operator in Austria. As OE-GCH it departed Adelaide on February 25th for Europe.

BAe125-8008 G-GAEL has been operating on lease to Arpac International of Wellington since last August. This lease has now expired and G-GAEL departed Wellington on January 20th on delivery to a new owner in Canada. By the time this is read however Arpac International will have taken delivery of their own BAe125-800B which will be registered in New Zealand.

Last August Peninsula Air Services at Essendon took delivery of MU-2J N9MA c/n 549. It was early March before the Mitsubishi now registered VH-JMU appeared on the Pennair flight line at Essendon.

King Air 200 VH-KNR c/n BB. 813 which is operated by Norfolk Island Airlines has changed its registration to VH-IBF. As such it was noted at Brisbane on January 14th now carrying the colours of Lord Howe Airlines.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service, Western Australia have taken delivery of a second Cessna 441. Delivered to their Jandakot base on February 5th was VH-LFD c/n 0164. This aircraft was previously operated by Rossair as VH-LBC.

America’s Cup Visitors

The final stages of the America’s Cup off Fremantle resulted in a number of interesting executive jet aircraft visiting Perth.

Gulfstream II N401M arrived from Alice Springs on January 24th and departed the following day to Singapore. Kenny Rogers flew in from Sydney in his Jetstar 731 N90KR on January 29th and left for Melbourne on February 3rd. On January 31st Union Oil Gulfstream IIB N7602 flew in from Essendon while Allegheny Leasing Gulfstream Ill N83AL arrived from Brisbane. N7602 departed for Jakarta on February 4th and N83AL to Sydney on February 5th. Gulfstream Ill N425SP arrived from Sydney on February 3rd and departed to Kota Kinabalu on the 5th. Perhaps one of the most interesting visitors was Boeing 727-100 N311AG which flew in from Singapore on February 3rd and left for Sydney on the 5th. Finally on February 4th Gulfstrec1:m Ill N600PM of Philip Morris arrived from Brisbane while Gulfstream Ill N399CB flew in from Melbourne.

Final departure was the ‘Auld Mug’ itself which flew out directly to Honolulu on February 7th onboard Continental DC-10-30 N390EA.

Other bizjets noted in this period have included.

Gulfstream Ill N56L which Rupert Murdoch was using while conducting his takeover bid for the Herald and Weekly Times Group. Another Gulfstream Ill N100GN was noted at Sydney on February 5th while en route to Auckland. Royal Bank of Canada CL-601 C-GRBC flew Nadi to Sydney on February 1oth and remained in the country till February 21st. Finally, Canadair CL- 601 N601CL flew into Sydney on March 4th from Pago Pago and was later demonstrated to the RAAF and corporate operators at Canberra.