Traffic

JAT have leased a DC-10-30 from Finnair for eighteen months. First noted at Melbourne on April 19th the DC-10 retains its Finnish registration OH-LHA though it carries a slightly modified JAT colour scheme.

Lan Chile Boeing 707-321B CC-CEK flew from Sydney to Hong Kong on April 20th. Usually engaged in Round the World charters, the Boeing was operating a special ‘Cruise to China’.

Nippon Cargo Airlines Boeing 747-281F JA8167 flew into Sydney from Narita on April 21st.

RAF VC-10 ZA147 flew into Perth on April 9th after a non-stop flight in 15 hours 33 minutes from Brize Norton in the UK. Arriving shortly after the VC-10 was RAF L-1011 ZD951 which had earlier completed an air-to-air refuelling of the VC-10.

Propjet Fleet Expands

The delivery of five ‘new’ propjet aircraft to operators in our region is the highlight of this report.

In Australia and New Zealand the Beech King Air 200 continues to dominate the scene and this period was no exception. Noted at Adelaide in early April was King Air B200C N1000R c/n BL-41. This aircraft was receiving attention by Lloyd Aviation before delivery to the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Central Division), as VH-HEO. The King Air will be based at West Beach and will replace in service one of two PA-31’s presently used. Noted at Brisbane Airport on April 16th was King Air 8200 N200NS c/n 88-936. This King Air has been modified by the Raisbeck Company in the United States and has evidently been imported by a Brisbane-based company.

Pacifica Air are a new New Zealand commuter operator who commenced services in May using a King Air 200. Noted at their Nelson base on April 18th was King Air 200 N222GA c/n 88-301. The King Air was later registered ZK-CGS and now operates two return services daily on the routes Nelson to Christchurch and Nelson to Wellington.

On April 28th Mitsubishi MU-2N N15CN c/n 707SA arrived at Essendon from Honiara after completing its trans-Pacific ferry flight from the United States. The MU-2N was on delivery to Essendon-based operator lnterair and it has since been registered VH-NMU. Another recent MU-2 import to Australia has come from the Philippines. MU-28-25 RP-C575 c/n 310 has visited Brisbane on a number of occasions however it was noted on April 29th now registered VH-MUK. The importer of this MU-2 is Transcorp P/L. , of Paddington, Queensland though it should be mentioned that they have no association with the freight operator Transcorp Airways.

PA-31T/1 N71TW c/n 8304003 which has been operating with Stahmann Farms, Toowoomba since arriving in Australia in early June 1986 has been registered VH-SJJ.

National Safety Council of Australia King Air 200 VH-NSS c/n 88-12 was cancelled from the register on April 29th as exported to Canada. Whether this is only for the Northern summer remains to be seen. VH-THS c/n BB-12 was the first King Air 200 to be delivered to an Australian company. After appearing at the 1974 Hanover Air Show, the King Air 200 was flown to Australia and delivered to Theiss Brothers P/L. , Rocklea, Queensland. Also heading for Canada was King Air 200C C-GWSQ. Previously operated by the NSCA as VH-NSE this aircraft, which is fitted with fire-sensing equipment, has alternated between Australia and Canada over the last couple of years. C-GWSQ was noted at Shannon, Ireland on March 21st en route Nice to Gander.

Also lost to the Australian register was King Air C90 VH-CRG which was sold in early April to the United States. VH-CRG was imported to Australia in June 1972 by Mr C. R. Graham of Killara, NSW. In 1981 he traded VH-CRG in on King Air F90 VH-CRM. Until late 1986 VH-CRG was operated by the Queensland Police Department. However, after being replaced in service by Cessna 550 VH-WNZ, it was advertised for sale by Aeromil. Merlin 1118 VH-SWK has also recently been sold in the United States by Aeromil. As N245DA the Merlin departed Sydney for Honiara on April 18th on delivery to Dodson Aviation, Kansas.

It would appear that we are also going to lose the ex-Department Merlin Ill’s VH-CAL and VH-CAM from Australia. Last year these aircraft were traded in to Civil Flying Services on a Commander 6958. They were then sold to Pacific Aviation, however, since delivery last August they have remained hangar-bound at Essendon. Last November VH-CAL was cancelled from the register as being sold in the United States as N174SP while VH-CAM was cancelled in February as N173SP. In reality, both aircraft remain at Essendon still carrying their Australian registrations.

Bizjet News

Highlights of this period were the delivery of the first Falcon 900 to an Australian operator, a second BAe125-800B for New Zealand and the prospect of another Falcon 20F for Australia.

Falcon 900 VH-BGF flew into Perth from Cocos on April 11th on delivery to the Bond Corporation. Previously registered N404FJ with the Falcon Jet Corporation in the United States VH-BGF was the fifth Falcon 900 off the production line. Other early Falcon 900 deliveries have gone to the Ford Motor Company/N327K, Rupint Aviation, South Africa/VR-BJX and Anheuser Busch/N80F. The delivery of VH-BGF means the Bond Corporation now operate 727-100 VR-BHK, Falcon 900 VH-BGF and Falcon 200 VH-BGL. The 727 however has not been sighted in Perth for some weeks so it could be that the Bond Corporation have terminated its lease.

8Ae125-8008 ZK-MRM flew from Sydney to Auckland on March 29th on delivery to Arpac International. This aircraft replaces in service the previously leased BAe125-8008 G-GAEL.

Noted at Essendon on May 13th was Falcon 20F NB00CF c/n 368. Evidently, this Falcon will be based at Essendon with Venture Stores and replaces in service Merlin 1118 VH-AWU.

Aero Spray at Moorabbin had Tillair Cessna 550 VH-TFY in their paint shop in early May. During its stay VH-TFY lost its Tillair markings and was repainted in a standard Citation scheme. Transcorp Airways at Perth took delivery of Citation VH-OIL in late March. To date we have been unable to identify this aircraft.

Finally Consolidated Press Holdings have changed the registration of their Learjet 35A VH-CPH c/n 400. It was first noted in late April now flying as VH-CPQ. This has evidently been done to allow the old registration VH-CPH to be used by a recently imperted Sikorsky S-76A. The S-76A G-BIPR c/n 760154 flew into Tilbury Docks on February 25th for shipment to Australia on board the Gdansk II.

Grumman Goose Visits Australia

The arrival in Brisbane on May 7th of the SS Elgarin provided one of the most interesting aircraft to visit Australia this year. This was a Grumman Goose which was en route to a new owner in

New Guinea. Registered N72PR the Goose carried the markings of its previous owner Westflight Aviation of Ketchikan, Alaska.

After being unloaded from the Elgarin, the Goose was flown off the Brisbane River to Archerfield where it remained till May 15th. The G-21 Goose was the first of a series of twin engined amphibians build by the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation of Bethpage, Rhode Island, New York. The prototype Goose first flew in 1937 and after its success came the Widgeon, Mallard and Albatross. N72PR c/n 1164 was built during WWII as

a JRF6B on order for the United States Navy, though under the lend-lease agreement, it was operated by the Royal Navy.

The means of arrival in Australia of N72PR and its final destination were identical to what I believe was the only Goose to be registered in Australia. This was VH-AAY c/n 1008, which was imported by the Papuan Oil Company of Melbourne. The Goose arrived in Sydney by ship in late 1937 and after assembly at Rose Bay was flown north to Port Moresby. VH-AAY was later registered in the Dutch East Indies and was subsequently destroyed by the Japanese at Koepang in early 1942.

In October 1974 Goose N2721A c/n B. 54 arrived at Bankstown after a long ferry flight from the United States through Europe and the Middle East. The Goose carried the markings of Tasman Airlines an Essendon-based commuter operator, however, it was

The following January before N2721A touched down at Essendon. There the Goose spent most of its time in the hangar though in June 1976 it was test flown using call sign ‘VH-CRL:. Once again the Goose retreated to the back of a hangar and 1t

was September 1977 before it flew again. This time its destination was Parafield where it was delivered to SAATAS East

Indonesia. Once again the Goose remained grounded and it was July 15th 1978, now registered PK-LEH, before it flew out of

Parafield. Final destination was its new operating base at Hamildua near Balikpapan. To my knowledge the Goose is still

flying with SAATAS in Indonesia. Finally mention should be made of Sea Bee Air who operate ‘Geese’ ZK-DFC and ZK-ENY from their base at Mechanics Bay in Auckland. Last year the highlight of a trip to New Zealand was a flight in one of these aircraft to Tryphena Harbour on Great Barrier Island. In this day and age of impersonal air travel it is

fantastic to find operators like Sea See Air and to be able to experience air travel as it once was.

Queensland Scene Update

Though things are still far from settled on the airline seen in Queensland, at time of writing we can report the following. Australian Airlines will vacate the Western Queensland routes with their Jetstream 31 aircraft from May 31st. From June 1st

These services will be taken over by New Guinea based Talair who will use Beech King Air 200’s. Air Queensland will also withdraw from operations in SE Queensland and will return to being a Cairns based airline (refer Airline Affairs). Sunstate Airlines will take over most of the Air Queensland routes and will be used to feed in and out of Australian Airlines services through Brisbane.

However, the Queensland Government have subsequently declared an ‘Open Skies’ policy for SE Queensland so it can be

expected that a number of new operators will offer services.

Air Queensland have withdrawn their two ATR42s from service and have sent the aircraft overseas. First to depart was

VH-AQC which flew out of Brisbane on May 4th for Darwin. Final

destination was the Aerospatiale plant at Toulouse where the ATR42 will be prepared for delivery to Yugoslav Airlines. The second ATR42 VH-AQD was expected to depart Brisbane in late May. Air Queensland have also returned to service their three ex

Ansett F27s which were stored at Brisbane Airport. VH-FNM was ferried from Brisbane to Cairns on March 9th and commenced route flying later in the month. VH-FNW was ferried from Brisbane to Cairns on March 23rd while VH-FNV returned to service ex Brisbane on April 16th. The two F27s leased from Australian Airlines were ferried to Brisbane for storage. VH-TQT flew Cairns to Brisbane on March 27th and VH-TQR followed on April 3rd.

Meanwhile Sunstate Airlines have been adding to their fleet in anticipation of taking over some of the Air Queensland routes

and coping with additional traffic. Two EMB-110P1 Bandeirante aircraft were consequently purchased from Air Pacific. First to arrive in Brisbane was DQ-FDE c/n 110-253, which flew in from

Noumea on April 30th. It was followed on May 7th by DQ-FDF c/n 110-254. Both aircraft arrived in Air Pacific colours though all titles had been removed. After overhaul in Maryborough DQ-FDE will enter service as VH-FCE while DQ-FDF will become VH-FCK. Other Bandeirante news concerns Lloyd Aviation in South Australia. Arriving in Adelaide on May 4th was VH-MWV. This aircraft has been static in Sydney since returning from its lease to Bangkok Airways. VH-MWV commenced operations with Lloyd on May 7th and has evidently been leased to cover the sale of VH-KIP. In early May this Bandeirante was in the Lloyd Hangar at Adelaide Airport being prepared for delivery to Eagle Airways, Hamilton, New Zealand as ZK-KIP. As a replacement for the damaged N-24A VH-FCX Sunstate took delivery on April 4th of Air Queensland N-24A VH-BRP. At a later stage VH-BRP is expected to be re-registered VH-TNW with Sunstate. Also added to the Sunstate fleet are two N-22Bs VH-RCC and VH-WRT. Both these aircraft have been stored in Sydney for some months. VH-WRT was noted at Brisbane on April 3rd en route to Maryborough where it is expected to become VH-TNN. The second N-22B VH-RCC will probably be used by Sunstate as a source of spares. Finally we should mention that Air Queensland DC-3 VH-EDC was rolled out at Cairns on April 18th resplendent in the new Australian Airlines colour scheme. Air Queensland are planning to paint all their fleet in this scheme though the aircraft will retain Air Queensland titles.

Airline Movements

Delivery of two F28-3000 aircraft to East West, two 737-376 to Australia, a 747-338 for Qantas and the arrival in New Zealand of the first 737-130 for Ansett New Zealand are the highlights of this report.

East West Airlines have purchased two F28-3000 aircraft from Cimber Air, Denmark. Registered OY-BRM c/n 11143 and OY-BAN ch 11151, the F26s arrived in Tamworth on April 12th on completion of their ferry flight from Soenderborg. For the last six years these two aircraft have operated on wet lease to Saudi Arabian Airlines. After overhaul at Tamworth OY-BRM was planned to enter service in late May as VH-EWF with OY-BRN now registered VH-EWG following at a later stage. Both aircraft will be operated by East West in a 65 seat configuration.

Australian Airlines have taken delivery of their 9th and 10th Boeing 737-376 aircraft. Arriving in Melboume on April 12th was VH-TAX on 23489 which is named ‘Success’. The following day VH-TAW c/n 23488 ‘Progress’ flew into Melbourne from Nadi. Both aircraft entered service later in the week in time to cope with the Easter traffic.

Meanwhile Qantas took delivery of their sixth Boeing 747-338B when it arrived in Sydney on May 3rd. Registered VH- EBY c/n 23823 ‘City of Darwin’, the 747 flew in as QF501 on the route Seattle/Honolulu/Sydney.

Ansett New Zealand took delivery of their first Boeing 737-130 at Christchurch on April 27th. Registered N703AW the 737 will become ZK-NEC before entering service with Ansett New Zea land on July 1st. A second 737-130 was scheduled for delivery on May 14th with a third following on June 14th.

Australian Cargo Boeing 727-77C C2-RN7 ferried Christchurch to Melbourne on March 26th on completion of its overhaul by Air New Zealand. C2-RN7 still carries its basic Air Nauru colour scheme with Australian now painted on the forward fuselage and Australian Cargo diagonally on the fin. Shortly after arriving back in Australia the Boeing was registered VH-TBS. It operated its first flight as such with Australian Cargo on April 1st on the Melbourne to Perth route.

Australian Airlines have sold a second 727-276 to Aeron Leasing International. The aircraft involved was VH-TBL which departed Melbourne on April 16th for Port Hedland and Singapore. Its final destination was the Dan Ar maintenance base at Lasham, England. Aeron International have leased VH-TBL to Icelandair and after painting in their colours it will be delivered to Keflavik as TF-FLK. During its service with TAA VH-TBL made two overseas trips which are worthy of mention. In February 1976 it was chartered by Boeing to make a demonstration tour of several SE Asian countries. Major stops were made at Singapore. Kuala Lumpur and Manila. The tour was evidently a success as Singapore Airlines later placed an order for the Boeing 727-200. On July 15th 1976 VH-TBL was withdrawn from TAA service prior to commencing a one year wet lease to Iran Air. Still registered VH-TBL but resplendent in Iran Air’s blue and white colours the Boeing. departed Melbourne on July 26th for Tehran. VH-TBL returned to Melbourne on August 2, 1977 on termination of the lease.

Al A300B4-204 VH-TAB was withdrawn from Australian Airlines service on March 15th in preparation for sale to TOA Domestic Airlines in Japan. With its TAA titles removed and now registered JA8263, the A300 flew out of Melbourne on March 28th. Final destination was Bordeaux, France where the A300 was to be refitted and painted before entry into service with TOA Domestic.

727-276 VH-TBN re-entered service with Australian Airlines on March 31st after being the second aircraft of its type to be painted in the new colours.

Meanwhile, Lloyd Aviation have purchased four Mohawk 298 aircraft from Pan American commuter operator Ransome Airlines. The four aircraft are N29811, N29812, N29814 and N29817 with the first expected to arrive in Adelaide by late June. The Mohawk 298, which are modified Nord 282s powered by two PWC PT6-45s will be operated by Lloyd in a twenty-eight seat configuration.

Boeing 727-277 VH-RMN was noted at Melbourne Airport on April 16th carrying Polynesian Airlines colours on the port side and Cook Islands International colours on the starboard. The repainting of this aircraft was done in Adelaide due to Ansett’s main hangar at Tullamarine being out of commission. VH-RMN commenced flying with Polynesian and Cook Islands International in early May. Boeing 727-277 VH-RMM is used as a back up and it now operates the weekly Ansett service on the Sydney/Brisbane/Port Vila run.

Finally a correction to Traffic May issue. The 737-2M6 of Royal Brunei that was dry leased to Air New Zealand was VB-UEB and not as shown.

Ferry Flights

On March 18th PA-46 Malibu N9221M landed in Sydney after completing a direct crossing of the Pacific from Los Angeles. The owner of the aircraft Mr P. Wilkins of Irvine, California had failed in a previous attempt to complete the non-stop crossing. Total time taken for the flight was forty two hours. Other Piper products to make the Pacific crossing in this period were PA-44 N2129C c/n 7995119, Honiara to Melbourne on March 18th, PA-31 N913BT c/n 7401241 Norfolk Island to Sydney on March 16th, PA-31 N71TC c/n 7300943 Honiara to Sydney on April 20th and PA-60 N3637E of Southern Cross Aviation from Pago Pago to Brisbane on May 10th.

Noted at Moorabbin on May 5th was Baron 58 ZK-EJJ. This aircraft made the trans-Tasman crossing in late April and is believed on delivery to an Australian owner.

BN-2ADQ-FEO ferried Alice Springs/Charleville/Brisbane on April 25th. This Islander is a very early production aircraft being number 9 off the line. As G-AVUB it was delivered to the Herts and Essex Aero Club in November 1967. In May 1968 it achieved some fame when it was used for deck landing trials on HMS Hermes. In December 1973 the Islander was sold to Kenting Aviation in Canada as CF-YZF and it is from there that it has come on delivery to an operator in Fiji.

Connair F27 C-GSFS departed West Sale on March 19th for Brisbane and Honiara after spending the summer demonstrating its fire fighting abilities to the National Safety Council.

The Mackay Air Museum DC-3 VH-SBT has been sold to a New Zealand Warbirds Group. VH-SBT departed Brisbane on March 27th for Norfolk Island and arrived in Christchurch the following day using the call sign ‘Warbirds Dakota’.

Arriving in Papeete on April 3rd from Pago Pago was F-ODUE the second of three ATR42-300s on order for local operator Air Tahiti.

As in previous years the National Safety Council and Frontier Helicopters of Canada are transferring their Bell 205A fire bombers from one country to the other at the end of another fire season. A visit to the NSCA base at West Sale on April 26th revealed that Bell -205As VH-NSI, VH-NSJ, VH-UHN and VH-UHP had already been air freighted out to Canada. In the process of being dismantled were the remaining four Bell 205As in the fleet – C-FFHX ex VH-NSH, C-GFHA ex VH-NHA, CGFHC ex VH-HHC and C-GFHD ex VH-HHD. The NSCA have added Bell 212 VH-NSY to their fleet. Previously with Bristow Helicopters in the UK as G-BFES c/n 30849, the Bell 212 is being used to service a twelve month contract awarded to the NSCA to provide SAR coverage at RAAF Williamtown.

Meanwhile noted at Brisbane Airport on May 3rd was Kawasaki BK117 JA9634. Imported to Australia by Pacific Aviation, the BK117 was being demonstrated to the Queensland Government. On termination of the tour JA9634 will become VH-PHF with the NSW Police Air Wing.

Former Newmans Air DHC-7 ZK-NEX arrived in Brisbane from Norfolk Island on March 21st. The Dash 7 was ferrying to the UK and carried the colours of its new owners Eurocity Express.

Transitting Brisbane on April 13th were two French Air Force Twin Otter 300s, 730 coded 52-LF and 742 coded 52-LG. These aircraft are based in Noumea. At Sydney on April 25th French Air Force Puma 67-OK was noted being unloaded off a truck into French Air Force Transall F-155/61-ZU.