Traffic

RAAF C-47A A65-91, which has been static at Laverton for a number of years was ferried across to Essendon on December 3rd. Though the C-47A has evidently been sold for civil conversion it still carries full RAAF markings complete with 34 CFS, East Sale badge on the tail.

On January 21st 1974 Trans Nusantara Airways DC-3 PK-GDC had an engine failure soon after taking off from Broome Airport on a flight to Kupang. In pouring rain the DC-3 returned to Broome, where it belly landed in the mud. PK-GDC was declared a write-off so it was purchased by the Shire Council who had it mounted on concrete blocks to be used as a Tourist Information Centre. At a later stage the DC-3 was painted in Ansett Airlines colours, named RMA Broome and given the fictitious registration VN-BME. Now the DC-3 is to form part of the WA Museum of Aviation, so in late November it was moved by road from Broome to the site of the museum at Whiteman Park near Midland.

More Mitsubishis

Highlight of this period on the propjet scene was the addition of three Mitsubishi MU-2s to the Australian register. One of these aircraft has been a long time resident of Essendon, while the other two are recent imports from the United States.

In April 1984 three MU-2Gs arrived at Essendon from New Zealand. These aircraft were ZK-EON, ZK-ESM and ZK-EKZ. It wasn’t long before ZK-ESM and ZK-EKZ were registered VH-UZB and VH-UZC respectively, however ZK-EON c/n 513 remained hangar bound. In early 1985 the MU-2 was painted as VH-UZD however it wasn’t until December 1987 that it finally took to the air for the first time. Work on the aircraft being completed by the Business Aircraft Centre. In late December VH-UZD was ferried to Brisbane where it is now operating night freighter flights on the Queensland coast for Country Courier.

MU-2J N85JG c/n 612 flew into Townsville from Honiara on November 28th. Eventual destination for this aircraft was Perth where it has since been registered VH-MUT with Great Western Aviation.

Another MU-2J destined for operations out of Perth was delivered to Essendon on December 2nd. N22FL c/n 561 was flown out from Tulsa, Oklahoma by way of Europe and the Middle East. After receiving attention by the Business Aircraft Centre N22FL was registered VH-JMZ to Peninsula Air Services. VH-JMZ departed Essendon for Perth on January 8th and there it will join Penair’s other MU-2J VH-JMU and two of their Cessna 402s which are involved in mining contract flying.

Piper Cheyenne 400LS N4119X c/n 5527028 flew into Bankstown on December 16th from Mount Isa on completion of its ferry from the United States. The Cheyenne was on delivery to local agents Pacific Aviation.

In our January Traffic column, we mentioned the delivery of King Air B200 N5FW to an Adelaide-based company. Now registered VH-ARZ the King Air was noted at Essendon in late December carrying the titles ‘Arrowcrest Group’. PA31T VHTNP, which was previously operated, has evidently been traded in to Pacific Aviation.

Rundle Air Services in Townsville have added Commander 690B VH-BLH to their fleet. It would appear that Rundle have traded in two aircraft on the Commander as previously operated Cessna 402 VH-ROX is now resident at Essendon while Cessna 404 VH-BPM has gone to Air North in Darwin. The 404 was noted at Darwin in late December now re-registered as VH-ANM.

Citation Fleet Increases

This period saw the addition of three units to the Bizjet fleet and all were different models of the Cessna Citation. The delivery of these aircraft lifts the Citation fleet in Australia and New Zealand to nineteen units and gives them market leadership.

Delivered to Wellesley Resources in Wellington in late November was Citation 650 N143WR c/n 0143. This is the third Citation 650 in our region and N143WR like the other two before it, N106CC and N133LE, will continue to fly with a US registration.

Sherrard Aviation at Essendon have imported two Citations for Australian operators. Arriving in Brisbane on November 26th on the termination of its Trans-Pacific ferry was Cessna 550 N108WG c/n 0219. The Citation was later flown south to Essendon where it was noted in lnterair’s hangar in early December. N108WG was built as a Cessna 551 c/n 0008 however in the third quarter of 1987 it was converted to a model 550 and given c/n 0219. lnterair brought N10BWG onto the Australian register as VH-ORE and in late January it was delivered to Pacific Rim Aviation in Brisbane. The colour scheme carried by VH-ORE makes it one of the most attractive Citations in our region.

The second Citation to be imported by Sherrard was N333PP, which is a series 500 that has been modified to Eagle standard. N333PP c/n 0050 flew into Essendon from Cairns on December 22nd after completing its Trans-Pacific ferry.

Since arriving in the country N333PP has had its colour scheme altered by Douglas Aviation at Tocumwal. It now carries the red and gold corporate colours of Federal Hotels, who will operate the aircraft from Essendon.

Another Citation to take up residence at Essendon in this period was model 550 VH-WNP. Previously operated by Flightways, Perth VH-WNP has been refurbished and repainted by Aerospray at Moorabbin. VH-WNP will be operated from Essendon by a Melbourne Real Estate Company.

One Citation that didn’t make it to the Australian register was model 550 N57MB. We mentioned the arrival of this aircraft in Australia in January Traffic. The Citation was imported by Aeromil, however there was evidently a change in plan as N57MB departed Sydney on November 24th for Noumea and the United States. Return ferry was carried out by Southern Cross Air of Santa Paula, California. A company that are more accustomed to ferrying aircraft to Australia.

The Department of Transport & Communications took delivery of BAe 125-7008 VH-JFT at Essendon on November 29th, after it flew in from the UK. By the time this is read we are hopeful of reporting the delivery of a fifth BAe 125-B00B for New Zealand and a BAe 125-4008 for an operator in Western Australia.

Venture Stores, who have operated Falcon 20F NB00CF c/n 368, since it was delivered to Essendon in May 1987, have finally had the aircraft registered in Australia. Noted at Brisbane in late December the Falcon now carries the markings VH-NCF.

It would seem that early February will be a busy time in Australia for bizjet salesmen. Demonstrations are promised for the Falcon 900, Citation 650 and Beechjet 400, which will all be coming here after the Singapore Air Show. It is planned that the Beechjet 400, which is reported as N3122B c/n RJ-22, will be retained in Australia by Hawker Pacific.

In prospect for delivery in early March are two heavies of the bizjet scene. Gulfstream II c/n 069 is planned for a Melbourne based company while a Falcon 900 c/n 032 is presently in the United States being prepared for delivery to Western Australia.

Ferry Flights

The Piper Navajo once again dominates the ferry scene with four of these aircraft noted arriving from the United States.

On November 13th PA31-350 N4087S c/n 8152131 and PA31-325 N325TB c/n 8012077 departed Honiara for Australia on the last leg of their ferry flight from the United States. N4087S landed in Brisbane, where it cleared customs before continuing

on to Cudal while N325TB flew direct to Sydney. On November 29th another pair of PA31s departed Honiara.

This time the aircraft PA31-350s N61519 c/n 7552023 and N10282 c/n 7552013 stayed together as they transited Brisbane for Port Macquarie, where they will join the Oxley Airlines fleet.

Cessna 402C N5717C c/n 0026 ferried Honiara to Brisbane on December 1st. Cessna 404 N29PG c/n 0340 landed in Port Hedland on November 16th and continued on the same day to Perth. Noted at Essendon December 16th was Cessna 414A N2686S c/n 0319 which has been imported by Sherrard Aviation. This aircraft will be registered VH-CBT before delivery to a Queensland based company. Cessna 310R N3475G c/n 0849 flew Cairns/Alice Springs/Perth/Jandakot on December 24th.

Beech 33 N3179W was ferried from Honiara to Brisbane on December 23rd. by Globeaero of Lakeland, Florida, while PA34-200T N8786F c/n 7770094 flew from Kiribati to Brisbane on December 13th.

Arriving from the Philippines was BN Islander VH-HPL c/n 3004 which. was noted at Jandakot on November 19th. On delivery to Rottnest Airbus VH-HPL entered service on the Perth to Rottnest Island route on November 26th.

A welcome addition to the register was ex Irish Air Corps DH104 Dove 8 VH-OBI c/n 04525. The Dove was noted at Coffs Harbour on December 17th en route to a new future in Sydney.

Norfolk. Island recorded the arrival of N-24A VH-DHU on November 20th. Previously operated by the NTMS, VH-DHU has been lying derelict at Darwin for some months. The N-24A had been purchased by Lake Tekapo based Air Safari’s, however whether it will enter service cir be used as a source of spares remains to be seen. Another Nomad to make the Trans-Tasman crossing was N-22SB VH-SNZ which arrived in Auckland from Lord Howe Island on November 11th. VH-SNZ was previously operated by the Hobart based freight company Read Air but was ferried across the Tasman by Monarch Aviation.

Arriving in Darwin by ship in late December were six AESL Airtourer T-6s. Previously operated by the Singapore Minister for Defence these Airtourers – 9V-BDJ/K/Q/R/U and V will be registered in Australia. The importer is to be commended for putting some thought into these registrations as all will end with the letters VV – Victa Victa!

Lloyd took delivery of their third and fourth Mohawk 298s at Brisbane on January 17th. The aircraft, which were ferried across the Pacific were N29812 c/n 17 and N29817 c/n 50. It is expected that these aircraft will be registered as VH-HKS and VH-HKT with Lloyds.

Fokker Fleet Movements

This was another busy period for Fokker as deliveries of the Fokker 50 increased in pace and the F27 fleet was further reduced. Air NSW took delivery of their third and fourth Fokker 50s when VH-FNC arrived in Sydney on December 1st and VH-FNE on the 21st. It was expected that VH-FND would be the fourth Air NSW Fokker 50, however it appears that production line problems are holding up delivery of this aircraft. Ansett Airlines took delivery of their first Fokker 50 on January 14th, when VH-FNF flew into Melbourne direct from Darwin. Further deliveries to Ansett are planned as follows, VH-FNG on January 26th, VH-FNH on February 10th and VH-FNI about two weeks after that. Ansett planned to commence Fokker 50 operations on February 15th and that in turn will see the retirement of more F27s.

Air NSW F27-500 VH-FCB was withdrawn from service at Melbourne on December 14th. In an all white colour scheme it departed there on January 8th on the long ferry flight to Santiago, Chile. VH-FCB is the second F27-500 to be. leased through Ansett Worldwide to Chilean operator LADECO. Air NSW F27-500 VH-FCA, which still carries the ‘Canary’ colour scheme, was withdrawn from service in Melbourne in mid-January.

Charter Cruise Australia (Aircruising Australia) have added a second F27 to their fleet. F27-700 N146PM c/n 10176 in an all white colour scheme flew into Essendon on December 30th on termination of its ferry flights from Hartford, Connecticut. N146PM had previously seen service in Australia between January 1970 and May 1971 when as VH-TFH it was leased to TAA by Fokker. Since then the aircraft has flown with airlines in West Germany, Iceland and the United States. Before sale to Charter Cruise it was operated by Business Express: N146PM was ferried to Australia via the Pacific with Camarillo, California being its jumping off spot on the West Coast. Stops were made en route at Honolulu, Pago Pago, Norfolk Island and Sydney. The F27 will be brought onto the Australian register by lpec at Essendon as VH-JCC.

At time of writing one of the three ex Air Queensland F27-200s stored at Brisbane Airport was being prepared for delivery to Pakistan International Airlines. VH-FNM was flight planned to leave Brisbane in late January as AP-BOP.

Fairchild F27F PK-VFM, which has been stored at Sydney since late September, has been sold to International Air Parts. The aircraft was noted in the East-West hangar on January 14th having its propellers and engines removed. It is expected that PK-VFM will be broken up and sold as spare parts. DTC F28 VH-ATE was noted Outside the Ansett hangar at Tullamarine on December 22nd. Traded in to Pacific Aviation VH-ATE now awaits its turn to enter the hangar before delivery to Air NSW.

Nsca Fleet Update

With the fire season upon us again in SE Australia, this is the time of the year when we do our annual update on the National Safety Council of Australia fleet. At present the NSCA are at full strength with no less than thirty one aircraft in their fleet.

The mainstay of the fire attack fleet is the Bell 205A and this year ten of these helicopters are being used. VH-NSH/01. VH-NSV02, VH-NSJ/03, VH-NSN/04, VH-NSM05, VH-NHA/07, VH-HHC/08, VH-HHD/09, VH-JOR/10 and VH-HHM/31. New to the fleet this year is VH-JOR, which is ex C-GMOR c/n 30159. VH-NSN and VH-NSM are re-registrations for VH-UHN and VH- UHP respectively. As in previous years the bulk of the Bell 205A fleet has returned from Canada, where they were operated by Frontier Helicopters, during the Northern fire season. Exceptions were VH-NHA. VH-HHC and VH-HHD which were used by Frontier to combat the fire threat in Sardinia.

Other helicopters used by the NSCA are Bell 212 VH-NSA/14 and VH-NSY/18; Bell 412 VH-NSO/11, VH-NSP/12, VH-NSV/16 and VH-NSC/17; MBB-105S VH-NSL/15 and VH-NSQ/19. The MBB-105S VH-NSQ is an addition to the fleet and was first noted in the Pacific Aviation hangar at Essendon on November 25th as D-HDQO c/n S-592.

Recently added to the fleet are two Dornier 228-200 aircraft, which will be used for Search & Rescue duties. The first Dornier arrived at West Sale on December 2nd from the UK. This was G-BMND c/n 8077 which is fitted with 360 degree Bendix radar. Since registered VH-NSZ/28 the Dornier will be based at RAAF Williamtown. The second Do228-200 to arrive at West Sale was D-IHKB c/n 8058 on December 18th. This turned out to be the former VH-NSC which had previously operated with the NSCA. This time around the Dornier was registered VH-NSX/26.

Conair F27 fire bomber C-GSFS/27 had also been added to the fleet for the summer fire season.

Two King Air 200s have also returned from Canada for the summer. These aircraft are C-GYSK c/n BB-12, which has rever- ted to VH-NSS/25 and C-GWSQ c/n BL-10, which has reverted to VH-NSE/22. The other King Air 200s in the fleet are VH-NSD/ 21, VH-NSF/23, VH-NSG/24 and VH-NSR/30. Baron 58 VH-MOS/29 has been added to the fleet for use as a fire spotter. while Baron 58 VH-LFC, Cessna 208 VH-JEY and King Air F90 VH-WJT are used for communications and associated duties.

Qantas Wet Leases

To overcome an acute shortage of seats over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. Qantas took the step of wet leasing a number of overseas airliners.

First on the scene was Aer Lingus 747-130 EI-BED ‘Ciaran’ which flew into Melbourne on December 2nd as QF864/30 from London via Bahrain and Singapore. A second Aer Lingus 747-148 El-ASJ was noted at Melbourne on December 29th after operating QF864 from London via Rome, Bahrain and Singapore.

As previously forecast in Traffic, Qantas have also wet leased a 747 from the New York based Tower Air. First recorded visit for 747-131 N93117 was at Melbourne on December 14th when it arrived as QF18/12 from Los Angeles via Honolulu and Nadi. The Tower Air 747 still carries the colours of its previous owner Trans World Airlines. ‘On Lease to Qantas’ is painted on the forward fuselage.

Martinair DC-10-30CF PH-MBT made its first appearance at Sydney on December 23rd when it arrived as QF824/21 from Amsterdam. PH-MBT also carries ‘On Lease to Qantas’ titles. It has mainly been used on services to Singapore and Hong Kong from a number of Australian ports.

On January 11th Qantas 747-238SCD VH-ECA departed Sydney for Honolulu on delivery to Air Canada. Before delivery the aircraft was refurbished and painted in Air Canada colours. VH-ECA will be registered C-GACC with Air Canada.

Another Qantas 747 to be withdrawn from service for sale overseas is 747-2388 VH-EBG. This aircraft was noted in the Qantas hangar at Sydney in early January carrying the colours of El Al- the Israeli Airline.

In preparation to commencing a weekly service to Sydney from January 14th, Hawaiian Airlines operated a proving flight on January 6th. DC-8-62H N8970U using call sign ‘Hawaiian 3517″ flew in from Honolulu via Pago Pago. Condor 727-230 D-ABTI “Consul Weltreisen’ was seen at a number of Australian and New Zealand airports in late December, early January. The Boeing which was fitted out in an all first class configuration was carrying 76 passengers. Royal Jordanian Airlines operated three return trips from Amman to Sydney in December. Aircraft used was 707-329C 9Q-CBS of Scibe Air. Leased to LAS, the Boeing arrived from the Seychelles via Singapore and Perth.

On December 22nd Kabo Air Cargo DC-8-55F EL-AJO transi- ted Brisbane en route from Noumea to Singapore. The DC-8 was operating as FAZ7065 on behalf of the French operator Sfair.