Register Update Service

Of the helicopters from across the Tasman, the Hughes 369HS, RMS, comes from White, Fox and Jones of Christchurch and Jetran ger BPB comes from Wanganui Aero Work of Wanganui. BIQ was first delivered to James Aviation during April 1978 as ZK-HLU. It was used by Pacific Crown Aviation of Suva, Fiji between March 1987 and September 1988 as DQ-FEN before returning to New Zealand as ZK-HBQ. Its last owner before coming to Australia was Wing and Rotor Aviation of Ardmore near Auckland who were also the last owners of Jetranger AZD.

Navajo AFY was last used by Owens Services in New Zealand and it was delivered via Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands as long ago as 22nd September 1988. Also delivered during September via the same route were Cessna A185F Skywagon OLI from Geyserland Floatplanes of Rotorua and Cessna 1820 Skylane JHF from Tractor Repair Company of Fielding. October saw the arrival of V-Tail Bonanza ZK-YAV, now NBO, from Tauranga and November arrivals included PA-28RT Arrow ZK-FKJ/JFQ from New Plymouth, Cessna 4028 ZK-ZMC/FHG from Auckland and Transfield owned PL12 Airtruk ZK-CWX which has now become HSB. Beech C24R Sierra ZK-FGB/ISM, Fletcher FU24 ZK-CBB/JBK and Cessna 172N Skyhawk ZK-EOR/JFR all arrived during the last month of 1988 from Christchurch, Hamilton and Christchurch respectively and all tracked via Norfolk and Lord Howe.

Helicopters of non New Zealand origin include no less than 10 new, 3 almost new and 1 older Robinson R22, a Bell 2068 and a Bell 47J from the USA. Another 2068, HRZ, comes from Malaysia while 2 Bell 47Gs came from Japan. Both 47Gs, JWQ and JWZ, were operated by Naka Nihon Kaku of Nagoya, the second one being a Kawasaki built machine. Unfortunately JWQ did not last long as it went missing whilst mustering near Old Arafura, NT on 2nd July the burnt out wreck being found the next day. A Sikorsky S-76A for Elders IXL, JXL, two S-76As from the Jordanian Air Force, XHA and XHB, and a Hughes 500C, SWC, from Mexico make up the large number of helicopters shown in this issue.

Five home built aircraft and one Australian prototype reflect the enthusiasm in Australia for aircraft construction. The first Melbourne Aircraft Company Manta has been registered JSA and two new Viking Dragonflys have now flown in Victoria. The Dragonfly is a sleek, single engine, canard winged, composite aircraft not unlike the Quickie with its main wheels built into the tips of the wings. The Vans RV4, AKK, and Monnett Sonerai, JMK, are also sleek but conventional looking aircraft whilst the appropriately registered Lazer, LZA, is fully aerobatic.

With the current wet weather conditions and the associated difficulties with weed eradication by wheeled vehicles, farmers are utilising aircraft more for spraying than ever before. Two new Air Tractor AT-401s, ODK and ODS, are now based in SA and 3 of the larger AT-502s, ABJ, FRB and MVZ are in the Moree/Warren area for spraying cotton. Also new in the same cotton growing area are 3 PA-36 Pawnee Braves, HSQ, JJA and JJO. Designed in the 1960s, the Brave was a development of the popular PA-25 Pawnee with a 38 cubic feet capacity hopper, a stronger and therefore safer airframe and it is available with the Lycoming 285, 300 or 375hp engine. HSQ was the 19th Brave built during 1982, whilst JJA is a 1980 model and JJO a 1978 aircraft. All three are equipped with the 375hp engine and were built at the Lock Haven facility of Piper. The smaller capacity Cessna A1888 Agtruck is still popular in Australia and 4 more of this type are now based in western NSW, FUG and HAO at Cudal with Hazeltons and JHR and JHZ close by with G Ingham at Orange.

Pel-Air at Mascot have added another 2 Israeli Westwinds to their fleet. AJV comes from Indiana where it was operated by the Indiana Electric Association as N186G and NGA, a series 2 with larger engines and winglets, comes from Allegheny International Corp of Pittsburg, Pa. Two Cessna Citations also appear in the listings in the form of the 500 series HVM and 550 series JVS. The 550 Citation II was last owned by Bermuda Jet Ltd of Stanstead UK and although the 500, HVM, was owned by the First Oil Co of Delaware, it was used for oil exploration support and based at Nairobi Kenya. The only new Bizjet to be registered is the Canadair Challenger 601A, ASM, for Associated Airlines at Essendon which has replaced the old turboprop Grumman Gulfstream FLO.

Twelve new airliners join the register, two Boeing 737s for Australian, TJA and TJB, a 767 for Qantas, OGD, and a 737 for Ansett, CZP. The first 5 Airbus A320s for Ansett are listed HYA, B, C, E and F and although Ansett have ordered 11 such aircraft and have reserved the registrations HYA to HYK, the last 3 will be leased in Canada and will become C-FDQ, DOV and DRH. British Aerospace 146, JJW, has arrived for Ansett WA which means another Fokker F28 Fellowship has been released from their fleet and this has joined East West as EWH. As more Fellowships are obtained, East West will reduce their Friendship numbers heading ultimately towards an all jet fleet. Two DHC-8 Dash 8s, TOO and TOP are now in service with East Coast Airlines on their northern NSW routes. One of these, TOP, is a new aircraft but the second, TOO, is no stranger to Australian skies as it was the demonstration aircraft that toured some time ago in a striking orange colour scheme.

Lighter aircraft worthy of a mention are BN-2A Islander BSN which was last operated by Borneo Skyways of Sarawak and Queen Air XAE, one of only a few Queen Air 70s that were converted to Excalibur configuration. The Islander worked for a while with a parachute club before being sold to Cockatoo Island Airways of WA only to crash into the sea off Derby on 22nd May. The Queen Air was used on overnight freight runs between Sydney and Melbourne before it also crashed near Mansfield Vic on 6th July. Navajo Chieftain HUO has been in Australia since 1984 as N9219Y complete with a magnamometer in its tail boom. It was in fact cancelled from the American register in that year so one wonders if the aircraft has been idle or has been operating unregistered far the last five years.

Cessna 21ON, HXH, was one of two American registered aircraft that took part in the 1988 Bicentennial Around Australia Air Race and the second, a Cherokee Lance is also expected to come onto the register shortly. Mr Blackburne’s Cessna 1820, HWM, arrived in Sydney as N5192N on the first day of the Richmond Air Show last year. It continued to Richmond the same day and was displayed outside the Australian Women Pilots Association tent at the show before completing its delivery flight to Parafield.

A new type in Australia is the Lake Renegade. Originally built by the Colonial Aircraft Corp as the C1 Skimmer, Lake Aircraft took over production in 1960 and improved the design to produce the Lake LA-4 Buccaneer using a 200hp Lycoming engine. The latest model using a 250hp engine is now flying in Australia as LAK and a second aircraft N8419X is also in the country. Beech 200 Super King Air NIH was one of the first of its type in Australia when it was delivered to Theiss Brothers as THS in October 1974. It was bought by the NSCA in 1986 and reregistered NSS. After a spell in America as N5CA between April and November 1987, it has now been sold to Norfolk Island Airlines who have reregistered NIH.

In the restoration section, it’s nice to see 5 historic aircraft flying again in the shape of 2 Tiger Moths, a Drover, an Auster and an elderly Bell 47. Tiger Moth BTP was demobbed in 1955 after use by the RAAF as A17-744. It was extensively damaged at Carnamah WA on 20th July 1962 but after 28 years of inactivity it is back in the air. The second Tiger restored has had a more interesting career. Originally flown with the RAAF as A17-366 it became AON during 1946 but crashed in 1960. Along with another Tiger, BBR, it was exported to New Zealand where they became ZK-AVI and ZK-AVJ. Somewhere along the line their serial numbers where transposed and the original AON has returned with BBRs serial number. Some say that the whole fuselages of the aircraft have been swapped while others maintain that only the serial plates have been changed. The Bell 47D, UTU, is the same type used by the MASH units during the Korean war and made famous by the film and TV series of the same name. Unfortunately the D model was not in wide use when the TV series was made and so 47Gs were used instead.

Two Super King Airs have returned to their previous identities after use by the NSCA. AKV joined the fleet of the Victorian based NSCA in 1984 as NSE, while KZL became NSG a year later. Cessna 172N Skyhawk KBL was to go to Western Samoa in 1978 but when the owner wanted to ferry the aircraft using its Australian registration the CAA (then DofA) refused permission. The Flight Service Officers at Norfolk Island were told to look out for an illegal flight but when the aircraft arrived the VH had been roughly taped over with ZK and the flight was now legal being a New Zealand registered aircraft. On arrival in Samoa the prefix was again changed, this time to 5W but now more than 10 years later the same aircraft resumes its original Australian identity.

As the six months covered by the register review includes that time just prior to the collapse of the NSCA, their aircraft figure prominently in all the sections. Most of the Bell 205s were back in Canada with Frontier Helicopters at the time of the collapse, as the deletion section shows. The NSCA’s two Bolkow 105s, which were cancelled as being sold in The United Arab Emirates some time ago, did not in fact leave Australia and remained at Bankstown until one was reregistered PHO and the other was sold in New Zealand as ZK-HPB. The sale of Lloyds three Bell 222s, LAH, I and J in Japan and the Lama PDU to Monte Carlo Helicopters now means that there are no more of these types left in Australia as the Helicopter Directory elsewhere in this issue reflects. Newly registered AS350B Squirrel, AHO, has been sold to the Victorian Police who have reregistered it PVM in line with their other aircraft. But in doing so, Lake Gesture P/L have had to reregister their Cessna 172RG Cutlass, only registered about a month earlier, from PVM to PVN as can be seen in the new allocation section. Another Squirrel changing registrations is the ABC TV aircraft NTV. This has become HVT so they can use its old registration on their new twin engined variant.

Of the airliners to depart Australia, the 3 Ansett Boeing 727s, RMM, Y and Z have gone to Federal Express to be used on their extensive freight network and the 3 Airlines of NSW Friendships, FCA, C and F are now operated by Mesaba Airlines of Minneapolis along with two ex East West machines. Finally long time Bankstown resident Nomad SNL has been sold to Wira Kris Udara as 9M-WKU for survey work in Malaysia.