Civil Register Update

Two more Grob G115s have been added to the register for Flight Safety at Jandakot WA. JVL and JVS make a total of 18 G115 T- Birds flying in Australia, eight with the Australian Aviation College at Parafield, six with AFTS at Bankstown and four with Flight Safety at Jandakot. Grob, of Mindelheim Germany was formed in 1971 to produce fibreglass sailplanes and became world famous for their Astir series of high performance gliders. The company ventured into the powered glider market in 1980 with the G109 side by side two seat glider utilising an 80hp Limbach engine. The following year Grob produced its first full specification powered aircraft, the G110, based on the same composite construction which had been so successful in their gliders. Unfortunately the prototype G110 crashed on July 29 1982, however the design was developed into the G115, a higher powered two seat training aircraft based on the original G110. Grob capitalised on the success ofits gliders in Australia when the first G115 was imported during 1988 and since then a small but steady stream of these smart looking trainers have found their way to this country.

Following the tragic death of Tony Masling in a helicopter crash last year, much of the operational flying side of Masling Industries has been reformed and relocated to Brisbane under the leadership of Roy Conomos and Mel Smith. Roy and Mel have recently imported another Hughes 500, PLD, from Pacific Helicopters of Goroka PNG to add to their growing fleet of helicopters specialising in airborne live powerline maintenance. Delivered new to PNG during October 1981, PLD joins two other Hughes 500s already in the fleet, with a fourth machine due soon, also from Pacific Helicopters, which will become PLJ Other helicopters shown in the listing are another Agusta built Bell 47G and two Sikorsky S-76s. Agusta Bell 47G KIP is the third of a batch of seven ex Italian Army machines to fly. Imported by a Queensland company, another 47G and three 47. Js are still being prepared for resale. Sikorsky S-768 LAH and LAI arrived in Adelaide aboard Pacific Express Dyushin Il-76 as long ago as January on delivery to Lloyd Helicopters. Lloyds has recently won another RAAF search and rescue contract and the two big twin engined Sikorskys will help service the contract. Both machines have come from the Royal Jordanian Air Force which seems to be a popular source of used aircraft imports recently.

Although only four aircraft have returned to the register during May, three of these are antique and add to the numbers of flyable historic aircraft in Australian skies. Auster IIIF DSJ served with the RAF as NJ970 and the RAAF as A11-34 before adopting the civilian registration BKK during December 1947. It was bought by the then Department of Civil Aviation during 1949 which registered it CAJ in line with other departmental aircraft of the time. It was retired from the DCA in April 1961 and in order that they could use CAJon future DCA aircraft the elderly Auster became DAJ. It was to have changed to DSJ in October 1969 but was instead deregistered and stored. It has once more taken to Australian skies using the call sign it should have used over 23 years ago.

Cessna Airmaster UYG originally came to Australia during July 1937. It was impressed into RAAF service four years later as A40-1 but returned to UYG in April 1946. Its registration was changed to KWM in April 1963 and ten years later on February 14 1973 it was taken off the register and deemed no longer flyable. Two years ago Cairns enthusiast Kim Ryan obtained the classic Cessna and began a rebuild that has culminated into one of the best restorations of this type that has been seen in Australia. The Airmaster, now wearing its original registration, is finished in an overall white colour scheme with lime green trim and Kim has replaced the original Warner Scarab engine with a 220hp Continental W670. (Refer Warbirds for additional Cessna Airmaster information. ) Although the history of Avro Avian UQE is a little vague, we do know that it was damaged near Tumut NSW during its early life in Australia. It was rebuilt and put back on the register during April 1947 only to be withdrawn from use seven months later. Meanwhile a second Avian, UVX which had come to Australia during June 1936 but had been in storage since 1942, was being rebuilt in the same hanger that UQE was stored in. By January 1969 UVX was flying again using a good many parts off UQE and indeed now carrying the registration UQE. This second machine finally re- turned to its original markings of UVX on June 7 1985 and is now resplendent in an all over silver scheme with red wing struts and registration letters. MrG Davis of Rowland Flat SA now owns both Avians and is to be congratulated on his determination to bring both aircraft to flying condition even though many parts of the original UQE would have had to be remanufactured.

Changes of markings account for the largest number of aircraft in the Deletions section. Mr R Heath, who has displayed his initials, RJH, on his Cessna Super Skywagon for a good many years has now acquired Cessna Centurion EUT. In order to keep his personalised registration he has simply exchanged the markings of each aircraft and no doubt the new EUT, now on the old Super Skywagon, will be sold soon. Oxley Airlines has bought Super King Air AJM from Hawker Pacific and have reregistered it OXR in line with most of the Oxley fleet. The last two Fleet Support Lear Jets, WFE and WFJ have become FSY and FSZ respectively, a move that has been expected since their other Lear SLJ became FSX in October last year.

Five aircraft have been damaged or destroyed in the reporting period, the most tragic of which was the crash of Monarch Airlines Navajo NDU. Six people lost their lives when the aircraft hit a hill during an approach to Young NSW in bad weather. Dauphin HRM was also lost during a rescue near Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley region of NSW whilst Mitsubishi Mu-2SSL was badly dam- aged when it taxied into a drainage ditch while preparing for a night take off from Tullamarine. The Mitsubishi will be replaced in the Newcastle Aviation fleet by a Swearingen Metroliner, also to be registered SSL.

Nine aircraft have been sold overseas including one to Cambodia, one to Mexico and the Gippsland Fatman KRT to China. Five machines have joined the monthly exodus to New Zealand and details of their new registrations and owners will be published as soon as they are known.

Alarge selection of aircraft are shown in the Change of Owner/ Operator section this month with a large proportion of these reflecting only a change of address or a consolidation of interest as shown by many of the Oxley Airlines fleet. Now that Oxley and Impulse have merged the official ownership of both fleets is being recorded as Oxley Airlines of Miranda NSW. Two of Hawker De Havilland’s historic aircraft fleet, Drover DHM and Tiger Moth DHV have been transferred to the Hawker owned Australian Aviation College in Adelaide and the two Ipec DC-9s, IPC and IPF, are now officially owned by Independent Air Freighters after their acquisition by the Ansett group. Lets hope that this does not mean an end to the striking yellow colour scheme that has been part of the overnight freight system in Australia for many years.

More information has surfaced about aircraft listed in previous register reviews. The Pitts Specials shown in the May and June issue, DLS, PDU, SLD, PIG and SSD have been imported by Dave Freeman and Phil Unicomb to form a new formation aerobatic team. The five machines are the ex Royal Jordanian Air Force “Falcons” aerobatic team’s Pitts Specials (registered JY-RJG/H/K/ LandJ) made surplus to requirements when the team re-equipped with Extra EA300s.

Fokker 50 FNJ, also shown in the June listing, is now flying as OE-LFW with Austrian Air Services, a subsidiary of Austrian Airlines. Using exclusively Fokker 50s, Austrian Air Services operate on many internal routes on behalf of its international partner and FNJ joins another Ansett machine FNG/OE-LFX which left Australia during October 1990. Two other Fokker 50s in the Austrian Air Services fleet are OE-LFY and OE-LFZ which were to become FNK and FNL with Ansett but were cancelled before delivery and were diverted to Austria. Meanwhile in Ireland Dash 8 FNQ is now flying as EI-CHP with Irish/American leasing giant Guinness Peat Aviation.

Many of the recent exports to New Zealand have now been registered in that country. Cessna Stationair EKK and Piper Cherokee DBW are now marked as ZK-EEE and ZK-JCN respectively, while Cessna Agwagon IQI, shown in the May issue as withdrawn from use, has in fact become ZK-ESL. As predicted in last months column Hughes 300 THE is now ZK-HAS with Helicopter Aerial Survey of Pahia, NavajoJKC is now ZK-LTD with Ashton Project Services of Hamilton, Seneca AYN now flies as ZK-RUF with Straits Air Charter of Blenheim and Cessna 172N BFO flies from Nelson with Mr T Lewis.