Civil Aircraft Register Update

Register Review

Twenty-two entries can be found in the New Allocations this issue, covering a wide range of aircraft from an Italian-designed amateur-built helicopter to a couple of Russian-designed jet fighters. The unusual kit helicopter is the first Augusto Cicare CH-7 Angel to fly in Australia. Registered NGL and powered by a small capacity Rotax engine, it gave a very impressive display of its capabilities at its public launch at Bankstown recently. At a cost of around $60,000 for the complete kit it should prove popular in this country and we can expect to see several more Angels appearing on these pages once the type has been certified. Larger helicopters listed include Squirrel BGV, which has been imported by the Aerospatiale agents Eurocopter Pacific for onward sale, and Super Puma LHG for Lloyd Helicopters. The Super Puma is the third AS 332L1 model obtained from Norway in as many months. All three large twins were delivered new to Helikopter Services of Stavanger, Norway during 1990 and joined an impressive line up of helicopters including nineteen Super Pumas, 16 Sikorsky S-61Ns, six Bell 212s and four Pumas, as well as a Bell 214ST, a Dauphin and two civil Boeing Chinooks. Helikopter Services is also acquiring eight of the latest L2 model Super Pumas to replace some of its older L1 Super Pumas. Helicopter Australia’s Squirrel WCD and JetRanger WCK meanwhile are both from the parent company, Helicopters New Zealand’s fleet. Bandeirante XFP is one of several that have been parked at Mareeba in north Queensland since Talair ceased operations in PNG. Super King Air RFX is the second of its type recently obtained by the Brisbane section of the RFDS. The first, DAX, was listed last month and has since been changed to FDI, in line with other RFDS aircraft. To allow this to happen Beech Baron FDI has changed to IHS and as soon as the RFDS can obtain another FD registration RFX will change as well. Pavex Constructions has sold its Beech Duke TUZ and reregistered it WGB in order to use TUZ on the newer Duke. The Beech 60 Duke was designed to fill the gap between the six seat Baron and the ten seat Queen Air and had the added advantage of looking as if it were going fast even when at rest. It utilised a modified Baron wing, engine nacelles and undercarriage combined with a pressurised fuselage and turbocharged engines. Almost 600 Dukes were built and Pavex managed to find, in Japan, one of the last aircraft to come off the production line. DUK (the second) was delivered new to Japan in March 1983 and has more recently been operated by New Hikari of Honda Airport. Comanche OYL has been in Australia for a while awaiting sale using its South African markings ZS-CYL, and was prominent at last year’s Caboolture Air Show. It was one of 440 built at Piper’s Lock Haven factory during 1962 and one of a total of 4714 Comanches built by Piper between October 1957 and June 1972 when the facility was flooded. No more Comanches were built after the flood. PZG is a 1979 model Piper Warrior delivered new to Australia in April of that year and originally registered MHE. It was damaged at Schofields, west of Sydney, on September 13 1987 and was stored in the back of a hangar at Bankstown for some years after that. The aircraft has now been rebuilt though was unable to take up its original markings as a Hughes 500 now flies as MHE. Of the light aircraft listed, JBE is the tenth Jabiru ST to be registered whilst RGR is the 15th Vans RV-6 to fly in Australia. Roloff Breezy LJU is only the second of its type to be registered and interestingly is one of the very few aircraft to transfer from the Australian Ultralight Federation register (having flown as 28-0906 before) to the CAA register instead of the other way around. Reha Ekinci has registered her MiG-15s REH and EKI appropriately and Jeff Trappett’s Winjeel has been registered AGR. Sixty-four Australian designed Winjeels were built to replace Tiger Moths and Wirraways in the RAAF training role and Jeff’s is the 17th machine to fly in civilian guise. Sixteen of these remain in Australian skies with one being exported to New Zealand last year. Two single engined Cessnas make up the Restoration section this month, a 172 and a 180. The 172M Skyhawk came to Australia during late 1975 and was registered WYA in February 1976. It was cancelled on November 28 1990 when it was exported to Malaysia and flew there as 9M-WYA until its recent return to Australia. The “G” model 180 Skywagon was only produced during 1964 and it was in October of that year that DFO was delivered new to this country. It was taken off the register on March 9 1992 after being damaged whilst owned by Tony Edwards. After a three year rebuild at Albury the machine is flying again still in the hands of Tony. Three aircraft appear in the Deletions list that have been destroyed in fatal accidents recently. Pilot, copilot and a passenger were killed when Westwind AJS crashed on approach to Alice Springs airport after a night freight flight and the pilot of Tomahawk SCD was killed when it crashed into cliffs to the north of Sydney. A misjudged aerobatic manoeuvre may have been the cause of the crash of Pitts IXY near Gatton which killed its only occupant. Of the six aircraft listed as withdrawn from use, most can be expected to return to the register in time, with the exception of Bell 412 LHV which is believed to have been exported and Beech Duke NYI which has been derelict at Darwin for some time. The Duke’s markings were changed from ILI to NYI in 1988 when it joined the ill fated Amman Aviation fleet. Cessna 402 AMU and Islander ISL have both been exported to PNG although the Islander has been in that country for some time. It was sold to Turama Forest Industries of Port Moresby and appropriately registered P2-TFI during 1992. Since then it has had several owners and is presently operated by Concord Pacific of Boroko, so why it has taken so long to be deregistered here is a mystery. Navajo INX, Cessna 172 IXK, Duchess JGP and PA-20 Pacer MEJ have joined the aircraft exodus to New Zealand. Interestingly, although there are a number of Aussie aircraft in Kiwiland awaiting sale and the trend is obviously continuing, March 1995 was the first month since July 1992 that new registrations in New Zealand did not include at least one Australian aircraft. Boeing 737s OAM and OAN, previously leased by Ansett Worldwide Leasing to Oman Air, have moved on to Eurobelgium of Brussels whilst CASA C-212 ICJ has been sold 90 Australian Aviation July 1995 in Sweden. With the export of ICJ there now remains only one CASA Aviocar in Australia. Of the four that have operated in this part of the world, SMO came during October 1985 but went to New Zealand as ZK-THV the following month. It moved on to Tonga during December 1989 when it joined Friendly Island Airways but has since moved on again. T3-ATC spent some time with Air Tungaru on the tiny Pacific island of Kiribati but it too has moved on. ICJ arrived in Australia in May 1982 and has now departed for the cooler climate of Sweden. KDV was registered during June 1981 and went to PNG as P2-CNP six years later. It returned to Australia during August 1988 when it became TEM and is the sole remaining CASA in this part of the world and is operated by Geoterrex of Sydney. Three aircraft in the Changes section are worthy of note including Catalina EXG which has, at last, officially been transferred to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. The big warbird was disassembled more than two years ago at Essendon, where it had been part of the scenery for some years, and moved to Point Cook, but it has only recently been officially transferred to the Museum. Queen Air RUU has joined two others in the Air Eastern fleet, AEQ and XAE. The elderly Queen Airs are used for freight runs and regularly ply the Brisbane, Longreach, Mount Isa routes. Aviation Centre has added Aerostar LMW to its mixed fleet based at Bankstown. The Piper built machine joins four other Piper Aerostars, a Ted Smith built Aerostar, two Navajos and two Cessna twins used for freight and charter work both on intra and interstate services. Aviation Centre also owns a Partenavia which is used for twin engined pilot training. Following up on some Australian aircraft recently exported, Beech Super King Air SWC now flies with VASCO (Vietnam Air Services Company) as VN-B594, Bell 214ST LHQ is now in the USA flying as N804ST, and Agusta Bell 206B BHI has returned to Bristow Helicopters of Redhill, England where it took up its old British markings of G-AWVO. Also at Redhill with Bristows are Bell 212 BEY and Bell 214ST BEY now marked as G-BMVF and G-BKFN respectively. Beech Super King Airs OXL and OXA, which spent some time with Oxley Airlines and Milne Bay Air, are now back in PNG with Milne Bay Air but now registered P2-MBH and P2-MBZ. Mitsubishi MU-2B SSL which was damaged at Tullamarine on January 12 1993 has been rebuilt in the USA and is now N80398 owned by Bush Field Aircraft of Augusta, Georgia. Several Australian aircraft have turned up in exotic countries recently including Lama PDU, which was exported to Monte Carlo in 1989 where it flew as 3A-MLB, and is now in Cayenne, flying as F-OGVY. Lang Hancock’s Falcon 20 WLH is now in Angola, flying as D2-ESV and Jayrow Helicopters JetRanger BLD, after use in the USA and Canada is now in Argentina flying for Helicopter Corporation as LV-WFY. Bell Longranger HIP is now in Mexico whilst Twin Otters PGS and PGU are back in Canada with Kenn Borek Air of Calgary flying as C-GKBO and C-GKBM respectively. If you have not ordered your copy of the 1994/95 Australian Aviation Civil Aircraft Register now is the time to do so as stocks are now limited. This year the register has been expanded to include gliders but even with the increase in the number of pages we have been able to contain the price within five cents of last year. This is the only publication available that lists registration, type, construction number and CofR holder’s name and address in an easy to read tabulated format. Over 10,000 aircraft are listed including those registered with the CAA, the GFA and the HGFA. The register is only available from AustAirData, PO Box 1142, Toombul, Qld 4012 (phone 074 98 3757) at a cost of $11.00 including postage within Australia (add 50% for overseas air mail). Details are also available on IBM compatible computer disk in dbase IV or ASCII format at a cost of $50.00 or as a complete stand alone database programme at a cost of $70.00 and credit card facilities are available.