Traffic

Hazelton Airlines ceased operations on its twice daily Geelong to Sydney route from June 30. As a result Hazelton has withdrawn from service its Short 360 aircraft VH-MJH and VH-MJU. On June 13 VH-MJH flew its last service for Hazelton when it operated flight ZL332 from Dubbo to Sydney. As of late July VH-MJH was parked at Cudal while awaiting disposal. VH-MJU which was leased by Hazelton from Fairchild Industries officially operated its last flight on July 13 as ZIA13 from Sydney to Bathurst. In the interim however VH-MJU is being retained by Hazelton as an operational spare. Hazelton Airlines is also offering for sale PA-31-350 Chieftains VH-CJQ, VH-MYQ and VH-MZM.

Horizon Airways ceased operations in early July with its leased Cessna 441 VH-EVP returning to Airnorth. Horizon operated its Cessna 441 on flights between Perth and Kalgoorlie and between Esperance and Kalgoorlie. Horizon commenced regional airline services in September ’93 on the Perth to Kalgoorlie route.

Impulse Airlines withdrew its five Jetstream 41 aircraft from service during July and returned the aircraft to lessor JSX Capital Corporation. On July 12 the five Jetstream 41 aircraft VH-AFR, VH-IMQ, VH-IMR, VH-IMS and VH-SMH were ferried to Adelaide for storage. Shortly after the Jetstreams arrived at West Beach the Impulse titles were removed from the fuselage and the Ansett Australia colours from the tail. At the same time Impulse announced that it had cancelled its order for the five Jetstream 41 aircraft planned for delivery in 1996. Coincidentally the first of these aircraft was rolled out at Prestwick in late June as G-4-060 msn 41060. Due to the withdrawal from service of the Jetstream 41 fleet Impulse terminated its four times daily Melbourne to Newcastle service with the last flight being operated by VH-IMS on July 9. Impulse has also returned its two BAe 748-2B aircraft to JSX Capital Corporation with VH-IMK being ferried from Sydney to Adelaide on July 12 and VH-IMI on July 13.

Sabair added Cessna 402B VH-PEK to its fleet in May.

Skywest took delivery of Fokker 50 VH-FNA at its Perth base in early August. Prior to its delivery the colour scheme of VH-FNA was changed from that of Ansett Australia to Skywest Airlines during a maintenance lay-up in Brisbane. With the entry into service of VH-FNA Skywest returned Fokker 50 VH-FNF to Ansett Australia. It is expected that Skywest will replace Fokker 50 VH-FNG and VH-FNH with Ansett Australia Fokker 50s VH-FNB and VH-FND. Skywest added Derby to its route network from August 1 with the commencement of daily Jetstream 31 feeder services from the Derby town airport to Broome.

South West Airlines of Manjimup, Western Australia ceased regional airline operations on June 30. South West commenced regional airline services on January 16 this year operating its PA-31-350 Chieftain VH-ONC on a twice daily (Mon to Fri) service between Bunbury and Perth. Though South West has discontinued regional services it remains in business as a Perth based charter operator.

Tamair added Chieftain VH-NEF to its charter fleet in late May. VH-NEF is a re-registration of the former VH-NPC which was previously operated by Airlines of Tasmania.

Mitsubisi Mu-2 Fleet Update.

The recent export of MU-2P VH-XMZ to New Zealand together with the sale of three MU-2s to the United States has highlighted the fact that numbers of this once common twin turboprop in Australia are dwindling.

As we reported in Traffic/August the Menzies Electrical MU-2P VH-XMZ departed Essendon on June 17 for New Zealand. The MU-2 has since been registered ZK-ECR to Air National of Auckland.

International Air Parts has recently sold three MU-2s in the United States for conversion to components. MU-2N VH-SSL which was operated by Newcastle Aviation was damaged in a taxiing accident at Melbourne/Tullamarine. The aircraft was moved to Bankstown by road where it was placed in storage. In March VH-SSL was registered to the Bush Field Aircraft Company of Augusta, Georgia as N80398. MU-2G VH-UZD was another aircraft damaged in a ground accident when it was blown on its back by high winds at Brisbane Airport. In March VH-UZD was sold to the Bush Field Aircraft Company as N513NA. Finally MU-2K VH-MUO of International Air Parts, which has been parked at Bankstown without engines for some months, was sold in March to the Bush Field Aircraft Company as N4284V.

According to my records there are currently nine MU-2s presently operational in Australia as follows – Adventure Air Services, Coffs Harbour MU-2G VH-WMW/VH-WYY: Impulse Airlines has returned its five leased Jetstream 41s and two 748s to JSX Capital, Jetstream’s leasing arm (refer text). At the time of writing the aircraft were in open storage at Adelaide airport opposite National Jet’s facilities awaiting a new operator. Soon after their arrival at Adelaide the Ansett tail colours and Impulse titles were painted over. (Richard Koehne) 70 Australian Aviation September 1995 (left) Cathay Pacific is now flying A340s into Melbourne in place of 747s. (right) This 767 of South Korean airline Asiana was an unusual visitor to the Qantas Jetbase recently. (Brian Wilkes & Bill Dionisou) Interair, Essendon MU-2F N756Q, MU-2G VH-JES: International Air Parts, Bankstown MU-2G VH-UZB/VH-UZN, MU-2J VH-JMZ: Jetcraft, Archerfield MU-2J VH-UUJ: Pel-Air Aviation, Sydney MU-2N VH-NMU.

Other Propjet news concerns PA-31T2 Cheyenne N450CB msn 8166001 which ferried from Honiara to Brisbane on June 30. Gulfstream I VH-FLO was cancelled from the register on May 22 as being exported to New Zealand however there is no indication to date of the Gulfstream being registered in that country. VH-FLO, which is missing many parts, has been static at Auckland for some months. Hawker Pacific has sold its Beech Starship N2000S to a buyer in Malaysia with the aircraft being delivered in late July.

Airline News

Air New Zealand Boeing 737-219 ZK-NAS was withdrawn from service in late May. Later registered N318CM the Boeing departed Christchurch on June 22 for Auckland, Rarotonga and Papeete on its trans Pacific delivery flight to COPA Panama. Boeing 767-209ER ZK-NBF departed Auckland on June 8 for Honolulu on its delivery flight to Air Canada with whom it has since entered service as C-FUCL.

Ansett Australia withdrew its F28-3000 VH-EWF from service in Melbourne on July 2 after it operated AN2179 from Sydney. To date VH-EWF has been parked outside the Ansett maintenance base at Tullamarine while awaiting sale. Due for delivery to Ansett Australia later this year are Airbus A320-211 VH-HYO in September and Boeing 767-204 VH-RML in December. VH-HYO will be the 13th A320-211 Skystar to enter service with Ansett while VH-RML, which is presently operating with Britannia Airways as G-BKPW, will be the seventh of its type in the Ansett fleet. Fokker 50 VH-FNA was withdrawn from Ansett Australia service in late July with the aircraft transferring to the Skywest Airlines fleet. Ansett terminated services to Wagga on July 1, Albury on July 29 and Derby on July 31 in favour of Kendell and Skywest respectively.

Ansett New Zealand has covered the loss of its former DHC-8-102 ZK-NEY by leasing DHC-8-102 VH-XFU from Flight West Airlines. On June 28 VH-XFU departed Brisbane on its trans Tasman ferry flight to Christchurch. On arrival in Christchurch the Dash 8 was registered ZK-NEV before entering service with Ansett New Zealand.

Ansett Worldwide has leased a third Boeing 767-33AER to Alitalia with the aircraft G-OITC ‘Marco Polo’ being delivered on June 28. Ansett Worldwide previously leased Boeing 767-33AERs VH-ITA and VH-ITB to Alitalia however as these aircraft now operate under the AOC of Monarch Airlines in the UK they were placed on the UK register in July as G-OITA and G-OITB respectively. Euralair terminated its lease of Ansett Worldwide Boeing 737-53A F-GGML in June however on July 13 the Boeing commenced operations on lease to Uganda Airlines as 5X-USM.

Mount Cook Airline announced on July 19 that it had placed an order with Avions de Transport Regional for seven ATR-72-210 regional airliners. The seven aircraft on order, which will be delivered between September ’95 and February ’96, will replace in service the seven BAe 748s presently operated by Mount Cook. BAe 748-2B G-BKAL was delivered to Christchurch on June 21 to commence a short term lease to Mount Cook. Later registered ZK-MCH the BAe 748 entered service on July 1.

Qantas operated its first timetabled domestic Boeing 747 service on June 30 when Boeing 747-338 VH-EBT ‘City of Wagga Wagga’ flew the QF515/566 from Sydney to Perth and return. Boeing 737-417 VH-TJW, which was previously operated by Air Nauru as C2-RN11, entered service with Qantas on July 1. First revenue service for the Boeing, which has been named ‘Sharing’, was the QF614 from Melbourne to Brisbane and Cairns. The entry into service of VH-TJW brings the Qantas Boeing 737 fleet to 35 units (19 x -400 and 16 x -300). Qantas currently has a further three Boeing 737-476 aircraft on order.

Saab 2000 Into Service With Air Marshall Islands.

Air Marshall Islands took delivery of the first Saab 2000 in the Pacific region on June 21 when V7-9508 arrived at its Majuro base. As SE-017 the Saab 2000 departed Linkoping on its ferry flight to Majuro on June 12. En route the Saab made stops at Brindisi, Luxor, Dubai, Bombay, Calcutta, Bangkok, Kota Kinabalu, Palau, Yap, Guam and Pohnpei. During its delivery flight the Saab 2000 was also demonstrated to a number of operators. On its arrival in Guam the registration of the Saab 2000 was changed from SE-017 to V7-9508. Air Marshall Islands scheduled its first revenue service with the Saab 2000 on June 24 when V7-9508 operated the CW012 from Nadi/Fiji to Majuro in the Marshall Islands via Funafuti/Tuvalu and Tarawa/Kiribati.

Kendell Airlines’ third Saab 340B+ which will be delivered in October will be registered VH-EKN msn 376.

Skippers Aviation took delivery of Metro 23 VH-WAI msn DC-874B at its Perth base in early August. Skippers Aviation, part of the Skippers Transport Group, become the fifth operator of the Metro 23 in our region joining Air Post, Airnorth Regional, Hazelton and Kendell. Skippers Aviation’s current fleet consists of 14 aircraft – Metro 23 VH-WAI; King Air 200 VH-LKB, -LKF; Cessna 441 VH-AZB, -AZW, -FMQ, -LBA, -LBC, -LBD, -LBX, -LBY, -LBZ; Cessna 402C VH-LKC; PA-31-310 Navajo VH-ITF.

Pacific Island News

Air Fiji added a second Embraer Bandeirante to its fleet in late June with the delivery of EMB-110P1 DQ-AFO. The Bandeirante was previously operated by Iona National Airways as EI-BVX and commenced its ferry flight to Suva from the English west country town of Exeter.

Air Nelson Fairchild Metro III ZK-NST ferried into Maroochydore on June 27 from Auckland and Norfolk on termination of its lease.

Garamut Exploration de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou P2-VTC crashed near Kiunga on July 3 while operating a produce charter from Port Moresby for the Ok Tedi mine.

Milne Bay Air DHC-6-300 Twin Otter P2-MBI was destroyed on July 12 when it crashed near Alotau shortly after departing Gurney on a scheduled flight to Wedau. The pilot and 14 passengers on board were killed.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force has sold its three Fokker F27-100 aircraft NZ2781, NZ2782 and NZ2783 to Laoag International Airways of Laoag in the Philippines. Registered RPC-3888, RPC-5888 and RPC-6888 respectively the three Friendships were noted on Norfolk Island on July 22 en route to Brisbane, Mount Isa and Darwin. The three Friendships concerned were originally delivered to New Zealand National Airways Corporation in February/March 1961 as ZK-BXB, ZK-BXC and ZK-BXD.

Freighter Fleet Changes.

Australian air Express has leased BAe 146-100QC VH-NJV from National Jet Systems with the aircraft entering service in mid August. Australian air Express has based VH-NJV in Hobart from where it operates a four times weekly return service to Melbourne and Brisbane. VH-NJV msn E1002 was the second BAe 146 off the Hatfield production line and made its first flight there on January 25 ’82 as G-SSHH. Prior to its delivery to Australian air Express VH-NJV operated in South Africa with Safair as ZS-NCA. Also worthy of mention is that this particular BAe 146 has visited Australia before. In October ’88 as G-BSTA the aircraft was brought to Australia by British Aerospace to participate in the Bicentennial Air Show. Australian air Express plan to take delivery of a second BAe 146-300QT from National Jet Systems in late October.

Independent Air Freighters will import a DC-8-71F in late September with the aircraft planned for lease to Australian air Express for service on the Perth to Melbourne route. The Independent Air Freighters DC-8-71F is reported to be msn 46099 which was last operated by Zambia Airways as 9J-AFL. In November ’94 9J-AFL was withdrawn from service by Zambia Airways with the aircraft being ferried on the 26th of that month from Amsterdam to Shannon. 9J-AFL remained in storage at Shannon until March 10 when it was ferried to Macon, Georgia for freighter conversion. The DC-8 has since been registered N811AL to the Aerolease Financial Group of Miami, Florida. Until delivery of the Independent Air Freighters DC-8-71F Australian air Express will continue its lease of the Air Transport International DC-8-62F N51CX.

Pel-Air Aviation is to lease BAe 146-100 G-OJET from Aeromil/PLM International with the aircraft planned for delivery in September. It is reported that Pel-Air will operate the BAe 146-100 between Perth and Telfer on behalf of Newcrest mining. It is interesting to note that with the delivery of BAe 146-100QC VH-NJV msn E-1002 to Australian air Express and BAe 146-100 G-OJET msn E-1004 to Pel-Air we will have four of the first nine BAe 146 aircraft produced operating in Australia. The other two aircraft concerned being Airlink BAe 146-100’s VH-NJY msn E-1005 and VH-NJZ msn E-1009.

Comprehensive notes Study at your pace at home No classroom attendance Study at your convenience May be Tax deductible where appropriate Free Call 1800 Help Line included For details and cost, phone or fax 1800 636 830 or 047 544461 or write to: SECOMBE AVIATION 3 Mujar Place, WINMALEE 2777 Australian Aviation September 1995

Return Of The Agar

The July 10 launch from Cape Canaveral of a United States Air Force Titan 4 Centaur rocket, which was reported to be carrying an advanced electronic intelligence satellite, brought four United States Air Force specialised Boeings to Australia. All four aircraft are operated by the 4950th Test Wing of Air Force Materiel Command, based at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Boeing EC-18B 10892 callsign AGAR 92 arrived in Perth from Noumea on July 6. On the night of July 10 AGAR 92 in company with AGAR 21 operated a nine hour round robin flight from Perth. AGAR 92 departed Perth on July 12 for Diego Garcia.

Boeing EC-135E 10326 callsign AGAR 21 arrived in Perth from Noumea on July 8. On the night of July 10 AGAR 92 in company with AGAR 21 operated a nine hour round robin flight from Perth. AGAR 21 departed Perth on July 12 for Noumea.

Boeing EC-135E 10329 callsign AGAR 24 arrived in Melbourne from Papeete on July 8. On the night of July 10 AGAR 24 in company with AGAR 25 operated a nine hour round robin flight from Melbourne. AGAR 24 departed Melbourne late on the evening of July 11 for Papeete.

Boeing EC-135E 10330 callsign AGAR 25 arrived in Melbourne from Papeete on July 7. On the night of July 10 AGAR 25 in company with AGAR 24 operated a nine hour round robin flight from Melbourne. AGAR 25 departed Melbourne late on the evening of July 11 for Noumea.

In other news Antonov An-74T ‘Coaler’ UR-74008 arrived in Perth on July 29 from Singapore and Port Hedland. The Antonov was originally chartered to fly mining equipment from Melbourne to Karratha but instead diverted into Perth and there onloaded its cargo which had been flown from Melbourne in IPEC DC-9-33F VH-IPC. For its flight to Australia the Antonov operated under the flight number SFN 513