Civil Aircraft Register Update

Two more Tiger Moths have recently been registered, CEE, of which little is known at this stage, and UIE which has a well documented history. UIE was built by de Havilland at Mascot and was delivered to the RAAF during November 1941 as A17-423. It was one of over 200 Tigers that were returned to de Havilland for rebuilding at sometime during RAAF service and were given a rebuild number prefixed “T”. This accounts for UIE’s, and many other Australian Tiger Moth’s, dual construction number. During 1947 the RAAF sold 130 Tigers onto the civil market with many going to aero clubs around the country.

Among these was A17-423 which became AZH with the Royal Queensland Aero Club. Unfortunately the aircraft crashed at Archerfield on September 20 1958 and never flew with the aero club again. Almost 30 years later Ernie Clark, bought the machine and between 1985 and 1990 managed to accumulate most of the parts needed for the rebuild. Ernie had rebuilt the wings and gone a long way to completing the project when a triple bypass heart operation interrupted his plans. Prior to surgery he had come to an agreement with the owner of the Bell JetRanger that is now flying as AZH to enable the Tiger to use its original markings, however, during the enforced break the JetRanger had been sold and its new owner was not as cooperative.

By now the machine was wearing its original Royal Queensland Aero Club colours of plain silver with pale blue and orange diagonal tail stripes and the photo that the RQAC had kindly supplied to show the Aero Club’s original colours was of DH.60G Gipsy Moth UIE. The Gipsy Moth was lost when it collided in midair with another Gipsy, UIQ, over the Brisbane suburb of Rocklea on August 8 1937 and Ernie decided that to use this registration would be a fitting tribute to both types which gave such sterling service with the RQAC. UIE’s first public appearance, after only three hours flying time, was at the Sun and Fun fly-in at Kingaroy on September 10.

Ernie Clark is not new to rebuilding aircraft. His passion began with another Tiger Moth DBE, still flying with Keith Dobson at nearby Wamuran. Next came Auster J/5B Autocar KCC, now resident in WA, and then another Auster KBE which Ernie still owns along with Tiger UIE. And Ernie has not finished rebuilding aircraft. His next project is another Tiger, CES, which he bought in April 1993 after it was damaged in an accident at Cairns.

Being an Auster and Tiger Moth fan Ernie would love to see the annual Auster fly-in some day move from its usual Saint Arnaud venue to a south east Queensland airfield and another attempt at the world record for the most number of civil Tiger Moths on one aerodrome during peace time, also in southern Queensland. When this record was set at Temora during April 1991, 71 Tigers were on the airfield, at a time when there were 139 still registered in Australia. There are now 187 of the type in this country, many in southern Queensland and northern NSW, making it the ninth most popular type on the register and headed only by the Cessna 150, 172, 182 and 210, Piper PA-28, PA-31 and PA-32 and the Robinson R22 helicopter.

Five new Skyfox CA25N Gazelles appear on the register this month, a good indication of how well the aircraft is selling on the local market. The Gazelle is a tricycle undercarriage development of the CA25 and features a four stroke Rotax 912A engine, dual controls and anti-siphon fuel tanks. With a top speed of 95kt (175kt), a service ceiling of 10,000ft, and a claimed an hourly operating cost of $16.38 at 1000 hours per year, it is no wonder that Skyfox is trying to increase production to one a week to cope with demand. The company is planning to double its work force at its production facility at Caloundra Airport on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and is looking toward doubling production again by 1997. Six Gazelles are now registered with a further seven aircraft having flown or in the latter stages of production and 10 more are in the initial stages of construction. Export prospects are looking good with an order for five aircraft, three tail wheel and two nose wheel variants, from Thailand, a country, along with Switzerland, that already operated the Skyfox in its tailwheel configuration.

A Mooney and a Hughes helicopter are the only two aircraft to return to the register this issue. Mooney 201 MIY was damaged at Great Keppel Island, Qld on March 14 1984. Bill Ingmire bought the damaged aircraft soon after and began a long term rebuild project to bring the machine up to “better than new” condition. After more than a decade of work Bill, a self confessed Mooney fan, has almost completed the work and hopes to have his “new” aircraft flying again early next year.

Hughes 269C RIK was imported during November 1982 but suffered damage during an accident at Balbrini Station, NT three years later, in April 1985. It was repaired after this mishap and returned to the air the following year but was taken off the register again on May 28 1992 whilst operating with Cloncurry Mustering. After an extensive rebuild the helicopter is mustering again, this time in the hands of Fitzroy Helicopters at Derby, WA.

Almost one third of the deletions section is made up of aircraft that been re-registered. Swearingen Metro II ANW has changed to CUZ to allow Airnorth Regional Airlines to use ANW on its new Metro 23 and Dick Smith has changed his Sikorsky S-76 SHW to CFH so that SHW can be applied to his new Cessna Caravan. McDonnell Douglas 500E OXF is now flying as BOL because Five Star Aviation wanted OXF for its Super King Air BTL. Moore’s Air Charter at Toowoomba have replaced its Navajo SGQ with Chieftain OZQ from Aus-Air and changed it to MKK to match its other Chieftain MKC. Swift Aviation of Cairns have acquired Cessna 402C HUR from Chartair at Alice Springs to replace its own 402C JOC which has been damaged in an accident. On the same day that JOC was deleted from the register HUR was re-registered JOC.

Nine aircraft have been sold or leased overseas during August including Cessna Stationair XAA to PNG and Impulse Jetstream 41 IMS to South Africa. Robin Sport LXY is now in Malaysia flying with the Johor Bahru Flying Club and registered 9M-JFA whilst Cessna 402C TAM is now in New Zealand flying as ZK-VAB. The Cessna twin was ferried via Sydney, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Wellington by Peter and Andrew Vincent on August 22/23 and is one of two 402s to join the Vincent Aviation fleet recently. The second aircraft was sourced from within New Zealand and re-registered ZK-VAA, and both aircraft will be used to supplement Vincent’s转expatriate Australian DC-3 on executive charter and freight contracts from its Wellington base.

Also now in New Zealand is Partenavia FAB and Cessna 172 HJR which were ferried via Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Auckland on August 7/8 and August 15/16 respectively. Bell JetRanger JWD, Beech 300LW (Light Weight) Super King Air KDV and pressurised Beech Baron ORP have all been sold in the USA, the latter two proving that the Australian market for such specialised aircraft is not large.

90 Australian Aviation November 1995

Of the eight aircraft that have been withdrawn from use, most can be expected to fly again with the exception of the two Ansett Fokker Fellowships which are believed to have carried their last passengers and have been static at the Ansett maintenance base at Tullamarine for some months.

Ten aircraft have been taken off the register because of accident damage, the most tragic being Swearingen NEJ. The Metro was on a crew training exercise at Tamworth when it suddenly dived to the ground and burst into flames killing two of the three people on board.

Impulse Airlines’ entire Jetstream 41 and HS.748 fleet appear in the changes of CoR holder section this month due to the aircraft being returned to the lessors. The Jetstream 41s are now registered to Trident Turboprop, the two HS.748s to Jetstream Aircraft and the Jetstream 31 to Jet Acceptance Corp. All these aircraft are currently in open storage at Adelaide pending future sale or lease except IMS which has already departed for South Africa.

Dick Lang has acquired Chieftain CJQ from Hazelton Airlines whilst Bandeirante BWC is now with Cairns Flightline. The Bandeirante, which has recently returned from a short term lease in Vanuatu, has been painted in a striking new colour scheme involving brightly coloured birds and flowers and will be used by Port Douglas Air on the Cairns to Port Douglas resort route. Fokker 50 FNF has returned to Ansett Australia at Sydney after a seven month lease with Skywest Airlines whilst Piccolo Airlines of Gladstone, Qld have bought Beech Baron WZU to replace E55 Baron USP which it lost in an accident during May. The new owner of Cessna 152 JIW is listed as Phonebox Airlines, a name that conjures up memories of the television series “The Minder” where a phonebox was used as an office by one of the main characters.

Following up on some Australian aircraft recently exported, Flight West Twin Otter XFE is now registered H4-SID in the Solomon Islands and Beech Bonanza TXY is now flying in Malaysia with Pacific Compass of Johor Bahru and marked 9M-AZJ. In New Zealand PA-28 Dakota LYC, which crossed the Tasman as long ago as May, has become ZK-LYC owned by a Dunedin syndicate. Other news from New Zealand is that Cessna 152 ZK-FJX of Flightline Aviation, once UOK, crashed at Matakana on April 2 and Cessna Agwagon ZK-TJK, formally JAR, was lost in a crash at Akatore on October 24 1994 whilst flying for Kitto Helicopters of Balclutha. Cessna 404 WGS, which was cancelled in the March issue is now working in Botswana with Aerodata flying as A2-AIS and Super King Air IBF, cancelled in last month’s listing is now in South Africa registered as ZS-PAM.

Further afield Pilatus Turbo Porter ZCZ, which was sold in Canada and became C-GZCZ, has been sold to Aviation Leasing of Monchengladbach, Germany. It has been registered D-FREE and as such was ferried through Sumburgh, Scotland and Bembridge, England on April 10/11 on its way to Germany. Bell 205 (Iroquois) NGN, which spent just over a year in Australia with the National Safety Council, has moved from France to Spain and taken up temporary Spanish markings EC-844. CAA Gulfstream Commander LTJ and Transair Cessna 402 TFD are now in Colombia after being exported to the USA in 1993 and 1991 respectively. TFD joins the fleet of SAO Colombia as HK-3762 whilst LTJ is now flying as HK-3961X, the suffix indicating a provisional registration pending issue of a full CofA.

Vancouver Island Helicopters of Sidney, Canada have just acquired two Bell 222Us, C-FVUZ and C-FVVA, which have previously operated in Australia. C-FVUZ was used by Lloyd Helicopters between May 1984 and March 1989 as LAJ and C-FVVA saw service with Helijet between December 1984 and May 1989 as HIA. Both helicopters were sold to an American broker and registered N8154Q and N8171P respectively but neither went to the USA and were instead sold in Japan as JA9961 and JA9962 before ending up in Canada. Finally TAA Friendship TFC, which was exported to France in November 1977 is now in the Netherlands Antilles, a small group of islands in the Caribbean just off Venezuela’s northern coast.