Civil Aircraft Register Update

DLT and ZZM are the 21st and 22nd Skyfox Gazelles off the production line at Caloundra and IIM is the second PZL Dromader to be registered to Frank Williams of Georgia USA. Both Williams’ aircraft are from a batch of seven Dromaders built in Poland, but imported into Australia via East Germany, that have been in open storage at Crookwell in NSW for some time. All are expected to be locally registered as they are sold.

Australian Aviation Jan/Feb 1996

Another two warbirds have been registered, Nanchang CJ-6 CJX and Harvard YPY. The Harvard is from a group claimed to be from the Paraguayan Air Force but with an unusual history and it is believed that both the Nanchang and Harvard are a long way from flying yet. XTR is the second use of these appropriate markings on an Extra, the first being an EA300 between December 1992 and February 1994, whilst the latest allocation is for an “S” model of the same type. China South WA Flying School have added six more Grob G 115s to its fleet which now comprises of 21 C2s, two B model T-Birds and one D model Aero aerobatic trainer.

The deletions section contains 36 entries, almost half of these being aircraft that have been re-registered. Cherokee PXK has been changed to LJS to reflect its new owners initials whilst a further five aircraft have changed for registration standardisation within company fleets. Partenavia AJX has changed to WZP in keeping with other aircraft in the Wingz North Aviation fleet and Jetcraft’s Metro KDQ and Northern Territory Air Services Cessna 210 AZV are now UUK and NTZ respectively for the same reason. Queensland Emergency Services Bell 412 has become ESG to match QES’s other two Bell 412s ESB and ESD. Nine aircraft are listed after having been involved in accidents including two Hughes 300s, AHQ and NCL, which crashed some time ago. Cherokee Arrow YAB was wrecked after eye witnesses said it broke up in flight near Cordalba Qld and Grumman Tiger WPY was destroyed when it crashed into the side of Mount Warning in northern NSW. The sole occupant of the Grumman was killed in the accident as were both people on board Robinson JNA when it crashed just south of Ravenswood Qld. Meanwhile the pilot of Partenavia TLQ was lucky to survive after the aircraft crashed onto the beach shortly after taking off from the resort strip on Tangalooma Island Qld. She was pulled from the wreck with broken legs by her Japanese passengers shortly before the aircraft burst into flames and was subsequently gutted by fire.

Eleven aircraft have been sold overseas including Navajo Chieftain TMN to Indonesia and Eagle APA and Friendship FNJ to Malaysia. Bell 212 BEU has returned to Bristow Helicopters’ base at Redhill, England and has taken up its previous UK registration G-BOEP whilst Impulse Jetstream 41s AFR and SMH have also returned to the UK after a short time stored at Adelaide. Although the Jetstreams have taken up UK markings these are believed to be temporary and the aircraft have been allocated American registrations N436JX and N434JX respectively.

Five more aircraft have crossed the Tasman to New Zealand including Bandeirante LSE, which flew via Norfolk Island to Auckland and then on to Wellington on October 20/21. The Bandeirante has now joined the Transair fleet, based at Wellington, and is working alongside three other expatriate Australian Bandits. Cessna Cardinal DKC is now flying as ZK-TEC with Galtech Models of Palmerston North and crossed the Tasman via Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island on July 28 1995. Cessna Skywagon UPG was delivered via the same route on 29/30 September and is now owned by Sky-Hi Tandem Skydive of Paihia flying as ZK-OWZ. Cessna 210 RHK, now based at Thames with Aegis Oil, did not require very much sign writing to change it to ZK-RHK after it arrived in New Zealand via Norfolk Island on September 22.

Field Air of Ballarat has leased Air Tractor AQC to New Zealand in an attempt to firmly establish the type in that country, a move that appears to have paid dividends as two new examples are due in Kiwi land soon. AQC is now flying as ZK-SNO and its first public appearance was at the Agricultural Aviation Association conference in Wellington where Air New Zealand made a large hangar available for what turned out to be the largest dedicated assembly of ag aircraft in New Zealand since 1955. Two other Australian aircraft which are currently in New Zealand and can therefore be expected to appear in the deletions section soon are Maule JVR which was delivered to Guy Mead of Dingleburn Station, near Wanaka, via Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island to Auckland and then on to Christchurch on September 4/5, and Auster J5G ADX which was noted at West Melton on October 18.

Three aircraft have been withdrawn from use and although it seems that Queen Air CTE and Shorts KNQ will be broken up and scrapped, Cessna 172 TMT is likely to return to the register in due course.

Only two aircraft return to the register this month. Super Cub FPI returns after being damaged during July 1995 and Duchess MVG after spending a short time on the Hong Kong register. The Duchess was registered in Hong Kong as VR-HKR for just over one month so it is doubtful if the aircraft ever left this country and the registration changes may have only been a paper exercise.

Several charter companies have added to their fleets in recent months and these changes are reflected in the Changes of C of R Holders section. Executive Air Charter at Darwin added Bandeirante BWC to its ever growing fleet and Falcon Airlines of Cairns has acquired Partenavia PNQ. Islander CFZ, which was imported from the Philippines in June 1989 for Cape Flattery Mines, is now with Biline Holdings. Biline operates three Islanders from Coolangatta on tourist services to Tangalooma Island, off the Queensland coast, and with the increase of tourists on the Gold Coast, we can expect the fleet to expand even more in the future.

Aircruising Australia’s two Friendships, JCC and NLS, appear in this month’s listing only because of a change of C of R Holders name. The two Fokkers have always been operated by and carried Aircruising titles however, until now they have always been registered to Charter Cruise Air.

Two aircraft recently exported to South Africa are Super King Air IBF and Jetstream IMS. The Super King Air is now flying as ZS-PAM with Balm Air of Lanseria whilst the Jetstream is now ZS-NUO with SA Airlink of Johannesburg. IMS was to become ZS-NUN but it was decided that this registration was inappropriate and it was changed to ZS-NUO, however, it appears that some owners are not as touchy as a Cessna 210 Centurion owned by Armadillo TV Productions now wears ZS-NUN. Super King Air KDV, which was listed in the November deletions is now in the USA flying as N165FA with Great Planes of Tulsa Oklahoma. Also in the USA is Baron CSS, now N3041L, and Hughes 500C HJT which is now N369GS. Hughes 500D SWC was deregistered due to accident damage during 1991 but has been rebuilt and is now flying as N521ZZ. Another interesting aircraft in the USA is Mooney N439SF. The American FAA is quoting the same construction number as Mooney SXM which is still officially registered in this country. At this stage it is not known if CASA’s paperwork has not caught up with the export of SXM yet or if the FAA quoted number is incorrect.

In the December issue Hughes 500D PPD was noted as being sold in the USA. In fact the helicopter has ended up in New Zealand where it flies as ZK-HNJ with Fiordland Helicopters at Te Anau on the South Island. Further afield BAe 125 NMR, which came from New Zealand and was only resident in this country between December 1988 and June 1989 before going to the USA, is now in the UK with Magex Aviation of Luton and is registered G-OMGG.

Bell 222U LAH flew in Australia for five years between 1984 and 1989 with Lloyd Helicopters, the aircraft was sold to an American agent during March 1989 but went to Japan via Singapore instead of the USA, although it did carry an American registration whilst being delivered. The Bell has now moved on to Canada where it flies with Vancouver Island Helicopters of Sidney marked as C-GVIN. Another Bell helicopter on the move is BEE which returned to Bristow Helicopters in the UK during March 1995 after a little over three years in this country. The big Bell 214ST is now active in Bulgaria on a Bristow contract and marked as LZ-CAW. Friendship FNU which went to the UK as G-BNAL in November 1986 is now in Brazil flying as PT-TVA with Transportes Aereos Regulares at Rio Branco.

Another aircraft with Australian connections to recently change owners is Islander FLF. A frustrated import during 1969, the Islander was destined for the local Britten Norman agents, but was not delivered and the aircraft was diverted to the United Nations Development Programme in Rome. It was delivered to the Sudan where it flew as ST-ADJ for seven years helping with locust control, UN staff deployment and general duties in the Sudan and neighbouring countries. Since then the globe trotting Islander has been back to England, over to America, down to Venezuela and back to America before recently going south again to Guyana, working with Trans Guyana Aviation of Ogle as 8R-GHG.

Cessna 414 LAG which was exported to the USA in October 1993 and has flown there since as N414KP has now moved on to South Africa where it is owned by I S Hyland of Ficksburg and is registered ZS-KRD. During January 1991 two Cessna 150s, JFZ and DTR, were officially quoted as “withdrawn from use at owners request” but it seems that they were sold to the Royal Thai Air Force as both aircraft were recently noted derelict near the Basic Training Squadron hangar at Don Muang Airfield. Both were in RTAF colours and appeared to have been using their construction numbers as military serials as is common with the RTAF.

The brand new 1996 issue of the Australian Aviation Civil Aircraft Register is now available. This is the only publication that lists registration, type, construction number and C of R Holders’s name and address in an easy to read tabulated format. Over 10,500 aircraft are listed including those registered with AirServices Australia, the Gliding Federation of Australia and the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia. The register is only available from AustAirData, PO Box 1142, Toombul, Qld 4012 (phone and fax 074 983 757) at a cost of $11.00 including postage within Australia (add 50% for overseas air mail). Credit card facilities are available and the Register is also available on IBM compatible computer disk in ASCII format at a cost of $50.00 or as a complete stand alone database programme at a cost of $70.00.