Civil Aircraft Register Update

Surprisingly no less than 10 twin-engined turboprops have been imported, including four Super King Airs. Two, SWO and SWP, have joined the Skywest fleet and will be based in Darwin to replace Nomads on the NT Aerial Medical Service contract. Previously operated in France, the two Super King Airs arrived in Perth from Christmas Island on December 13. The other two Beech 200s, HPW and HPX, are brand new aircraft imported by Hawker Pacific. The machines will join Super King Air HPZ, previously AJM, and Twin Otter HPY (ex-Talair), on an Army contract to partially replace the grounded Nomads.

Two brand new Dash 8s are also listed: TQG is Eastern Australia’s seventh Dash 8 and the first Dash 8-200 in Australia, while JSH is National Jet Systems’ fifth. New Metro 23 N30220 was delivered to Brisbane via Honolulu and Apia on January 1/2 and has now become NEO. The aircraft has joined the Tamair fleet at Tamworth and as a result Metro III NEM has been exported to Sweden, leaving two other Metro IIIs and the Metro 23 to service Tamair’s RPT routes. Impulse Airlines meanwhile has increased its fleet to 10 aircraft with the arrival of Beech 1900D SMH. The new 1900 is the fourth of type in the Impulse fleet and is the sixth different aircraft to carry the registration SMH.

The most interesting turboprop listed is Islander IAE. This is the first Turbine Islander to be registered in Australia and only the second of its type in this part of the world – the Summer Institute of Linguistics of Ukarumpa, PNG, have been operating one since 1991. The aircraft was originally built in Romania as a piston-engined variant and made its maiden flight on September 21, 1981. It arrived at Britten-Norman’s UK factory on October 9 that year where conversion began to replace the piston engines with Allison 250-B17C turboprops. Its first flight as a Turbine Islander took place on August 6, 1982, and the next month it was delivered to Heli Orient at Singapore as G-HOPL. During April 1983 it was registered 9M-BSS to Boskym Udara at Mira, Malaysia, from whom International Air Parts acquired the aircraft late last year.

Two amateur-built aircraft and two new Skyfox Gazelles join the register this month. AFG is the third Vans RV-6A to reach flying status in this country and the first completed by a NSW builder, whilst BEE joins 22 others of the same type flying in Australia. Robert Cramer-Roberts’ Skyfox Gazelle RCR has already departed for Scotland where Robert is setting up his agency for the type. The aircraft will probably remain on the Australian register while being used as a demonstrator around the UK. Gazelle production has already reached 30 units with examples recently being shipped to Switzerland and Thailand. Registrations and purchasers have been allocated to 10 more airframes and production slots are being filled almost six months in advance.

Meanwhile, three locally built Kavanagh balloons have been registered: two new envelopes and one older one. AID, a large 260 cubic metre model, and FAB, a smaller 77 cubic metre model, are brand new and bring the total number of balloons built by Kavanagh to 150 in the past ten years. OTZ, another 77 cubic metre model, was the second balloon built by Kavanagh and was originally registered OTS on April 2, 1986. It was taken out of service six years later on April 8, 1992, when a later model took its place using the same registration. The first OTS is now back in the air flying as OTZ.

Navajo Chieftain FUI has returned to Australia after spending the last three years in PNG operating with Sanduan Air Services of Vanimo. Prior to that it flew in Australia as STO. The latest bizjet to come to Australia is Learjet PFA. Built in 1990, this 35A model has spent all its life on a Republic of Singapore Air Force target towing contract whilst owned by the First Security Bank of Utah.

Three aircraft have returned to the register this month, one in each of the eastern states. Colin Bridgman’s Auster BYF was one of 92 J/5F Aiglet Trainers built at the Auster factory at Rearsby, England, between 1951 and 1956. It was delivered new to Australia during March 1954 and flew as BYF until June 1956 when it changed to SAE. It was officially “struck off register at owner’s request” on May 18, 1964, but has now been rebuilt and is flying again using its original markings after almost 32 years of retirement.

Tiger Moth FAH is an Australian-built example which was delivered to the RAAF during August 1942 as A17-521. It was “demobbed” in August 1957 and flew as RSF until June 24, 1958, when it was changed to FBX. It was taken off the register between July and November 1961 before becoming FAH on December 18, 1962. After two periods of inactivity between December 1963 and July 1964 and June 1967 and April 1968, it was finally withdrawn from use on May 14, 1979. After a lengthy rebuild, the elderly Tiger is flying again in the hands of Laurie Brown of Dandenong, Vic, and joins almost 200 other Tigers in Australian skies.

Dash 8 XFU rejoins the Flight West Airlines fleet after a six-month lease to Ansett New Zealand flying as ZK-NEV. Ansett NZ acquired three Dash 8s from Great China Airways of Taipei, Taiwan, and therefore no longer need the two aircraft leased from Flight West. The second Flight West machine, XFT/ZK-NEW, was expected back in Australia during January when the Taiwanese aircraft join the Ansett fleet after their refit at Tamworth with Eastern Airlines.

In the Deletions section nine aircraft have been re-registered including Beechjet 400 from BJD to LAW. The Beech has been backward and forward between BJD and LAW three times in as many months and at this stage it is not known whether it is purely a paperwork exercise or the aircraft has indeed changed registrations three times. Also re-registered is Cessna 152 HYX to allow Ansett to use HYX on its new Airbus A320 acquired from Turkey. A second Cessna 152, HYY, is expected to be re-registered next month to accommodate Ansett’s second Turkish Airbus A320.

Six aircraft have been exported including BAe 146 NJQ, which has returned to the UK on completion of its lease to National Jet Systems, Enstrom Falcon AYN which has been sold in the USA, and Bell 212 NSY which has departed these shores for India. Metro III NEM has gone to Sweden and Ansett Fokker 50 FNG is destined for the same country as part of a deal to swap three Fokker 50s for Saab 340s.

The two people on board Tiger Moth BLH were lucky to escape injury after the aircraft was blown off the airstrip and into a ditch whilst landing at Victor Harbor SA on January 6. The aircraft was destroyed by fire which in turn started a grass fire which subsequently destroyed 60 hectares of nearby pine forest. Another fire and lucky escape involved Bonanza ILO and its crew. The aircraft crashed into trees short of the runway at Stawell Vic and the four on board escaped with minor burns. Not so lucky was the pilot of Navajo KIJ who died when the aircraft crashed on approach to Currie, King Island on February 8.

The majority of the Executive Air Charter fleet appears in the Changes of CoR Holder list this issue as a result of a subtle change of name to Executive Air (Darwin). The rest of this large and diverse fleet will no doubt be found in next month’s issue. Three aircraft, two Sikorskys and an Aero Commander, are shown with overseas owners and will therefore be listed in the deletions section in the near future. The Aero Commander, EPM, is one of a number of ex-Coastwatch Commanders auctioned recently and departed Brisbane on January 26 for Tontouta on the first leg of its delivery flight to Alaska. The two Sikorskys, ECS and EMX, have been replaced in the Esso fleet with later model machines and have been bought by HSL International Trade of Norway for resale. No doubt the helicopters will be shipped out of Australia if their final destination is indeed Norway.

Cairns plastic surgeon Dr Mark Doyle has replaced his Cessna Citation ZMD with Falcon 20 HFJ, previously operated by Australian Jet Charter, and Emu Air has acquired Navajo Chieftain ONC from South West Airlines of WA.

Additional details of aircraft recently deleted from the register are now available. Seneca WJP crashed and burst into flames during a training flight from Tyabb on April 3 last year and Cessna 172 NAX was wrecked during a powerline inspection near Hamilton, Vic on September 22. Cessna 340 EOS crashed on takeoff from Parafield on October 9 and ended up in an adjacent industrial estate. The aircraft was one of two machines operated by Flinders University for airborne weather research and has been replaced by another Cessna 340 RKS. The accident coincides with a boost of funding for the project of $8.5m from the Federal Government to increase the fleet of research aircraft from two to five.

Learjet ELC has become N17LH and as such departed Sydney on January 15 for Christchurch on its delivery flight to the USA via Pago Pago and Christmas Island. Bell JetRanger JWO and Beech Bonanza XRV are now resident in the USA and fly as N1080N and N47TJ respectively. Closer to home, Pawnee 235 WNY is now appropriately registered ZK-TUG with the Wellington Gliding Club. Also in New Zealand is Hughes 500 BOL, registered ZK-HNA with Nelson Helicopters, and AgCat MFW which is again flying as ZK-MEW with Pionair Adventures at Christchurch. The AgCat originally flew in Australia as JBB but was sold to Pionair as ZK-MEW during November 1991. In order to overcome certification problems in New Zealand associated with the two-seat conversion, the AgCat was put back on the Australian register as MFW whilst still operating in New Zealand. It seems that the problems have now been overcome and the aircraft has returned to New Zealand’s skies locally registered as ZK-MEW.

Also in New Zealand are Rockwell Commander 114 DRT, now flying as ZK-JHL with Jubatus Holdings of Auckland, and Cessna 180 GCW which, although not officially cancelled from the Australian register yet, is destined for John Holland of Hastings. Navajo TMN, which left Parafield on October 9 on delivery to Indonesia, is now owned by PT Intan Angkasa Air Service of Jakarta and flies as PK-IWH and Bonanza PJJ is now in Malaysia flying as 9M-BAL. Since production of the Eagle XTS has moved from Western Australia to Langkawi Island in Malaysia’s far northwest, two Eagles have found their way to Malaysia. APA is now registered 9M-BCO whilst FPP retains its Australian markings at this stage.

Cessna 421 Golden Eagle SBJ went to the USA in 1992 as N243DA but has recently turned up in Kenya flying as 5Y-FAA with Suez Aviation. In the UK, Bell 412 G-BKFN, which operated in Australia between December 1991 and March 1995 as LHT and BEE, has returned to Bristow Helicopter’s base at Redhill, after a stint in Bulgaria. Also in the UK, Cessna Citation G-WYLX, which was JVS for three years between 1988 and 1991, now flies as G-DCFR with Chauffair at Farnborough.

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 Holder’s name and address in an easy to read tabulated format. Over 10,500 aircraft are listed including those registered with CASA, 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 standalone database programme at a cost of $70.00.