Civil Aircraft Register Update

Heavier traffic includes Beech 1900D AFR for Impulse and Saab 340B KDQ for Kendell. AFR is the fifth Beech 1900D for Impulse Airlines. The delivery of KDQ to Kendell brings the airline’s Saab fleet to 11 and the aircraft, which comes from Skyways of Sweden, is part of a deal by Ansett to swap three Ansett Fokker 50s for three Skyways Saabs.

FMZ is the Royal Flying Doctor Service’s fifth and final Pilatus PC-12, a type that has found great favour in the RFDS fleet due to its versatility and cheap operating costs. The RFDS has also added another Super King Air, CWO, to its 12-strong fleet of this type. Meanwhile ZZA and ZZC are two of three Dash 8s ordered by Surveillance Australia to service the Coastwatch contract with the third aircraft due next month.

Cessna 208 KSA and Ayres NFN are both turbine-engined singles but come to Australia for completely different purposes. KSA has joined Kerry Slingsby’s company Slingair on charter and helicopter support work based at Kununurra, WA and is the sixteenth Caravan in Australia and the second in the Slingair fleet. It was delivered via Honolulu, Pago Pago, Norfolk Island and Sydney on March 16 and 17. Ayres S-2R-G10 NFN is for the Australian Ayres agents Gwydir Air at Moree, NSW, and crossed the Pacific in company with KSA as far as Pago Pago where it left for Brisbane and thence Moree. The G10 designator indicates that it is Garrett powered instead of having the more usual Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 installation.

Two piston-engined singles have been imported, a Cessna U206G from New Zealand and a Beech Bonanza from the US. Cessna Stationair NLG is a 1977 model that was originally delivered as N756AF to Cessna agents Southaire of Memphis, Tennessee. Southaire sold the aircraft to Mott Aviation of North Dakota who operated it until May 1979 when it was sold to R Foisy of Alberta, Canada where it flew as C-GIVG. Five years later the Stationair was back in the US, using its original American registration, with R Pennington of Anchorage, Alaska. Over the next 11 years the aircraft had several new owners, all in Alaska, before being sold to Willow Air of Milton, New Zealand during November 1995. As ZK-JGH, the Stationair crossed the Tasman on March 23 via Auckland, Norfolk, Lord Howe and Brisbane on delivery to Derby Air Services at Derby WA where it now resides.

Beech F33A Bonanza THE comes to Australia during the 50th anniversary of the Bonanza, the type that made Beech what it is today – one of the largest light aircraft manufacturing companies in the world. Walter Beech had established Beech Aircraft at Wichita during 1932 and by the commencement of the war over 700 of the classic Beech 17s had been built. During the war years Beech produced the Beech 18 in vast numbers but when military production ebbed in 1945 Beech turned its mind to civil production again.

A few Beech 17s and 18s were produced for the civil market after the war but there was a clear need for a single-engined, four-seat touring aircraft. Beech designed the 35 Bonanza to meet these needs and included the famous V-tail in the design of the all-metal, low-winged, tricycle undercarriage machine. By 1981 over 10,000 model 35 Bonanzas had been built making it the most successful Beech design by far.

During 1959 Beech developed the model 33 Debonair which was basically a 35 Bonanza with a conventional tail and then during 1966 the C33A model was introduced using a 285hp (215kW) fuel-injected Continental engine. With the addition of the C33A model, Beech reintroduced the Bonanza name and by 1970 the basic Debonair was renamed Bonanza giving customers the choice of four Bonanza models, V35B, F33, F33A and the 36 which had been introduced two years previously.

The only entry in the Aircraft Returning to Register section is Cessna Golden Eagle BUR. The aircraft went to Thailand on April 27 1994 along with Cessna 182R MAB, where they flew as HS-HIS and HS-HER respectively. After two years in Thailand BUR has returned to Australia and MAB can be expected back in this country soon.

In the Deletions listing, 14 aircraft have been sold overseas, nine have been reregistered in this country, six have been damaged, four withdrawn from use and two transferred to the Australian Ultralight Federation Register. Of the aircraft that have gone overseas, National Jet Systems has sold its Boeing 737, NJE, in Belgium and Aerial Agriculture has sold three of its Beavers, IDG, IMC and IMJ, in Canada. The three Aerial Agriculture machines join two other Beavers, IDB and IDC, in Canada, that were reported in the March issue as being exported to an unknown country.

Fokker 50 FNF is the second Ansett Fokker to go to Skyways of Sweden in a deal that has brought three Skyways Saab 340s to this country for Kendell Airlines and will see a third Fokker 50 go to Skyways in return. As predicted, two more Esso Sikorsky S-76s, ECM and EMX, have been sold to Court Helicopters of Cape Town, South Africa to be leased to Helinamib. The two aircraft will join EMM in the Helinamib fleet working in neighbouring Namibia.

Aero Commander EPM and Nomad DHR, both owned by Skywest, have been sold in the USA. The Commander, which was used on the Coastwatch contract, began its delivery flight from Brisbane to Tontouta on January 26 whilst the Nomad, used on the NT Aerial Medical Service contract, departed these shores via Brisbane, Noumea, Nadi, Christmas Island and Honolulu on February 6. The NT Aerial Medical Service contract is now operated by three Super King Airs which replaced four Nomads. Of the four, DHP was still in Darwin at the time of writing, DHR has gone to the USA as above, DHO was delivered to Air Adventures of Parakai, New Zealand via Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Auckland on March 30 and DHF was due to go to Kelvin Stark of New Zealand for onward sale.

Sold in Belgium – National Jet’s Boeing 737-300QC. (Richard Hall)

Appropriately registered MiG-15 NZM, which has been under rebuild at Bankstown for some time, is finally on its way to its owner in New Zealand, Mr M Kelly of Mosgiel. Cessna 310 ATQ, Maule JVR and Cessna 402 CWG have also been exported across the Tasman with CWG being delivered via Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Auckland on March 13. Although not listed, PA-28R Arrow MJY and Cessna 172 LJD flew via the same route on March 5 and March 10 respectively and can therefore be expected to appear in the Deletions section in the near future.

Navajo Chieftain BCM, which had only been registered in Australia for four months, has been exported to an unspecified country and as soon as more details are known they will be reported in this column. Cessna 210 APS, Bell JetRanger NBP, Robinson IXS and Cameron balloon SBX have all been withdrawn from use although we can expect the Cessna 210 and JetRanger back on the register after extended periods of maintenance. Robinson IXS and Cameron SBX may not be so lucky as the Robinson is a very early model, being the twenty-eighth R22 built, and the Cameron first flew during July 1978. The envelope of most balloons has a limited useful life and SBX may have reached the end after 18 years of service.

Seven aircraft have been deleted due to damage including Twin Comanche EDG which was destroyed at Roma when it crashed onto the town’s rubbish tip killing the pilot and Islander HIA which ditched into the surf off Southport Qld whilst on a flight from Tangalooma Island Resort to Coolangatta. Harry Kurko’s Corby Starlet KHS and Tony Hutchison’s Denney Kitfox LLR have been transferred to the AUF register after 13 and five years respectively on the CASA register.

As shown in the Changes of CoR Holder this issue, Barry Hempel has sold his single seat Pitts Special FFW to Ultimate Aerobatics at Camden and the Canberra Aero Club has acquired Cessna 150 Aerobat KMC from the Moruya Aero Club. The Aerobat has joined another Cessna 150 and two PA-28 Warriors at Canberra but the departure of the aircraft from Moruya has left only a Cessna 172 registered to the Moruya Aero Club.

Tomahawk LCW has moved from Chieftain Aviation at Bankstown to the Pearce Flying Club in WA whilst Dennis Polivnic’s Tiger Moth WHW has also crossed Australia, this time from Newcastle to Willetton WA. Dennis sold the Tiger to Chris Boyes who picked up the machine from the Royal Newcastle Aero Club’s Maitland hangar during February and flew it back to his home in WA. Curry-Kenny Aviation at Maroochydore have bought Bell JetRanger JWK and the aircraft joins another JetRanger, a LongRanger and a Beech 58 Baron in the swimming stars’ fleet. Although Robin Sport LXY is shown registered to Markus Walther of Singapore, the aircraft went to Malaysia some months ago and is now flying as 9M-JFA.

Catching up on three aircraft that have recently been deleted from the register: National Jet Systems BAe 146 NJQ, which was shown in the April issue as returning to the UK, took up the markings G-BWLG but was noted at Woodford on February 16 in Air Jet (France) livery and registered F-GMMP; while Hughes 269C JPT and Hughes 369D AJZ, which both appeared in last month’s deletions, are now flying in New Zealand as ZK-HBM and ZK-HJO respectively. ZK-HBM is operated by Airflite South of Mosgiel while ZK-HJO is owned by Jon Faram of Gisborne.

The 1996 Australian Aviation Civil Aircraft Register is now available. This is the only publication that lists each aircraft’s registration, type, construction number and CofR 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 for $50.00 or as a complete stand alone database program for $70.00.