Traffic

VH-ZXD, which previously operated with British Airways as G-BNWJ, was delivered to Qantas at Avalon on July 7 ’00 after ferrying in from London/Heathrow via Bangkok as QF6016. VH-ZXD entered service with Qantas on July 25 ’00 when it operated QF447 from Sydney to Melbourne.

767-336ER VH-ZXF, which was ferried from Sydney to Shanghai on June 30 (Traffic/August), was cancelled from the register on July 3 as ‘sold to a US company’.

767-336ER VH-ZXC was withdrawn from service on July 25 after operating QF490 from Melbourne to Sydney.

737-838 VH-XZH McLaren Vale, which was delivered to Melbourne on July 10 (Traffic/August), entered service on July 14 when it operated QF430 from Melbourne to Sydney.

737-838 VH-VXS ferried out of Brisbane on July 14 as QF6021 to Darwin and Seletar where the aircraft was repainted in the current Qantas corporate livery. On July 26 VH-VXS ferried from Seletar to Darwin as QF6020 and returned to service early the following morning as QF829 from Darwin to Sydney.

737-838 VH-VXR ferried from Darwin to Seletar on July 27 where the aircraft was repainted.

737-476 VH-TJY was withdrawn from service on July 22 after operating QF483 from Canberra to Melbourne. VH-TJY with its Qantas titles and kangaroo removed ferried out of Melbourne on July 29 as QF6027 to Sydney, Apia, Honolulu and Victorville, California where it was placed in storage.

VH-TJY Tenacity was delivered to Qantas in Melbourne on April 16 ’96 after it ferried in from Boeing Field via Honolulu, Apia and Nadi as QF6903. VH-TJY entered service on April 24 ‘96 when it operated QF605 from Melbourne to Adelaide and Darwin.

A380-842 VH-OQC, which ferried into Manila on June 12 for cabin reconfiguration work, was the last in the fleet to have this modification carried out. With the work completed VH-OQC ferried from Manila to Hong Kong as QF6016 on July 13 and re-entered service that evening as QF128 from Hong Kong to Sydney (arrived July 14).

A380-842 VH-OQD ferried from Hong Kong to Manila as QF6011 on July 13 for maintenance requirements with Lufthansa Technik.
747-48E VH-OEB, which carried 2011 F1 decals had them removed while the aircraft was under maintenance at Avalon between July 4 and July 26.

Jetstar is planning to take delivery of its first 787-8 VH-VKA line number 134 in September and will be followed by 787-8 VH-VKB, which is line number 142.

A320-232 VH-VQT was cancelled from the register on June 27 as ‘exported to Ireland’.

The A320-232 was then registered EI-FCF to Q Aviation Ireland Leasing and in turn leased to Tianjin Airlines as B-9948. On July 24 A320-232 B-9948 departed Seletar on its delivery flight to Don Muang and Tianjin.

A320-232 VH-VGR ferried from Melbourne to Darwin and Seletar for planned maintenance as JQ7991 on July 13.

A320-232 VH-VQO ferried from Singapore to Melbourne as JQ7992 on July 14 on completion of its maintenance.

A320-232 VH-VGU ferried into Melbourne from Singapore as JQ7996 on July 26 on completion of its maintenance.

Jetstar Asia was planning to take delivery of A320-232/S 9V-JSU msn 5708 in early August.

Jetstar Hong Kong second A320-232/S B-KJB msn 5685 made its first flight at Toulouse on July 2 as F-WWDI.

A320-232/S B-KJA msn 5532, which made its first flight on February 14 as F-WWBV, was still parked at Toulouse as of late July.

Jetstar Japan was planning to take delivery of A320-232/S JA14JJ msn 5695 and A320-232 JA15JJ msn 5701 in August, followed by A320-232/S JA16JJ msn 5717 and A320-232 JA-17JJ msn 5732 in September.

Australian air Express ferried 737-376(SF) VH-XML from Melbourne to Christchurch as QF7423 on April 24 with the aircraft then entering the Air New Zealand hangar for planned maintenance. VH-XML was noted in mid-July being painted in the colours of Qantas Freight including the addition of the Qantas kangaroo on its tail.

737-376(SF) VH-XMR commenced a weekly service QF7415 from Brisbane to Port Moresby on July 6.

Airline News

In this issue we report the delivery of an A320-200 to Air New Zealand, while departing were a 747-400 of Fiji Airways and a BAe 146-200 of National Jet Express.

Air New Zealand took delivery of A320-232/S ZK-OXB in Christchurch on July 23 after the aircraft completed its ferry flight from Toulouse via Muscat, Singapore and Cairns as NZ6399. A320-232/S ZK-OXB entered service with Air New Zealand on July 26 when it operated NZ6602 from Christchurch to Auckland.

737-3KS ZK-NGM was withdrawn from service on July 18 after operating NZ559 from Auckland to Christchurch.

737-3U3 ZK-NGE, which departed Christchurch on June 22 (Traffic/August), was cancelled from the New Zealand register on July 16 and was later noted at Shannon carrying the registration EI-FCW.

Air Niugini leased ATR 72-201F HB-AFR from Farnair in September ’12, however the

ATR has been replaced by another of the same type. On June 30 ATR 72-201F HB-AFR departed Port Moresby for Ambon as FAT9721 on its return to Europe.

ATR 72-201F HB-AFS, which is the replacement aircraft, ferried into Port Moresby from Ambon on June 28 as FAT9721. HB-AFS was then cancelled from the Swiss register on July 15 with the aircraft being placed on the PNG register as P2-PXZ.

ATR 42-320F HB-AFC, which was also wet leased from Farnair in September ’12, was cancelled from the Swiss register on July 10 and was then placed on the PNG register as P2-PXY.

Air Niugini took delivery of Dash 8-314 P2-PXL at Port Moresby on June 12 and not on June 11 (Traffic/August). The ferry flight from North Bay, Ontario to Port Moresby was operated via Fairbanks, Nome, Petropavlovsk, Sapporo and Saipan.

737-7L9 P2-PXD ferried from Port Moresby to Melbourne on July 19 for maintenance and on completion it returned to Port Moresby as PX6006 on July 22.

Air Niugini will reportedly add another 737-800 to its fleet with the delivery of 737-8BK M-ABGK msn 33024.

767-383ER P2-PXW, which ferried from Port Moresby to Guangzhou on May 7 (Traffic/July), returned to service on July 28 when it operated PX3 from Port Moresby to Brisbane.

767-341(ER) P2-PXV ferried out of Port Moresby to Guangzhou as PX6008 on July 22 for planned maintenance.

Airwork/Toll ferried 737-3B7(F) ZK-TLC as ‘Airwork 733’ from Brisbane to Auckland on July 6 for planned maintenance.

737-3S1(F) ZK-TLE was ferried from Auckland to Brisbane as ‘Airwork 733’ to cover the maintenance lay-up on ZK-TLC.

Fiji Airways withdrew 747-412 DQ-FJL from service on July 8 after the aircraft operated FJI410 from Auckland to Nadi. On July 18 DQ-FJL ferried out of Nadi as FJI 2220 to Los Angeles and Tupelo, Mississippi where it was placed in storage.

747-412 DQ-FJL Island of Viti Levu entered service with Air Pacific on June 27 ’03 when it operated FJ911 from Nadi to Sydney.

737-8X2 DQ-FJH, which still carried the colours of Air Pacific, departed Nadi on July 16 as flight FJI 2221 destined for Guam and Hong Kong where the aircraft was repainted in the colours of Fiji Airways.

National Jet Express cancelled BAe 146-200 VH-YAD from the register on July 28 after the aircraft was scrapped at Adelaide.

Virgin Group News

In his issue we report the delivery of a 737-800 to Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia took delivery of 737-8FE VH-YFR Scamander Beach in Brisbane on July 26 after the aircraft ferried in from Boeing Field via Lihue and Nadi as VOZ9506.

737-8FE VH-YIU msn 40699, which made its first flight from Renton to Boeing Field on July 24, was planned for delivery to Virgin Australia in August.

737-8FE VH-YIV msn 40698 was also planned for delivery to Virgin Australia in August.

A330-243 VH-XFH msn 1452, which was registered to Virgin Australia on July 18, is planned for delivery in September.

E190-100IGW VH-ZPO was repainted in the colours of Virgin Australia and re-named Boomerang Beach while the aircraft was in Portugal for maintenance (Traffic/August)

E190-100IGW VH-ZPA returned to Brisbane from Subang and Darwin on August 2 after completing its maintenance layup in Portugal and while there the aircraft was painted in the colours of Virgin Australia.

E190-100IGW VH-ZPB departed Brisbane on August 1 for Darwin and Subang and onwards to Alverca, Portugal for planned maintenance.

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines took delivery of ATR 72-600 VH-FVZ Angourie Beach in Perth on June 9 (Traffic/July), however it was July 12 before it was ferried to Kalgoorlie and Brisbane as VOZ1503. VH-FVZ entered service on July 26 when it operated VOZ1661 from Brisbane to Moranbah.

ATR 72-600 VH-VPI msn 1107 was planned for delivery to VARA in September.

Tigerair ferried A320-232 VH-VNG out of Melbourne on July 25 as TGW817 to Darwin and Clark Field (arrive July 26).

A320-232 VH-VNQ was the first in the fleet to enter service with Tigerair decals however these were removed after their first day in service on July 3 (Traffic/August). VH-VNQ was noted at Melbourne on July 20 once again carrying Tigerair titles.

Regional Airline News

In this issue we report the delivery of a Cessna 208B/EX to Air Wakaya.

Air Marshall Islands ferried its Dash 8-102 V7-0210 into Cairns on June 6 with the aircraft then entering the Hawker Pacific for planned maintenance. The Dash 8-102 operated a test flight from Cairns on July 22 and the following day departed for Port Moresby and Honiara and its return to its Majuro base.

Air Wakaya took delivery of Cessna 208B/EX N2013Z at Nadi on July 6 after the aircraft ferried in from the United States (Traffic/August). N2013Z, which was cancelled from the US register on July 9 as ‘exported to Fiji’, is evidently a replacement for Cessna 208B DQ-DHG, which was badly damaged by a cyclone that hit Nadi on December 17 ’12. The Cessna 208B DQ-DHG has since been moved to Bankstown where it is currently being rebuilt.

Brindabella Airlines registered Jetstream 41 VH-XNE ex ZS-NRK on July 23.

Hevilift PNG took delivery of ATR 42-500 OY-RUL in Cairns on July 1 (Traffic/August) and on July 15 it was rolled out of the Hawker Pacific hangar now painted in Hevilift colours and registered P2-KSV. ATR42-500 P2-KSV departed Cairns for Mount Hagen on July 29 on delivery to Hevilift.

SIL Aviation took delivery of Kodiak 100 N77KQ at Port Moresby on June 3 (Traffic/July) and was later registered as P2-SIT.

Skytrans cancelled Dash 8-102 VH-QQJ from the register on July 2 on its sale in the United States (Traffic/August) and the same day the Dash 8-102 was registered N880EA to Icecap LLC of Anchorage who operate as ERA Aviation.

Tropicair ferried King Air B200 P2-JAU from the Gold Coast to Cairns on July 12 before it continued to Port Moresby on July 15.

Vincent Aviation ferried Saab 340B VH-VNU ex ZK-VAB from Wellington to Norfolk Island and the Gold Coast on July 22 and after overnighting it continued to Mount Isa and Darwin. Vincent continues to operate Beech 1900D VH-VNT, which is in an all-white scheme, and Beech 1900D VH-VAQ, which carries the colours of Hevilift PNG.

Bizjet News

Brenzil of Toowong, Queensland changed the registration of their Falcon 2000EX VH-CRW to VH-KRW on July 18.

TGHA Aviation Falcon 900C VH-LUL, which departed Perth for Honiara and the United States on May 8, is being advertised for sale by Avpro Inc of Annapolis, Maryland.

Revesco Aviation P/L of Belmont, WA became the registered operator of Citation Bravo VH-ZLT on July 25.

The Singapore Flying College has announced that it will be closing their Maroochydore training facility from where it operated Citation Mustang VH-SQJ, VH-SQW, VH-SQY and VH-VSQ.

Falcon Jet Corporation Falcon 7X N163FJ arrived in Perth from Shanghai on July 21 at the start a demonstration tour of Australia and New Zealand. On July 22 the Falcon 7X departed Perth for Essendon before it continued to Brisbane and Auckland on July 24.

King Air B200 VH-ZXM has been sold by Careflight NT (Traffic/July) with the aircraft ferrying out of Darwin on July 16 to Newman and Jandakot. On July 19 the registered holder of VH-ZXM was changed to Formula Aircraft of Jandakot and the registered operator to Aus West Airlines of Jandakot.

King Air B200 VH-ISS, which was registered to Rotor Safety of Rosny Park, Tasmania on June 4, was delivered from New Zealand to Australia in this period. The King Air was previously operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force as NZ1882 and still carrids its colours when it arrived at Hobart on July 27 after a three-day ferry flight from Hamilton via Auckland, Norfolk Island and the Gold Coast.

Gulfstreams Galore

G C Air Gulfstream 550 N1BN arrived at Cairns from Honolulu on July 3 and departed to Kona on July 7.

NJI Sales Gulfstream 550 N518QS arrived in Sydney from Beijing on July 25 and departed to Honolulu on July 26.

Silver Stream Aviation Gulfstream 550 N773AJ arrived in Cairns from Kavieng on July 27.

Gulfstream 550 N919PE arrived in Sydney from Don Muang on July 12 before returning there on July 16.

Deer Jet Gulfstream 550 B-8152, which was operating as DER560/561 arrived in Sydney from Beijing on July 11 and departed to Beijing on July 13.

Star Jet Gulfstream 550 B-8270 arrived in Cairns from Beijing on July 16 before continuing to the Gold Coast on July 19, Sydney on July 22 and Melbourne on July 27.

Hermes Executive Aviation Gulfstream 550 M-JIGG (Traffic/August) departed Darwin for Proserpine on July 7 before continuing to Sydney on July 14 and Nadi on July 17.

Jet Aviation Gulfstream 550 VP-BNE departed Sydney for Ayers Rock on July 12 and after overnighting continued to Cairns. VP-BNE departed Cairns for Singapore on July 16 before returning to Sydney from Male on July 18.

Standard and Poors Securities Gulfstream V N101MH arrived in Melbourne on July 28.

US Army Gulfstream V/C-37A 97-1944 ‘Pat 44’ arrived in Brisbane from Honolulu on July 22 and departed the same day to Guam.

United States of America Gulfstream V/C-37A 01-0065 ‘Spar 65’ arrived in Canberra from Honolulu on July 25 before continuing to Rockhampton on July 26.

US Army Gulfstream V/C-37B 04-1778 ‘Pat 78’ arrived in Canberra from Honolulu on July 17 before continuing to Brisbane on July 19.

4-1778 departed Brisbane for Guam on July 22.

Penske Jet Gulfstream 450 N500RP arrived in Brisbane from Majuro on July 11 and after overnighting returned to Majuro.

Las Vegas Sands Gulfstream IV N588LS arrived in Cairns from Jakarta on July 15 before continuing to Brisbane on July 19. N588LS departed Brisbane for Halim on July 24.

Capital Airlines Gulfstream IV B-8166, as flight CBJ131, arrived at the Gold Coast from Davao City on July 6 and after overnighting continued to Sydney. B-8166 departed Sydney for the Gold Coast on July 9 before returning to Davao City on July 12.

US Navy Gulfstream IV/C-20G 165093 ‘Convoy 2768’ arrived in Sydney from Pago Pago on July 20 and after overnighting returned to Pago Pago.

Overseas Bizjets

TAG Aviation Asia Global Express VP-CHL callsign Tagjet 18 arrived at Essendon from Kuala Lumpur on July 4 before returning there July 7.

China United Airlines CRJ-700 B-4060, which had been under maintenance at Essendon since May 18 departed to Cairns, Darwin and Kota Kinabalu on July 20.

China United Airlines CRJ-700 B-4061 arrived at Essendon for maintenance from Kota Kinabalu, Darwin and Cairns on July 29.

Phoenix Air Group Learjet 36A N56PA arrived at RAAF Amberley from Majuro and Honiara on July 12.

Macau Jet International Falcon 2000 B-MAU arrived in Darwin from Singapore on July 23 and the following day departed to Kuala Lumpur.

Geshaft und Starke Asset Management Dornier 328JET N821MW arrived in Cairns from Biak and Port Moresby on July 24 and after overnighting continued to Brisbane and Noumea. On July 26 N821MW departed Noumea for Norfolk Island.

Enggang Air Services EMB-135 PK-RSS arrived in Perth from Denpasar on July 5 and departed to Halim on July 7.

Executive Jets Asia Westwind RP-C5988 operated a medevac flight into Perth from Denpasar on July 24 and after overnighting returned to Denpasar.

Ferry Flights

Heli Niugini BK-117 P2-HBM, which arrived at the port of Brisbane from Bundaberg on July 12, was then shipped to New Zealand. The previous day P2-HBM had ferried from Daru to Townsville via Horn Island, Weipa, Coen, Cooktown and Cairns.

Cessna 208B/EX N506EX (Traffic/August) departed Darwin for Kunnunurra on July 8 and after overnighting continued to Broome.

506EX departed Broome for Denpasar on July 10 at the end of its Australian demonstration tour, which had commenced in Cairns on June 7.

UTS Aviation Cessna 208B VH-UTJ arrived at the Gold Coast from Temora on July 20 and the following day departed for Norfolk Island, Pago Pago and Christmas Island.

Cessna T206H ZK-NOK arrived at the Gold Coast on July 18 after ferrying in from Kerikeri via Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island.

Milford Sound Flights BN-2B-26 ZK-ZQN ferried into Archerfield from Kerikeri via Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island and the Gold Coast on July 7. Colville Aviation Services of Archerfield then placed BN-2B-26 VH-KQM ex ZK-ZQN on the register on July 15.

GippsAero GA-8 VH-BVJ arrived at Kerikeri on July 21 after crossing the Tasman from the Gold Coast via Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. The GA-8 was later registered ZK-MCZ to Milford Sound Scenic Flights on July 31.

GippsAero GA-8 VH-FOV, which ferried from Latrobe Valley to Essendon and Queenstown on July 26, was registered ZK-JRR to Glenorchy Air Services on July 31.

Salt Air GippsAero GA-8 ZK-MAB ferried out of Latrobe Valley to Port Macquarie on July 29 before continuing to Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island.

PA-46-350P VH-UWM, which was registered to a private owner in Wagga Wagga on June 20, arrived at Broome for Denpasar on July 12.
Commander 685 N9199N, which was on delivery to an Australian owner, ferried from Iqaluit to Sondre Stromford on July 2 and was later noted overnighting Prestwick, Scotland on July 3

Heavy Metal

Antonov Airlines An-124 UR-82029, as flight ADB274F, arrived in Brisbane from RNZAF Ohakea on July 21 and departed to Sydney as ADB150F on July 25. After overnighting the An-124 departed for Port Moresby as ADB1050 before returning on to Sydney on July 27 as ADB152F, this being the first of a number of charters from Sydney to Port Moresby.

Atlas Air 747-481 N322SG, which was operating a charter for the Manchester United football team, arrived in Sydney from Don Muang as GTI 2858 on July 14. N322SG remained in Sydney until July 21 when it departed for Narita as GTI 2859.

Omni Air International 767-319ER N396AX arrived in Brisbane from Kona as flight OAE 507 on July 8 before departing later that day for Honolulu again as OAE 507.

N396AX later arrived in Rockhampton from Kadena as OAE518 on July 28.

Delaware Global Operation 737-75V/BBJ N920DS transitted Cairns on July 13 while en-route from Don Muang to Nadi.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines Ilyushin Il-76TD-90VD RA-76951 callsign Volga 6298 arrived in Darwin from Manila on July 15 and after overnighting departed for Kuala Lumpur as Volga 6299.

World Cargo MD-11F N382WA arrived in Perth from Colombo on July 19 as WOA 5962 and departed later that day for Taipei as WOA 9066.

Kingdom of Swaziland MD-87 3DC-SWZ arrived in Canberra from Narita, Port Moresby and Sydney on July 27.

Talisman Saber 2013

The military exercise Talisman Saber 2013, which commenced on July 15, brought a number of interesting aircraft to Australia. Many stayed for the duration of the exercise, however we have mainly confined our report to their initial arrival in the country. Due to space limitations we have not covered the many US Navy C-40A and C-130T aircraft that were also involved in the exercise.

US Air Force C-17A 01-0187 AMC/McChord callsign ‘Reach 972’ arrived at Rockhampton from Hickam AFB on July 8 and after overnighting returned to Hickam.

US Air Force/AMC C-17A 05-5143 AFRC/March ‘Reach 865’ and US Air Force C-17A 05-5144 ARFC/March ‘Reach 965’ travelled in company with C-17A 01-0187.

At Rockhampton the C-17As unloaded four US Navy Sikorsky HH-60H 165118/NW-310: 165119/NW-311: 165120/NW-312 and 165259/NW-303.

US Air Force C-17A 08-8202 ‘Reach 401’ arrived at RAAF Amberley on July 20 after a direct flight from Elmendorf AFB in Alaska and it was accompanied by C-17A 00-0185

‘Reach 402’: C-17A 09-9207 ‘Reach 403’: C-17A 08-8190 ‘Reach 404’ and C-17A 05-5146 ‘Reach 405’. On board the C-17A’s were US Army paratroops that exited in a mass jump in the Shoalwater Bay training area.

US Air Force C-17A 05-5152/HH ‘Trek 515’ and C-17A 90-0533/HH ‘Trek 516’ arrived at Rockhampton from Hickam on July 28.

US Air Force KC-135R 59-1459 ‘Toro 88’ and US Air Force KC-135R 63-8879 ‘Toro 89’ arrived at RAAF Amberley on July 15.

US Navy P-3C 161763 arrived in Townsville from Whenuapai on July 15 before continuing to Darwin and Kadena on July 16.

US Navy P-3C 163293/LK arrived in Townsville from Darwin on July 16 while US Navy P-3C 163291 arrived in Townsville from Darwin on July 17.

US Air Force C-130H 74-1674/YJ callsign ‘Trek 901’ arrived at RAAF Amberley from Darwin on July 17 and after overnighting returned to Darwin.

US Air Force MC-130H 88-0191 callsign ‘Stilt 11’ arrived in Townsville from Port Moresby on July 10 in company with US Air Force MC-130H 83-1212 callsign ‘Stilt 12’.

US Air Force MC-130P 66-0225 callsign ‘Stilt 13’ arrived in Townsville from Guam on July 10, while US Air Force MC-130P 69-5826 callsign ‘Stilt 14’ arrived in Townsville from Guam on July 12.

US Marines KC-130J 167926/QD callsign ‘Sumo 89’ arrived in Townsville from Guam on July 15, while US Marines KC-130J 168066/QD callsign ‘Sumo 88’ arrived in Townsville from Guam and Brisbane on July 15.

US Navy Grumman C-2A 162152 NF32 of VRC-30 ‘Password 32’ arrived in Rockhampton from Port Moresby on July 9 in company with US Navy Grumman C-2A 162175 NF33 of VRC-30 ‘Password 33’.

US Marines Boeing MV-22B Osprey 168027/EP-06 ‘Dragon 6’ was noted at Rockhampton on July 14; US Marines MV-22B 168031/EP-08 ‘Dragon 8’ was noted at Rockhampton on July 14 and Townsville on July 30 while US Marines MV-22B 168224/EP-05 ‘Dragon 5’ was noted at Townsville on July 30.