Register Review

Don Cameron established Cameron Balloons during 1971 in Bristol, England, with production beginning in the basement of his house moving one year later to an old church in the city and moving again to larger premises in 1983.

Once the smallest producer of balloons in the UK the company is now the largest after acquiring most of its competitors during the 1990s.

Thunder and Colt, Sky Balloons and Lindstrand Balloons have all been absorbed into Cameron, which now accounts for around 90 per cent of the balloons on the UK register.

Cameron is making inroads in the Australia, but local manufacturer Kavanagh still has most of the local market under its control, with the exception of special-shaped envelopes which Cameron is famous for. The two new Cameron balloons are conventionally-shaped with 20 gores (or vertical panels) and 450 cu ft envelope displacement.

Tony Brown’s Piper 6X WCN is only second of its type to come onto the local register after YHG in May 2012. The 6X was a development of the Saratoga, which was one of the first Pipers to be put back into production after the US General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994.

After production of the retractable Saratoga resumed during 1995 a fixed-gear model was reintroduced in 2003, with an increased useful load, named the 6X, along with a turbocharged version called the 6XT. The new models were fitted with 300hp (225kW)Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 and TIO‑540-AH1A engines respectively driving Hartzell threeblade constant-speed propellers and accommodated six people in club seating. Most of the upgrades that had been developed over the years for the earlier Cherokee Six and Saratoga models were integrated into the new model. Unfortunately sales of both the 6X and 6XT did not meet expectation and production ceased in late 2007 with only 94 being built. Tony’s aircraft was the 15th of 17 6Xs built during 2005.

Richard Fazzani’s Vans RV-3A EZM is the only aircraft Returning to the Register this issue after quite a chequered past. The aircraft was built as an RV-3 during 1999 by American Bryan Curtis, who registered it N124CB. It came to Australia during July 2011 and joined the RA-Aus register as 19- 7915 but only one month later was transferred to the CASA register as EZM with Alex Oosterhoff of Quinns Rocks in WA. It returned to the RA-Aus register, this time as 19-8502, on May 16 2014 but is now back as EZM. Interestingly at some stage it has changed from an RV-3 to an RV-3A indicating that is has been converted from a tail wheel to a nose wheel undercarriage.

About one-third of the Deletions this month have been exported with the US and New Zealand being most popular but with other aircraft going to Bolivia, Philippines, South Africa and PNG.

Beaver ACZ, Cessna 180 WRM and Cessna 172 OGY have all crossed the Tasman where the Cessna 180 has become ZK-DBA with Skyfarmers Aviation at Ashburton, the Cessna 172 is now ZK-JRG flying for the Auckland Aero Club and the Beaver is destined to become ZK-SBV.

Sam and Wayne Brown of Air Charter Karamea have acquired the Beaver ACZ and have entrusted its restoration to Mark Stagg of Argus Helicopters at Motueka. When completed the aircraft will be put to work flying tourists around the Kahurangi National Park, the largest in New Zealand, and the Abel Tasman National Park, the smallest in New Zealand, both located in the Nelson region in the north of the South Island.

The Beaver was built in 1955 and first came to Australia during 1988. It has been on floats, skis and wheels during its 60 plus years of life and has been rebuilt several times during its time in Australia.

PAC 750XL EAJ, Cessna 182 Wren RAJ, King Air LYG and Challenger VRE have all gone to the US where LYG is now N807ZA with Alliance Air Parts at Oklahoma City, indicating it may be reduced to spare parts, and VRE has become N604LP with a Trustee of the Bank of Utah at Salt Lake City.

Unfortunately seven aircraft have been deleted from the register due to accidents including Bell JetRanger CHO which crashed near Bathurst, NSW after its tail rotor failed while conducting a site inspection prior to commencing spraying operations 30km south of the airport; and PA-25 Pawnee NLP which was destroyed when it crashed at Darlington while spreading insect bait on a farming property near Derrinallum, Victoria.

Cessna 182 KKM was lost during a flight from Moruya, NSW to Mangalore, Victoria via the Alpine National Park. The aircraft struck the eastern side of Mount Blue Rag at about 5,000ft AMSL after encountering bad weather.

And Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair USW crashed and burned after the engine failed during a local flight from Jandakot, WA. The pilot tried to make an emergency landing on a sports oval about 2km from the airport but a wing hit a metal goal post, rupturing a fuel tank, and spilt fuel ignited destroying the aircraft.

Sadly three people lost their lives in the above accidents.

Going back to 2012 Cessna 182 SGB hit powerlines at Burrum River, Queensland while attending a Christmas function.

Going back further still to 2007 PA-32 Cherokee Six PYD ditched 15nm south-west of Warraber Island, Torres Strait, Queensland after engine failure. The aircraft had departed Horn Island on a private charter to Warraber Island when the engine’s speed began fluctuating and then stopped altogether. The four people on board managed to exit the aircraft and swim to shore before it sank and the pilot’s knowledge of the company’s emergency procedures contributed to the successful ditching and safe exit of the passengers. The aircraft was not recovered.

Catching up on some previously unreported subsequent information, Aerospatiale AS332 Puma LYH is now known to have become OE‑XKP with Heli Austria at Pongau and Beech 1900D XDY, noted in the July 2016 issue as being exported to Mauritius, has now found its way to Iraq where it flies as YI-BAJ with Fly Baghdad.

Ex Qantas Airbus A330-200 EBH, which has been at Getafe, Spain since July 2015 where it is being converted into a KC-30A, has been allocated RAAF serial A39-006.

Two aircraft noted in last issue’s Deletions section, Eurocopter EC225LP SRU and Aerospatiale TBM700N TBM are now active in Ireland and France respectively with SRU becoming G-CJWN with Vertical Aviation in Dublin and TBM now F-HFMC with Voyag’Air at Le Noble.

Virgin Embraer E190 ZPE, which was noted in the October 2016 Deletions as going to the US as N187NC, has now moved on to Israel where it flies as 4X-EME and joins 4X-EMD (ex ZPD) in the Arkia fleet at Ben Gurion.

Finally, two series 100 Dash 8s, TNW and QQH, which have been more recently operating in PNG as P2-MCQ and P2-MCN, have now gone back to their birthplace Canada and are now flying as C-FCGP and C-FGGC.

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