COVID departures and exciting arrivals

Awesome Aviation’s Extra XEO is the latest development from Extra Aircraft in Germany following a long line of very successful aerobatic aircraft spanning more than 30 years. The NG model (Next Generation) is a low wing, cantilevered monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and powered by a 235kW (315hp), six cylinder, Lycoming AEIO-580-B1A engine driving either a three or four blade MT propeller. Construction is of mainly carbon fibre with a titanium firewall rated to +/- 10G. Top speed is claimed to 410km/h. It has a two-seat enclosed bubble cockpit with the seats arranged in tandem with the pilot at the rear. A smoke generator is standard equipment along with a Garmin G3X touch screen instrument suit. Designed by Walter Extra, it was first shown to the public during AirVenture in July 2019 and received its EASA Type Certificate the following October. 

Hot air ballooning has long been a popular sport and tourist attraction in Australia, with over 400 balloons on the local CASA register. Accomplished balloon pilot Ron Kent has now constructed his own ultra-light hot air balloon with the assistance of a commercial balloon manufacturer and registered it appropriately HOP. Kent is a plumber but spends as much time as he can flying balloons for Global Ballooning Australia based in the Yarra Valley, Victoria. He also holds the Australian distance records in the AX5 and AX6 class of 168.7 kilometres and 378.8 kilometres, respectively, and the duration records in the AX6 and AX7 class of 6h 28m and 9h 3m, respectively. His new balloon will be ready for flight early in the new year and is a 900-cubic-metre, 12 gore envelope with a very basic single seat slung underneath. The balloon is finished in blue with a rainbow design around the base of the envelope and it will be used in an attempt to break the Australian AX4 class distance record. 

Over the years, the venerable Piper Cub and Super Cub have been re-engineered by several companies worldwide, including American Legend of Sulphur Springs, Texas. There is presently an American Legend Super Legend and a Cub on the RA-Aus with another Cub known to be in the country but not yet registered. The first AL18 Texas Sport Cub has now been registered ELN by Daniel Compton of Dubbo, NSW. While the other American Legend products can be factory finished or home built, the Texas Sport Cub is only available for the amateur builder and follows the American Legend policy of creating a Piper Super Cub inspired aircraft using modern materials, engines and instruments but retaining the Super Cub’s looks and classic feel. With a welded steel tube fuselage covered with doped Superflite aircraft fabric, the aircraft has the three-inch wider cabin then the original Super Cub, and electric starter and the fuel tank has been moved from inside the firewall to inside the wings. Compton is the American Legend agent in Australia and built the majority of the aircraft at the factory before shipping it to Australia to be completed at his private airstrip near Dubbo called Wings out West. The type is to be marketed in Australia as the American Legend AL18 MOAC (Mother of all Cubs). ELN is finished in a brilliant red colour and is fitted with a four-cylinder 195hp Continental O-370 engine. 

Flys and Floats of Port Melbourne have imported a Spender Air Car ONE, only the second one to grace Australian skies, the first being IRG built by Ian Goldie in 2003. Completed during 2007, after 10 years of work by Doug Palmer of San Francisco, California, the aircraft was registered N351DP and won the Seaplane Grand Champion award at the 2009 EAA Oshkosh air show before coming to Australia earlier this year. The Air Car name was first used by Percival Spencer during 1940 on a prototype light amphibian that developed into the Republic Seabee. Disenfranchised with the corporate policies of Republic, Spencer teamed up with retired USAF Colonel Andy Anderson to form a new company to market a four-place amphibious homebuilt based on Spencer’s original design. Also called the Air Car, the prototype first flew in 1970 at Chino, California. The S-12-E is the latest model and is fitted with a 285hp (213kW) Continental Tiara 6-285. 

As some Australian airliners are being exported due to the massive downturn in the airline industry, two Airbus A320s have bucked the trend and have been imported, one by Express Freighters Australia and the other by Network Aviation. ULD was built at Airbus’ Hamburg plant and first flew during May 1998 registered D-AVZZ. It was delivered to International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) in June 1998 and immediately leased to British Midland International as G-MIDC. It was sold to leasing company Aviation Capital Group during November 2010, which registered it N835AG and then leased it to Onur Air of Turkey and registered it TC-OBJ. During January of this year it went to JMV Aviation in Germany for conversion to a freighter before coming to Australia to join Qantas Group subsidiary Express Freighters Australia. 

UVO started its life at Airbus’ Toulouse facility where it first flew as F-WWIC during May 2005. It was delivered to ILFC, which was supposed to lease it to Jetstar Asia as 9V-JSF but it was redirected to AtlasJet, Turkey, as TC-OGP. It was then sub-leased to Saudi Arabian Airlines using AtlasJet crew before coming to Australia the first time in December 2007 for Jetstar as JQH. It eventually took up the 9V-JSF markings while it was operated by Jetstar Asia between December 2007 and February 2020 but has now become the fifth Airbus in the Network Aviation fleet. 

A brief glance at the Deletions section this issue reveals a large number of hot air balloons being “withdrawn from use” – in fact, 19 of them. Peter Vizzard and Judy Lynne have owned and operated Balloon Aloft Australia for the past 28 years but have now decided to retire from commercial ballooning and have most of their equipment up for sale, as well as ballooning collectables such as pins, patches, jackets and windcheaters. After 40 years in the ballooning industry, it would be impossible for Vizzard and Lynne to stop flying altogether but they intend to fly only for pleasure from now on. 

With the massive downturn in the airline industry due to the pandemic it is not surprising that quite a few aircraft have been returned to their leasing companies and this is reflected in the number of airliners shown in the Deletions listing. Virgin Australia’s ATR-72 FVI has gone to Flybig in India and is now active as VT-FBA, with FVU to follow as VT-FBB. Embraer ERJ-190s ZPN, ZPO, ZPQ and ZPR have been returned to Ravelin Jet Leasing and have now been registered in Guernsey, Channel Islands, as 2-HZPN, 2-HZPO, 2-HZPQ and 2-HZPR. Also now registered in Guernsey are Virgin Boeing 737s YFG, YFI, YFN, YFP and YFQ, all of which, like the ERJ-170s, have used the last three letters of their Australian markings joined with the Guernsey international prefix of 2-V for their new registrations. Guernsey is a favourite place for aircraft that are owned by leasing companies but between leases to be registered as the island offers great financial benefits. 

Other exports listed are Piper Arrow JNC to Kenya, Gippsland Airvan MTR to Surinam, Twin Otter YWJ to PNG, Pipistrel Panthera BEL, MD 500E PLU and Cessna FRA150 IRR to the Philippines, Sikorsky S76s HRP and LAH are now in Korea, while LHN and LHY have gone to the US. Learjet LPJ is now active in Canada, Falcon 7X CRW and Cessna Caravan PTX to France, and Cessna Caravan DQP, Global Express FMG and Jonker glider GAG all now in America. The Jonker is now marked as N390JB with Keith Baugh of Brookline, New Hampshire, and American Champion Scout IIS is N97BC with Northwest Back Country Aircraft at Caldwell, Idaho. Rockwell Commander 114 JHP has gone to John Wahl of Calhoun, Iowa, and PC24 JMU now flies as N702HT with US Leaseco, Wilmington, Delaware, after less than 12 months on the Australian register with local sales agents Pilatus Australia. Qantas Boeing 747 OEH was ferried from Sydney to Los Angeles and then on to Mojave, California, during May for storage and probably ultimately scrapping, while Nauru Air Boeing 737 ONU is now N732NA with TVPX Aircraft Solutions, North Salt Lake, Utah. Scott Heger of Laguna Niguel, California, has acquired Bell 230 XCW and registered it N230H. 

Closer to home, Cessna 185 FSV is now in New Zealand along with Cirrus SR22 WWJ and Cessna Stationair MQX. Also in New Zealand is Cessna 182P FOW and is marked as ZK-WOW with Skydive The Mount at Mount Maunganui and Cessna 172 IGF is now ZK-CGE with NAC Holdings at Motueka. Beech Super King Air LWO has gone to ZK-SDH with Skyline Aviation at Napier and joins a mixed fleet of other Super King Airs and small executive jets, and Sonex Waiex YEX very easily became ZK-YEX with KW Gallagher, New Plymouth.