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Australia Trip Report Autumn 2009 Perth/Sydney/Brisbane/Nowra/Singapore/Dubai Eddie Douglas

1.PAL Cresco VH-KPY

2.Cheyanne PK-ZGZ

3.Cessna 208 VH-MOV

4.CL604 A37-002

5.A330 VH-EBF Jetstar

6.Boeing 777 V Australia VH-VPE

7.ERJ170 Virgin VH-ZHE

8.Boeing 737 Virgin VH-VBY

9.Salvins Albatross

10. Sea Fury FB.11

11 A40B N13-154906

12. Wirraway A20-651

13. MB326

14. Convair 580 VH-PDW

15. PAC 750XL VH-EAK

16. Searay VH-ZRA

17. Premier VH-VHP

18.Westwind VH-NGA

19.BD700 Global Express N18WF

20. L15 Falcon

Click on the image to enlarge

With my retrial approaching it was time to head off to Australia again to see the family and let the grandchildren kick me around some more. So with a nine week trip planned the retirement day arrived on 16 September and Emirates 36 A6-EAC took me out of Newcastle on the 17th bound for Perth, Western Australia with SBS and plenty SD cards, to do a few things aviation and birds (feathered) along the way. You may have gathered that my interests after many years of interesting diversions are not only aircraft, and I have focussed on photography and the number crunching is secondary. Here is a report of the main aircraft seen while travelling around with multiple sighting of one type noted with a + to give an idea of the volume of airfield traffic and the mix of Grey, Tin, Airliners and Old Stuff.

The night flight to Dubai and down to Perth produced very few aircraft of interest nor did the first week there, so a trip down to Jandakot airfield to the south of Perth was needed. Not much had changed since my last visit 2 years before with the Flying Doctor Service still busy with the PC12 and Beech 200, but activity at the China Southern and Singapore Airline flying schools seemed to be much lower. The airfield once claimed to have the highest number of movement in Oz due largely to these training flights. The mineral, mining and resources boom is big business in WA and a lot of aerial survey work (prospecting) is done and Fugro Airborne Surveys have a Jandakot facility with some interesting aircraft with magnetometer boom conversions. The unusual Pacific Aerospace (PAC) Cresco VH-KPY  was developed from the FU-24 Fletcher, a New Zealand design built for agricultural work, and a boom fitted CASA 212 and an Aero Commander were also present. Another interesting and very smart visitor was Cheyenne PK-ZGZ of Air Bali

Jandakot, Perth, WA 28.09.09
VH-ZLE CESSNA 550
VH-KPY PAL CRESCO FUGRO SURVEYS
VH-TEM CASA 212 FUGRO SURVEYS
VH-WAM AERO COMMANDER FUGRO SURVEYS
VH-BBX + 6 GROB 115 CHINA SOUTHERN
VH-VMH + 8 CESSNA SKYHAWK
VH-PJK CESSNA CENTURION
VH-TDY +7 MOONEY 20
VH-RWQ +10 CESSNA 150
VH-SWS MAULE M4
VH-MOV CESSNA 208 FLOATPLANE
VH-AWF BONANZA
VH-KWO +5 PC12 OZ FLYING DOCTOR
VH-IWD +3 BEECH 200 OZ FLYING DOCTOR
24-5069 TECHNAN BRAVO ULTRA LIGHT
VH-SQF +3 BARON SINGAPORE COLLEGE
VH-YXT +15 CESSNA 175 SINGAPORE COLLEGE
VH-OOU VERY EASY
VH-LAM +3 CESSNA 402 TASMANIAN A/L
VH-PFM T-28 TROJAN
VH-MBM ROCKWELL COMMANDER
VH-UIA CESSNA 180
PK-ZGZ PA31 CHEYENNE AIR BALI 
We left Perth bound for Brisbane on the east coast and while taxing a few aircraft were noted around the busy airfield in addition to the main carriers Qantas, Virgin Blue and Jetstar. The Qantas 767 is apparently well suited to the 1000-3000 mile distance in Oz and accounted for the number present. The mining and oilfields contractor traffic in northern WA is done by Cobham and Network among others and their fleets had expanded a lot since my last visit.

Perth International 30.09.09
VH-ZSU CL604
VH-KNR WESTWIND II
VH-INT CESSNA 525
VH-XAZ QUEENAIR
VH-TAM BEECH 90
VH-OGT +3 B767 QANTAS
VH-VXJ +2 B737 QANTAS
VH-NXD +1 B717 QANTAS
VH-VOL +3 B738 VIRGIN BLUE
VH-ZPL +3 ERJ190 VIRGIN BLUE
VH-NJR +3 HS146 COBHAM
VH-FWH +1 F100 ALLIANCE
VH-FNC +2 F100 SKYWEST
VH-NHA +2 BRASILIA NETWORK

On arrival at Brisbane the only thing of interest was an A330 -MRRT possibly to be A39-003 with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in a buff coloured primer finish at the Qantas Defence Systems (QDS) area. The award of the RAAF air to air refuelling contract for five A330 was given to the European Aeronautical Defence and Space Company (EADS) in 2004. Their partners QDS are the prime contractor for a twenty year in service support package for the aircraft mainly from their Brisbane base. EADS and its partners have made a major investment in Australia and Australian Aerospace and built eighteen Tiger helicopters at their Brisbane facility that are now in service with the RA Army. The trip south to the family at Warwick goes past RAAF Amberley where the RAAF are working on the introduction of the Wedgetail to service and one was seen outside and may even have been “Boeing 203”, N361BJ picked up on the SBS the following week. There was no sign of any of the based F-111s that are shortly due to be retired. A gas station nearby had a couple of Canberra B20s A84-234 and 238 in poor condition displayed outside and were probably one time Amberley based aircraft. Not much aviation activity in the Warwick area and the low level of contacts on the SBS with the expected C130, C17, B73B and CL64 military traffic from Amberley. Extra C17 and C130 flights were made for a Tsunami rescue effort in Indonesia and two C17s went out together on 6 November as RDBK36/39, A41-208+1. The local Warwick airfield has light aircraft only, no regular local services and numerous gliders in both wood and composite. After a few weeks of enjoying the grandkids a break was needed in the shape of a side trip to Sydney in New South Wales, again via Brisbane that gave the chance to see some of the local traffic.

Brisbane International 22.10.09
VH-SSA A330 STRATEGIC
9V-STF A340 SINGAPORE
A6-EYS A330 ETHIAD
A39-003? A330MRRT RAAF
VH-TAI JSTREAM 31 BRINDABELLA
VH-TAG METRO 3 BRINDABELLA
ZK-OJB +3 A320 A NEW ZEALAND
ZK-PBI B738 VIRGIN PACIFIC
VH-VPB +1 B738 BLUE
VH-VUA +3 B738 VIRGIN BLUE
VH-VXO +2 B738 QANTAS
VH-OGR B767 QANTAS
VH-OPG +1 A330 QANTAS
VH-QOT +4 DASH 8 QANTAS
B-HLU A330 CATHAY
VH-VQG A320 JETSTAR

On arrival at Sydney International the executive ramp had an RAAF Challenger A37-002 that made a good night shot before I collapsed into bed after an 18 hour day. Next day the famous “mound” at Sydney International gave the chance of some good photos in between the building work that will soon obscure the view. Highlights were Singapore and Emirates A380s, the morning arrivals from the Far East and lots of local traffic dominated by Qantas, Virgin blue, and Jetstar, that are not included in the list below. There was some good biz on the ramp including a medevac Westwind II VH-NGA that is now at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. On 18 November on a flight from Samoa the aircraft made a successful controlled landing on the sea after being unable to land at Norfolk Island due to bad weather, three missed approaches and low fuel. The patient, crew and all others on board were rescued safely by boat. Norfolk is around 1200 miles off the Oz coast nearer to New Zealand and there's not many alternates out there – as the preliminary accident bureau report states, “The investigation is continuing.”

Sydney International 24.10.09
G-LAOR Hawker 800XP
VH-MSH +3 BEECH 200 FLYING DOCTOR NSW
VH-NGA +1 WESTWIND II PELAIR
VH-MXJ CITATION
VH-RAM Hawker 850XP
N36GV GULF 5
A37-002 CL601 RAAF
VH-VNB +4 A320 TIGER AIRWAYS
G-VFIT A340 VIRGIN
C-FNNH B777LR AIR CANADA
N128UA B747 UNITED
9V-SPN B747 SINGAPORE
JA707J B777 JAL
VH-VPE B777ER V AUSTRALIA 
B-6059 A330 CHINA SOUTHERN
ZK-NCL B767 AN ZEALAND
P2-ANB B757 AIR NUGINI
B-6100 A330 CHINA EASTERN
A6-EDB A380 EMIRATES
9V- A380 SINGAPORE
HL7597 B777 ASIANA
RP-3335 A330 PHILLIPINES
VH-OTE JSTREAM 31 AEROPELICAN
VH-EBF A330 JETSTAR 
VH-ZHE EJ170 VIRGIN BLUE 
VH-VBY B737 VIRGIN BLUE 

My trip farther south was mainly to photograph albatross, the worlds ultimate flying machine, 40 miles out in the Pacific. So it would have been rude not to have gone a bit farther south to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) museum at Nowra airfield. This is the RANs main flying base with helicopters only now as they gave up fixed wing flying some years ago after their Tracker fleet was torched in a hanger fire. The Aussie naval traditions were obvious in the interesting museum that was well set out and had some good aircraft including ex carrier types

Royal Australian Museum Nowra 26.10.09
WG630 SEA FURY FB11 RAN 
WJ109 FIREFLY AS6 RAN
A20-651 WIRRAWAY RAAF
VH-FMM
XG766 VAMPIRE T22 RAN
A77-878 METEOR F8 EX RAAF
N13-154906 A4B SKYHAWK RAN
XA434 GANNET AS1 RAN
WZ937 SEA VENOM FAW53 RAN
N9-882 UH1B RAN
N7-231 WESSEX HAS31 RAN
N12-153589 S2E TRACKER RAN
MB326 RAN
XD653 SYCAMORE HC51 RAN
A85-364 WINJEEL PROTOTYPE
WS101 WASP RAN
A1-640 SIOUX RA ARMY
N11-605 Jindivik DRONE
607 LIM 2 (MIG15UTI) EX POLISH AF
SOPWITH PUP
434 MIG 17 EX POLISH AF
280 HUNTER F4 EX SINGAPORE AF
..128 UH1 EX US ARMY

On the operational base there were only a few distant RAN helicopters around and an ageing Seaking coded 05 that failed in repeated attempts to get airborne. Five Rayethon Learjets on the ramp defied identification in the heat haze and the RAN piston types and Tracker coded 845 also outside were probably airworthy and with the museum. Rayethon are another important defence contractor to the military and have a large facility at Nowra.

RAN Nowra 26.10.09
N2-90 DC3 RAN
N12-153600/845 S2E TRACKER RAN
A65-86 DC3 RAAF
VH-SLE +4 LJ35 RAYETHON
UH60 +3
+2 SQUIRREL RAN
N9-3104 UH1C RAN
N16- /05 SEA KING RAN

On the return to trip to Sydney a visit to the Historic Aircraft Restoration Society at Albion Park was planned but not possible as I arrived out of hours and only a few locals were logged. They maintain and fly a Neptune and Constellation on the airshow circuit giving a rare chance to see these icons in the air.

Albion Park 28.10.09
VH-FAZ PARTENAVIA
VH-TXC COMANCHE
VH-FCZ CESSNA 402
VH-SQN NAVAJO
VH-NMV CESSNA 182 SKYDIVING A/C

On returning to Sydney there was more new biz on the ramp and a day doing the tourist thing in the city including a boat trip round the Harbour bridge got a couple of new MRH90 helicopters A40-007 and 008 on board a ship. The tourist missions of 4 helicopters and 2 floatplane Beavers viewing this great attraction were almost in convoy and circled around to make it a bit of a circus. A good day out in the city was ended with a Navy A109 N42-501 flying over the Opera House as the setting sun lit up the iconic shell shaped roof. Next day another visit to the mound, loads of local traffic and a trip over to the museum at Bankstown, the other main Sydney airport, were planned.

Sydney International 29.10.09
N899GP GLEX
A32-426 BEECH 350 RA ARMY
A6-ECR B777 EMIRATES
N18WF GLEX
N888GX GLEX
9V-SKJ A380 SINGAPORE
9V-SPQ B747 SINGAPORE
N197UA B747 UNITED
N761CX B767 AIRTRANS INTERNAT.
B-LAQ A330 CATHAY 100A/C C/S
B-6119 A330 CHINA EASTERN
HL-7404 B747 KOREAN
N492MC B747 ATLAS
PK-GPO A330 GARUDA
HS-TJC A330 THAI
CC-CQF A340 LAN CHILE
ZK-NCH B767 ANZ
B-2472 A330 AIR CHINA
VH-EEX METRO 3 PELAIR
VH-BZL BEECH 400
VH-MGC BEECH 400
VH-IPG BEECH 400
VH-TMA PREMIER
VH-TNX Hawker 850XP
VH-OJD B747 QANTAS
VH-VHP PEMIER
G-AUBG AVRO504K REPLICA in TERMINAL

Unfortunately over at Bankstown the museum was closed and there were only badly weathered hulks outside. Over at the operational side of this large airfield there were however a number of interesting aircraft among lots of tin, helicopter services and flying school aircraft and numbered about 100. A couple of PAC 750XLs, Beaver floatplanes on service, a Catalina and Oz registered Polish Wilga were good but a bigger surprise was a couple of restoration projects. A B26 had last been a water bomber in Canada and a Twin Bonanza had come from Papa New Guinea where it was bought for a princely £2000. A good look round the old style workshops and chat to the lads working was another example of the open, friendly Aussie way – even after they found out that I was not the civil aviation authority inspector they were expecting. A selection of the more interesting aircraft is,

Sydney Bankstown 29.10.09
43-22653 B26 EX CANADIAN
VH-PZQ WILGA
VH-CAT CATALINA
VH-CVY +5 LIBERTY AERO XL2 SINGAPORE COLLEGE
VH-SYV TU206A AIR AMBULANCE NSW
VH-EPH BELL 412 AIR AMBULANCE NSW
VH-HUE UH1H
VH-NEC PIPER 2000
VH-SRO DUCHESS
VH-FFF PITTS S2A
VH-JFV TECHNAM P2002
VH-DRA CESSNA 402
VH-AAO +1 BEAVER FLOATPLANE
VH-LIW HELIO COURIER
WB675 CHIPMUNK
VH-XLC +1 PAC 750XL
VH-EAK PAC 750XL
VH-PDW CV 580 PIONAIR
VH-ZRA SeaRey (Photo 16)
VH-DNA DC3
P2-MEX TWIN BONANZA

So after returning to Warwick for more grandkid love and gbh it was soon time for the return trip to UK that is always a bit of a pain, especially when out of Brisbane at 0300. But it was on airmiles and did make for a sunny morning arrival into Singapore on the way back. We landed over a Jet Airways B777 in the cargo area and past the military ramp where most of the aircraft were identified with the aid of the digital camera.

Singapore Changi 18.11.09
9V-SYI B777 SINGAPORE
9V-SKE A380 SINGAPORE
S7-SEZ B767 SEYCHELES
VT-JEH B777 JET AW
N508QS GLF 5
VH-VRE CL604
710 +6 FOKKER 50 SINGAPORE AF 121SQU
750 +3 KC135R SINGAPORE AF 112SQU

The silly departure time from Brisbane meant an overnight stay in Dubai that allowed a bonus short visit to the international air show that was reported in Kevin Perrys excellent DTV trip report. Another RAAF Wedgetail N378BC/A30-001 was good and Boeing must see a potential Middle East market as they had a Pakistan AF aircraft present at the last show in 2007. While rushing around to get photos I almost missed the unique stream takeoff by 21 Emirates airliners in a special airshow slot - 8xA330, 7xB777, 5xA340 and a single B747F that had to wait till last. The Chinese built L15 Falcon  was good to see in a rare appearance away from the Far East. As Kevin reported the relaxed security in the show area gave unrestricted access to the tightly parked aircraft – however security was tighter to get in and it’s the only show where my bags were scanned to get out ! Overall a great trip with loads of memories and photos of grandkids, albatross and of course aircraft.


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