Newly Delivered Seair Pacific / Istlecote DHC-6-100 Twin Otter VH-ZKF at Hervey Bay Airport Monday

Certainly an interesting visitor noted departing Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport on Monday 25 April was Seair Pacific's newly delivered De Havilland DHC-6-100 Twin Otter VH-ZKF.

VH-ZKF parked at Jandakot (WA) in November 2015  (Gary Matthews / https://www.flickr.com/)

The 'twotter' was registered to Seair Pacific / Istlecote in mid-March after spending over a decade in Western Australia flying with the Karratha Flying Service.  It appears that VH-ZKF completed its trans-Australia delivery flight over this previous weekend with the fantastic Twin Otter Spotter Blog reporting that it flew from Charleville to Lady Eilliot Island and finally the Gold Coast over the course of Saturday 23 April and Sunday 24 April.

Research into this particular Twin Otter (MSN 43) also reveals that it has a historic link with Central Queensland.  The Twin Otter Archive website has a full history of the aircraft from the date is was rolled out of the De Havilland factory (29 March 1967) and when it completed its first flight (30 March 1967).

Flying as VH-TZL, this particular Twin Otter looked to arrive in Australia in 1978 and was operated by Aeropelican Intercity Commuter Services out of Newcastle (Belmont) Airport.  In 1981, VH-TZL then looked to move North and was seemingly operated out of Maryborough Airport - and perhaps other regional ports in CQ - for Noosa Air, Sunstate Airlines, Flight West Airlines and locally-based Whitaker Air Charter.

Unknown photographer / Michael J. Ody Collection / http://twinotterarchive.com/

Unknown photographer / Michael J. Ody Collection / http://twinotterarchive.com/

Information suggests that VH-TZL continued to be operated by Whitaker Air Charter until it was sold to the Karratha Flying Service and re-registered VH-ZKF in 2004.