Queensland Government (QGAir) Rescue Agusta AW139 Helicopter VH-EZJ Flys South via Mackay and Gladstone Airports

On Wednesday 28 February, Queensland Government (QGAir) Rescue (State of Queensland) Agusta AW139 helicopter VH-EZJ was noted ferrying South from Cairns via Mackay and Gladstone Airports to Archerfield.  It was scheduled to fly via Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport but continued to Mackay Airport.

File photo

VH-EZJ seems to heading to Archerfield for planned maintenance after operating out of Cairns Airport for a period of time as "Rescue 510".  This is part of the 'rotational system' the service utilises to ensure the even distribution of flying hours on each of the QGAir Rescue helicopters.  This system avoids the need to have multiple helicopters offline for simultaneous scheduled maintenance.

As posted below, fellow QGAir AW139 chopper VH-ESZ flew North to Cairns from Archerfield via Rockhampton Airport on Tuesday 27 February.

Meanwhile, after flying North via Emerald Airport in mid-February, New South Wales-based Bell Helicopter Textron 429 'Global Ranger' helicopter VH-MJI flew back South from Cairns to Mackay Airport late on Tuesday 27 February.  After overnighting, VH-MJI continued Bundaberg Airport and the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday 28 February.

As well as spending time operating out of Cairns, VH-MJI has also been noted completing flights in and out of Mount Hagen in Papua New Guinea (PNG).