A Few More Interesting Visitors at Hamilton Island Airport as Race Week Kicks-off

Over the course of the weekend, there was a nice variety of corporate turbo-prop and bizjets visitors to call into Hamilton Island Airport - along with a couple of interesting commercial visitors!

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On Saturday 15 August, the rare sight of a QantasLink (Cobham Aviation) Boeing B717-200 was seen at Hamo.  VH-NXK was an interesting visitor, touching down on a scheduled service from and back to Brisbane as QJE1722/1723.

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Also on Saturday 15 August, Balmoral Air Dassault Falcon 2000LX VH-WIO called in for a brief time from Bankstown, while on the lighter side of the corporate movements, Corporate Aviation Bell 429 Helicopter VH-EQP touched down from Southport and Gladstone.  After arriving earlier in the week, FKG Air (Redjet Aviation) Hawker Beechcraft B200GT VH-FKB departed Hamilton Island for Archerfield.  And the Darling Downs Aero Club Cessna 182 VH-JCU departed Hamo for Toowoomba.

On Sunday 16 August, Balmoral Air Dassault Falcon 2000LX VH-WIO returned from Bankstown, while of the light visitors, Mooney M20M VH-YMB arrived from Archerfield, while Austrek Aviation Beech B200 King Air VH-WXO departed to Dalby.

Most notably on Sunday 16 August was the (what I believe to be) the first ever visit to Hamilton Island Airport of Qantas Airways Boeing B737-800 VH-XZP.

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VH-XZP is painted in a special 'retro' colour scheme featuring the iconic ochre colour scheme first introduced by Qantas in 1967.  It was operating the scheduled QFA866/867 service from and back to Sydney.

Of interest, one other Qantas/QantasLink aircraft in a special livery also visited Hamilton Island Airport but on Friday 14 August when Dash-8-Q400 VH-QOH - in special pink Breast Cancer Awareness colours - operated the QLK2824/2825 service from and back to Brisbane.

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Looks like a nice weekend over on Hamilton Island!