Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Airbus A330-203 / KC-30A (MRTT) A39-004 Missed Approach at Rockhampton Airport

Despite catching most local plane spotters by surprise, late on Wednesday 28 February, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Airbus A330-203 / KC-30A (MRTT) A39-004 was spotted on short finals to Runway 33 at Rockhampton Airport.  It proceeded to complete a missed approach and low overshoot.

It appears that the KC-30 had flown North from RAAF Base Amberley and continued to Townsville after its airwork at Rocky.

A39-004 – which was heard to be flying as “Dragon 42” – was later noted flying back to Amberley from Townsville.

All photos taken by Kayanne Hardsman  ©

Plus RAAF Challenger 604 Bizjet A37-003 Noted Completing Missed Approaches at Roma Airport

Also on Wednesday 28 February, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Canadair CL-600-2B16 Challenger 604 bizjet A37-003 of the VIP 34 Squadron in Canberra was noted completing at least two missed approaches at Roma Airport.

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A37-003 looked to fly up from Canberra and landed at RAAF Base Amberley before continuing to Roma Airport.  After completing its airwork, A37-003 returned to Amberley and then onward back to Canberra.

A37-003 was heard to be using the radio callsign of "Envoy 11".

Photo taken by Kayanne Hardsman  ©

Cessna 525A CitationJet2 Bizjet VH-MOR Calls into Central Queensland Airports - Plus More!

On Wednesday 28 February, Brisbane-based Cessna 525A CitationJet2 bizjet VH-MOR was back in CQ, noted arriving into Biloela / Thangool Airport from its Archerfield base.  It then flew to Moura Aerodrome before later heading to Gladstone Airport.  After an hour on the ground, VH-MOR returned to Moura before heading to Elliot Aerodrome in the Northern Territory.

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Also on Wednesday 28 February, Professional Jet Aviation Cessna 525 Citation CJ1 bizjet VH-CDG returned South to the Archerfield from Cairns via Mackay Airport and the Sunshine Coast.  It had flown North to Townsville via Bundaberg Airport on Monday 26 February - see Blog post below.

Also back in CQ on Wednesday 28 February was Mackellar Mining Equipment / Flight Options (Australia) Cessna 560 Citation Ultra VH-MMC, which touched down at Emerald Airport from its Sunshine Coast base.  At the time of writing, it was due to return to the Sunny Coast via Biloela / Thangool Airport on Thursday 1 March.

Also at Emerald Airport, as mentioned on our Facebook page, American registered Bombardier BD-700-1A10 Global 6000 bizjet N60XC touched down in the wee small hours of Tuesday 27 February from Seoul (Gimpo) International Airport via Townsville.

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It remains parked at Emerald Airport.

On the lighter side of corporate and other interesting General Aviation (GA) movements on Wednesday 28 February, Wolff Aviation Hawker Beechcraft C90GTi VH-VWG visited Rockhampton Airport from its Toowoomba base.

Lawrence Aviation (of New South Wales) Cessna 414A VH-DRN was noted visiting Emerald Airport while flying from Bankstown and Maitland to Cairns.  It was due to return to Bankstown from Cairns but flying via Roma Airport on Thursday 1 March.

Finally, Air Queensland Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain VH-XLB was back in CQ on Wednesday 28 February having a big day of flying which saw it fly from its Redcliffe base to Emerald Airport and then onto Cairns via missed approaches at Clermont and Innisfail Aerodromes.

UPDATE!  On Thursday 1 March, VH-XLB returned South to Redcliffe from Cairns via a missed approach at Clermont Aerodrome and then a landing at Emerald Airport.  It then departed to Redcliffe via missed approaches at Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Maryborough and Sunshine Coast Airports.

Photo taken by Greg Weir  ©

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.

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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).

QGAir Rescue (State of Queensland) Agusta AW139 Helicopter VH-ESZ Ferries North via Rockhampton Airport

On Tuesday 27 February, Queensland Government (QGAir) Rescue (State of Queensland) Agusta AW139 helicopter VH-ESZ was spotted ferrying North from Archerfield to Cairns via Rockhampton and Townsville Airports.

It appears that VH-ESZ had previously been operating around the South-East corner of the state on med-evac flights as "Rescue 500" until late January when it entered the maintenance hangar.

It will be interesting to see if another QGAir Rescue helicopter ferries South in the coming days as a 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.

Sincere thanks to local plane spotter Kayanne H for taking the time to capture and send through these great photos as VH-ESZ landed at Rockhampton Airport!

All photos taken by Kayanne Hardsman  ©

RAAF Boeing P-8A Poseidon Maritime Surveillance Aircraft A47-002 Completes Airwork at Rockhampton Airport

In what turned out to be an awesome morning of military aircraft spotting at Rockhampton Airport, also on Tuesday 27 February, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing P-8A Poseidon Maritime Surveillance Aircraft A47-002 was also spotted completing a missed approach also at Rockhampton Airport.

It flew South from Townsville (where it had arrived the previous day) and after completing its airwork at Rocky, A47-002 looked to head to the Gold Coast before returning to its RAAF Base Edinburgh base.

A47-002 was heard to be using the radio callsign of "Mariner 42" which is of the RAAF's 292 Squadron.

No. 292 Squadron is a RAAF operational conversion unit (OCU) based at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia. The squadron was formed in 1977 as the Maritime Analysis Training Squadron and renamed No. 292 Squadron in 1980. Throughout its history it has formed part of No. 92 Wing and been responsible for training aircrew to operate the RAAF's Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. It is also responsible for training Orion maintenance personnel.

With the RAAF's retirement of the AP-3Cs with Boeing P-8 Poseidons, No. 292 Squadron will remain part of No. 92 Wing and will begin the first local training course using the new type. A new operational conversion facility has been constructed at Edinburgh to facilitate this training.

Sincere thanks to local plane spotter Kayanne H for again taking the time to capture and send through these great photos!

All photos taken by Kayanne Hardsman  ©

RAAF Boeing B737-7ES / E-7A Wedgetail A30-003 Missed Approaches at Rockhampton and Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airports

On Tuesday 27 February, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Boeing B737-7ES / E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft A30-003 was spotted on approach and then on climb out after completing a missed approach and low overshoot at Rockhampton Airport.

It appears that the Wedgetail had earlier flown North from RAAF Base Williamtown at Newcastle.

After completing its airwork at Rocky, A30-003 flew South and completed more airwork including another missed approach at Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport. 

After completing its airwork at Hervey Bay, the Wedgetail returned to Williamtown.

A30-003 was noted to be using the radio callsign of "Wedgetail 07".

Sincere thanks to local plane spotters Scott H and Kayanne H for taking the time to capture and send through these great photos of the Wedgetail at Rockhampton Airport!

Photos taken by Scott Harris and Kayanne Hardsman  ©

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed C-130J-30 Hercules A97-467 Completes Airwork at Gladstone and Mackay Airports

On Monday 26 February, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Lockheed C-130J-30 Hercules A97-467 was noted completing airwork around Gladstone Airport.  It appears to have earlier flown North from RAAF Base Amberley and completed at least one missed approach and overshoot at Gladstone.

It is believed that A97-467 then called into Mackay Airport where it was spotted completing more airwork including a touch-and-go.

At the completion of its airwork, the Herc, which is from the RAAF's 37 Squadron out of RAAF Base Richmond, departed for Townsville.  A97-467 was noted using the radio callsign of "Ausy 454".

Meanwhile, making a rare weekend appearance at Rockhampton Airport on Sunday 25 February was RAAF Beech B350 Super King Air A32-426.

The Super King Air had earlier flown South from Townsville to Coffs Harbour (New South Wales) and was spotted on finals to Runway 33 at Rocky after returning North from Coffs Harbour.  After a short while on the ground, it continued to Mackay Airport before returning to Townsville.  A32-426 was heard to be using the radio callsign of “Dingo 40”.

Photos taken by 'JM' and Kayanne Hardsman  ©

JetGo Australia Embraer ERJ-145LR Regional Jet VH-JGR Spotted at Rockhampton Airport

Late on Sunday 25 February, JetGo Australia Embraer ERJ-145LR regional jet VH-JGR was noted calling into Rockhampton Airport from the Gold Coast on the scheduled JG73 service.  It appears that the larger 50-seat ERJ-145LR was a late substitute aircraft for the usual 44-seat Embraer ERJ-140LR which normally operates these flights.  VH-JGR then departed to Townsville.

Then on Monday 26 February, VH-JGR returned to Rockhampton Airport, arriving from Townville on the scheduled JG70 service.  Local plane spotter Kayanne H was on hand and was able to capture some of the first photos we've featured of VH-JGR in Central Queensland.

VH-JGR then continued to the Gold Coast.

Of interest, ERJ-140LR VH-ZJG operated the return JG73 service from the Gold Coast to Rocky and Townsville.

VH-JGR continues to operated one-to-two times each week from Brisbane to either Emerald or Middlemount Airports and back on a closed Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) charter flight on behalf of Middlemount Coal.  Some flights have been noted landing at Emerald Airport due to reported runway works at Middlemount Aerodrome.

Finally, it is believed that JetGo will soon take delivery of their next Embraer ERJ-145LR regional jet which will be registered VH-JGK (ex N14923) (cn 145318).

Sincere thanks to Kayanne for taking the time to capture and send through these great photos!

All photos taken by Kayanne Hardsman  ©