Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Dassault Falcon 7X Bizjet A56-001 Missed Approach at Hamilton Island Airport

Certainly interesting to note that on Thursday 31 October, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Dassault Falcon 7X bizjet A56-001 completed airwork including a missed approach at Hamilton Island Airport.

A56-001 at Brisbane Airport recently  (File photo)

The sleek bizjet which is flown by the RAAF's VIP 34 Squadron flew up from Canberra via Brisbane before heading to Hamo.  It then returned South to Brisbane before returning to Canberra.

Of interest, A56-001 was heard to be flying as "Regent 45".

Photo taken by Lloyd Fox  ©

Australian Army NH Industries MRH-90 Multi-Role Helicopter A40-047 "Destrier 128" Pops into Rockhampton Airport

On Thursday 31 October, Australian Army NH Industries MRH-90 Multi-Role Helicopter A40-047 was noted calling into Rockhampton Airport.  It looked to arrive from Townsville and was heard to be flying as "Destrier 128".

File photo

After taking on fuel, A40-047 then departed Rockhampton Airport for the Oakey Army Aviation Centre via airwork, including a missed approach, at Bundaberg Airport.

Photo taken by Lloyd Fox  ©

Erceg Aviation (WA) Cessna 525A CitationJet2 Bizjet VH-EJT Spotted at Clermont Aerodrome - Plus More!

Early on Thursday 31 October, I had the good fortune of photographing Erceg Aviation (of Perth, Western Australia) Cessna 525A CitationJet2 Bizjet VH-EJT at my local Clermont Aerodrome.  It had arrived direct from its Perth base late on Wednesday 30 October.

Later on Thursday, VH-EJT was noted departing Clermont Aerodrome for Forrest, also in Western Australia.

Meanwhile, also on Thursday 31 October, a nice corporate turboprop in the form of American-registered (but Australian-based) SOCATA TBM 700 N700RU was noted arriving into Longreach Airport from Archerfield.

UPDATE!  On Saturday 2 November, N700RU departed Longreach Airport for the Whitsunday Airport at Shute Harbour.

UPDATE!  On Monday 4 November, N700RU departed the Whitsunday Airport and returned to Archerfield.

And Gulf Coast Aviation Cessna 510 Citation Mustang Bizjet VH-KXM Departs Rockhampton Airport

After arriving on the weekend, also on Wednesday 30 October, the visiting Gulf Coast Aviation Cessna 510 Citation Mustang VH-KXM was noted departing Rockhampton Airport for Vanrook Station.

File photo

As mentioned below, it had arrived into Rocky from the Sunshine Coast, Vanrook Station and Cairns on Sunday 27 October.

Meanwhile, in the wee small hours, also on Wednesday 30 October, Corporate Aircraft Charter (South Australia) Cessna 550 Citation II bizjet VH-ZLE was noted visiting Rockhampton Airport.  It flew up from Brisbane and later departed back to the capital.

Finally, also on Wednesday 30 October,  Brisbane-based Pilatus PC-12/47E corporate turboprop VH-AAD was noted departing Rockhampton Airport for its Archerfield base.  It had arrived into Rocky from Julia Creek the previous day.

Photo taken by Russell Prothero  ©

PNG-Registered Airbus Helicopters H145 P2-HCD Passes Through CQ Airports

On Wednesday 30 October, very smart looking Papua New Guinea (PNG) registered Airbus Helicopters H145 chopper P2-HCD was noted and photographed at Rockhampton Airport as it flew South through Central Queensland Airports while on a flight from Townsville to Brisbane.

It had flown into Townsville the previous day from Cooktown and Cairns (plus other places). 

On Wednesday, it looked to call into Mackay, Rockhampton and Bundaberg Airports during its journey South.

UPDATE!  On Thursday 31 October, P2-HCD continued from Brisbane to Coffs Harbour in New South Wales.

All photos taken by 'IAD'  ©

Regional Express (REX) SAAB 340B VH-ZRK Calls into Central Queensland Airports on Closed Charter

On Monday 28 October, Regional Express (REX) SAAB 340B VH-ZRK was noted arriving into my local Clermont Aerodrome from Mackay Airport, flying in using the Pel-Air flight number and callsign of PFY9327.  It had flown into Mackay Airport from Brisbane the previous day but as PFY9326.

File photo

After a couple of hours on the ground (but not long enough for me to get a photo!) VH-ZRK was noted departing Clermont Aerodrome for Roma Airport but as PFY9329.  It then quickly departed to Newcastle (Williamtown) in New South Wales before returning to Brisbane.

It is assumed that this flight was a closed charter of some sort.

UPDATE!  On Tuesday 29 October, VH-ZRK was back in the air, possibly still on a closed charter, flying into Mount Isa from Brisbane before it then flew across to Mackay Airport as PFY9302/9301.

UPDATE!  On Wednesday 30 October, VH-ZRK completed two flights into Moranbah Airport from and back to Mackay Airport before it then flew down to Gladstone Airport.

UPDATE!  On Thursday 31 October, VH-ZRK departed Gladstone Airport and finally returned to Brisbane.

An interesting set of flights!

Photo taken by Lloyd Fox  ©

A Gaggle of Light General Aviation (GA) Aircraft Call into Emerald Airport

Certainly a busy day at Emerald Airport on Monday 28 October with an interesting variety of light General Aviation (GA) aircraft noted visiting on various flights.

Noted making an arrival from Wanella Station near Coppabella was Seair Pacific / Istlecote Cessna 208 Caravan VH-TQW. The Caravan later departed to Hervey Bay (Fraser Coast) Airport.

File photo

It appears that Seair Pacific / Istlecote operates into Wanella Station from the Fraser Coast region - Hervey Bay and Maryborough Airports - at least once a week on what appear to be closed Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) charter flights.

Also noted visiting Emerald Airport - twice - was Sundown Pastoral Company (of Bonogin in the Gold Coast Hinterland) Raytheon B300 Super King Air VH-NSI. The sleek Super King Air was noted arriving from the Gold Coast and Keytah before it later departed to Pinnarendi.  VH-NSI later returned to the Gold Coast over the same route.

Also visiting briefly was Vanderfield Pilatus PC-12/47 VH-WPH which looked to arrive from its Toowoomba base before later departing to Mackay Airport.

UPDATE!  On Tuesday 29 October, VH-WPH continued from Mackay Airport to the Whitsunday Airport at Shute Harbour before heading South to Biloela / Thangool and Bundaberg Airports.

The other interesting visitor into Emerald Airport was Torres Strait Air Pilatus Britten-Norman BN2B-20 Islander VH-WZP which looked to arrive from Watts Bridge and later depart to Cairns.  It looked to fly South to Watts Bridge a fortnight earlier, also via Emerald Airport.  It appears to have undergone planned maintenance at Watts Bridge.

Of interest, research reveals that last Thursday 24 October, fellow Torres Strait Air Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2A-27 Islander VH-TRS passed through Emerald Airport while flying from Mareeba to Watts Bridge where it too is possibly going to undergo planned maintenance.

UPDATE!  On Thursday 31 October, Torres Strait Air Pilatus Britten-Norman BN2A-21 Islander VH-URJ was also noted passing through Emerald Airport, arriving from Cairns and later departing to Watts Bridge.

UPDATE!  On Friday 8 November, VH-TRS returned North from Watts Bridge via Emerald and Charters Towers Airports to Mareeba and then Cairns following its maintenance layover.

Photo taken by Dan B  ©

Mitchell Water Cessna 525 Citation M2 Bizjet VH-WMY Back at Roma and Miles Airports

After visiting last week, early on Monday 28 October, Mitchell Water Cessna 525 Citation M2 bizjet VH-WMY was noted back in Central Queensland and again visiting both Roma and Miles Airports.

VH-WMY at Roma Airport during a previous visit  (File photo)

It departed Melbourne (Essendon) for Miles Airport before popping over to Roma Airport.  It later returned to Miles Airport before then flying back to Essendon.

As posted below, VH-WMY visited both Roma and Miles Airports, as well as Hamilton Island Airport, last Wednesday 23 October.

Photo taken by 'AC'  ©

Nice Pair of Cessna 510 Citation Mustang Bizjets VH-KXM & VH-FNI Both Pop into Rockhampton Airport

A nice pair of Cessna  510 Citation Mustang bizjets were spotted and noted visiting Rockhampton Airport on Sunday 28 October.

Gulf Coast Aviation Cessna 510 Citation Mustang VH-KXM was photographed soon after arriving into Rockhampton Airport from the Sunshine Coast, Vanrook Station and Cairns.

At the time of writing, it appears that VH-KXM is spending at least the night at Rocky.

UPDATE!  On Wednesday 30 October, VH-KXM departed Rockhampton Airport for Vanrook Station.

Meanwhile, also noted visiting Rockhampton Airport was Graham Aviation (Cairns) Cessna 510 Citation Mustang bizjet VH-FNI.  It arrived from Cairns and Townsville and later departed to the Gold Coast.

Finally, after arriving into Hamilton Island Airport the previous day, Brenzil Dassault Falcon 7X bizjet VH-CRW was noted departing Hamo for Sydney and Brisbane also on Sunday 27 October.  VH-CRW had arrived into Hamilton Island Airport from Melbourne (Essendon) and Cairns on Saturday 26 October.

Photo taken by Russell Prothero  ©

Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) New Pilatus PC-24 Jet VH-FMP Pops into Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport as "FlyDoc 509"

Also at Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport, also on Saturday 26 October, was a visit by Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS) Central Operations new Pilatus PC-24 Jet VH-FMP.

VH-FMP at Adelaide Airport  (File photo)

The sleek little aeromedical bizjet made what is believed to be the first visit by an RFDS PC-24 into Central Queensland, operating what appeared to be a Patient Transfer flight from or back to Adelaide.  It was noted using the flight number and radio callsign of "FlyDoc 509".

VH-FMP is the first PC-24 for the RFDS Central Operations based at Adelaide.  The aircraft's Medical fit-out was done at the Pilatus Factory in Switzerland, and has a specially engineered auto-stabilising stretcher-loading device, that loads patients in a horizontal position, as opposed to other aircraft with inclined stretcher slides. The cabin has room for three stretchered patients, and two Medical Teams.

Of interest, the RFDS Western Operations based out of Jandakot Airport in Perth also has a pair of PC-24 jets.  The jets currently supplementing and eventually replacing the ageing Pilatus PC-12 turboprop aircraft in these RFDS fleets.

Photo taken by Tony Haynes  ©

More Photos as China-based American-registered Bombardier Global 5000 Bizjet N3333U Departs Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport

After arriving earlier in the week, on Saturday 26 October, the visiting American-registered but Chinese-based Ruiying Yacht Bombardier BD-700-1A11 Global 5000 bizjet N3333U was noted departing Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport.

It initially headed to Townsville where it appeared to complete Australian Customs and Border Force requirements before it then headed back to its Shanghai Pudong International Airport base in China.

N3333U had arrived into Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast) Airport from Sydney on Tuesday 22 October.  It was photographed above by local plane spotter James K on Friday 25 October as it sat quietly on Prosie Airport apron. 

N3333U had originally arrived into Australia from Shanghai via Sydney several days prior.

Sincere thanks to local plane spotter James K once again for taking the time to capture and send through these great photos!

All photos taken by James Kirk  ©

Yet More Great Photos of The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Helicopters and Aircraft Operating out of Rockhampton Airport as Exercise Wallaby 2019 Continues!

With the latest iteration of the Singapore Armed Force’s Exercise Wallaby 2019 now in its final week or so, the various Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) helicopters and aircraft continue to complete daily sorties to and from the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) out of Rockhampton airport.

As the sun was setting on Wednesday 23 October, local plane spotter Russell P was on hand to capture the departure of a pair of RSAF Boeing AH-64D Apache helicopters from Rocky to Shoalwater Bay.  They looked to be wearing the serials 062 and 063 and were heard to be using the radio callsign of "Astro".

As mentioned previously, all four Apache helicopters deployed to Rocky are flown by the RSAF's 120 Squadron "Kestrel" (also known as the "Red Hawks") based at Sembawang Air Base in Singapore.  The Squadron is the first and oldest RSAF operational squadron in service, first formed in 1969.  The squadron goes by the motto of "Strive To Achieve".

Also, late on Wednesday 23 October, Russell photographed RSAF Aerospatiale / Eurocopter AS332M Super Puma helicopter '279' as it returned to Rockhampton Airport from a sortie to Shoalwater Bay and back, flying as "Ruby".

'279' was later joined by '271' with both making a departure later in the afternoon, also to Shoalwater Bay, but this time flying together as "Diamond".

Also as mentioned previously, all four Super Puma helicopters that have deployed to Rocky are reportedly flown by the RSAF's 126 Helicopter Squadron "Cougar" (126 SQN).  Their motto is "Ready and Able", with the Cougar adopted as the squadron's motif.

Formed initially on 16 September 1992 at Sembawang Air Base in Singapore, the 126 SQN consisted of newly purchased Cougar helicopters, which were an upgraded version of the Super Puma helicopters then used by its sister squadron – 125 SQN. 126 Squadron was based at the Oakey Army Aviation Centre, supporting the Singapore Armed Force's training needs in Australia, however over the last year, the Squadron moved back to Singapore with Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopters now deployed to Oakey on a full-time basis.

And after deploying direct from their base at Oakey at the start of the Exercise, the RSAF Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopters have also been completing sorties to Shoalwater Bay and back to Rockhampton Airport as singles and in flights of two or more. Like most of these flights, on Wednesday 23 October, 88181 was shown being prepared to depart later as "Celtic".

Also as mentioned previously, the Chinook helicopters are flown by the RSAF's 127 Helicopter Squadron which is based at the Sembawang Air Base (SBAB) in Singapore, however as mentioned, with a detachment at Oakey.

The squadron goes by the motto of "Strength, Courage, Swiftness", the motto is supported by the squadron motif, a white horse in full battle armour.

Finally, the RSAF Lockheed C-130H Hercules '734', which deployed into Rockhampton Airport around a fortnight ago, continues to complete 2-3 daily sorties to Shoalwater Bay and back to Rockhampton Airport as a part of the Exercise.

It was photographed below by local plane spotter Scott H on Thursday 24 October as it departed on one of these sorties as "Rider 28".

And returning to Rockhampton Airport during the late afternoon on Friday 25 October after completing another sortie again as "Rider 28".

Of interest, the Herc is one of six C-130H aircraft which are flown by the RSAF's 122 Squadron "Condors" based at the Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) in Singapore.  The squadron goes by the motto of "Dependable".

Exercise Wallaby first started in 1990 in Rockhampton and is a Singapore Army exercise based within the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) as well as at Rockhampton Airport.  This year will reportedly see as many as 4000 Singapore Armed Forces personnel participate in the Exercise.

Be sure to stay tuned to the CQ Plane Spotting Blog for all the latest news and updates via our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/cqplanespotting/

Sincere thanks to local photographer Russell P And plane spotter Scott H for taking the time capture and send through these great photos!

Photos taken by Russell Prothero and Scott Harris  ©️