The MRTT had originally departed from RAAF Base Amberley and flew all the way up to Townsville where it landed for a short time. A39-004 then flew back South via the airwork at Rockhampton Airport and then onwards back to Amberley.
A39-004 was heard to be using the radio callsign of "Dragon 55".
Of interest, this was only the second time we've sighted A39-004 in Central Queensland since its recent re-paint.
On their entry to RAAF service, the KC-30A fleet initially carried a ‘low-visibility’ grey colour scheme brought over from the predecessor Boeing B707 Tanker Transports. This included the aircraft’s identification numbers, emergency markings, RAAF roundels and squadron insignia being applied in blue grey paint.
Difficulty with identifying individual KC-30As on the tarmac and in the air will see the existing blue-grey markings swapped with dark grey markings that have higher contrast with the light grey applied to the rest of the aircraft.
The first KC-30A to receive these new markings was A39-004 which returned to Australia from its repaint in mid-January, with the dark grey markings to be applied on each KC-30A as it comes due for scheduled repainting.
It certainly makes it a lot easier for us plane spotters to identify the KC-30A with a repaint program applying dark grey markings to the aircraft.
Sincere thanks to local plane spotter Scott H who was at the right place at the right time to capture these great photos!
All photos taken by Scott Harris ©️
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